Planting Tractors

Wondering if anyone has experience planting (12 row 30 inch) with an articulated tractor?

I don’t have a lot of seat time in an articulated tractor, maybe 50-70 hours. It seems planting with one would be….weird.

It wouldn’t be the primary choice, but as I continue the hunt and thinking about a second bigger tractor as backup, just curious about experience with a planter. Can find some seemingly good deals on articulated compared to MFWD.

One year Larry Karg planted a tractor and during the Orange Spectacular show He dug it up. It was harvest time.  It was still green but never sprouted.

Yeah I remember the first time I drove one, pulling field cultivator and rolling harrow. Came to my first turn which was as you were going over a hill and coming into a rather sharp angle field edge. Made that first sharp turn felt like I was going to fly out the side window, a very odd sensation.
But yeah, got used to it.

A couple of my specific concerns was, probably won’t have auto steer, so visibility of and staying on the mark. Then the turning.

Thanks.

8070nc wrote: There will be more little squiggles in the rows because of the distance from the center pivot to the drawbar but it would be a lot better than not planting at all

I can visualize that happening for sure.

Back in the 80's some of the big cotton farmers out here had a lot Case 4x4's because of ability to have front only steering, as well as the crab steering and full 4 wheel steering. All hooked to the biggest planters of the day. 

Edited by Ray54 - 21 Jun 2024 at 11:13am

My current planter is two point drawn. Would like to stick with it.

Neighbor plants with an articulated CIH no wiggly rows. I’d like something other than the 8050 to plant with thought of using my 8760 to plant with and get another 89x0 to take the 8760’s spot in the tillage line up. In the end cheaper than a 200 hp mfwd. We do 97% of the tillage with articulated tractors and it would be hard to go back to mfwd.   

Largest corn planter I ever used was JD 7000 6 row narrow w/liquid fertilizer White 2-105 was the tractor. Planted for a neighbor’s brother in law who was dying from cancer at the time.
Places I worked at as the hired hand, both used JD 7000 4 row wide w/dry fertilizer, 1 place used a Farmall 656 Gas, 1 place used a JI Case 830D Comfort King. Always worked with livestock, the wide row seemed to work better for harvesting cattle feed, and harvesting the stalks for bedding, straddling the rows with the manure spreader, and cultivating. Also saved the effort of changing the axle settings on the tractors between corn operations, and haying operations. It seemed when the neighbors discontinued livestock, within a year or so, they transitioned to narrow row corn operation.