Multiple choice

Aug 28, 2008 12:40 PM, by John Russnogle

Great Plains expands its equipment line with multiple options

If you want choices, Great Plains Manufacturing, Salina, KS, has you covered. The company will expand its tillage tool line this fall with three new machines. Its drill and planter lines will include new equipment next spring. In each case, buyers can custom-build a machine to suit their tastes.

Tillage tools
Great Plains recently announced the addition of the Turbo-Till series II, Turbo-Chopper and Turbo-Chisel. All will be available this fall.

The Turbo-Till series II, first available last spring, features 3-in. C-shank standards and rubber-mounted gang bearings as standard equipment. Working widths of 12, 15, 18 and 24 ft. now are available in addition to 30- and 40-ft. models. The company recommends the machine as a fall tool for sizing and incorporating residue to begin residue breakdown and in spring for a consistent seedbed that provides even emergence. Retail prices range from $17,760 for the 12-ft. unit to $52,287 for the 40-ft. model.

The 5000 series Turbo-Chisel features 22-in. Turbo coulters set on 7 ½-in. spacings to slice residue without hair-pinning, followed by chisel shanks. The coulter bar adjusts hydraulically for on-the-go control.

“The Turbo-Chisel is available in 10 rigid and folding models with working widths from 11 ft. 13 in. to 28 ft. 9 in.,” says Rick Hanson, Great Plains president. “It can cut and bury trash up to 12 in., or it can be used to size residue, dislodge root balls, incorporate residue in the top 4 to 5 in. of soil and leave a level surface with a single pass in the spring.”

The tillage tool can be equipped with either all standard chisel shanks or a front row of parabolic shanks followed by either parabolic chisel shanks or standard chisel shanks. Parabolic shanks can be set to run level with the rear shanks or 3 in. deeper. Optional heavy-duty trip shanks have a 1,600-lb. horizontal trip force and reset automatically. Rear attachments include choice of a “buster bar” or “chopper reel.” Retail prices range from $23,800 to $52,500.

Great Plains bills its Turbo-Chopper as a machine for spring or fall. Available models include a 15-ft. 6-in. rigid frame unit and folding units from 18 ft. to 40 ft. 6 in. in working width. It features Turbo blades on the front gang followed by Turbo-Chopper rear gangs.

“The Turbo design provides a crisscross pattern that sizes residue from two directions in one pass,” Hanson says. “The 20-in. coulters mounted on 10-in. spacings begin the fracturing process followed by the 18-in. choppers reels to leave a smooth profile that is level and uniform to the depth of the front coulters.” The machine can be equipped with an optional rolling spike harrow and reel. Retail prices start at $22,500 for the rigid unit and go up to $57,700 for the 40-ft. machine.