Narrow or wide, you decide

Nov 1, 1999 12:00 PM, Machinery

This farmer-invented, variable-width field cultivator pivots for narrow and wide applications, as you cultivate. For example, a 10-ft. unit can widen out to 15 ft., or a 40-ft. unit will widen out to 60 ft.

Inventor Brian Moeller of Lohrville, IA, claims his machine when open is up to 50% wider than most implements on the market.

"When it's in the collapsed position, spacing is like that of a normal cultivator," he says. "Yet, in the spring, you can widen it for the first knockdown and cover more ground in the same length of time as a normal unit."

Then, he says, you can pivot it to a narrow setting for finished seedbed preparation. He claims most chemicals applied with a standard field cultivator can be applied in the widest setting of his unit to cut application time by one-third. He says another plus is using the machine when shovels become worn.

"With my machine, you simply collapse the width to compensate for the worn shovels and continue through the field," Moeller says.

The implement works off the tractor's hydraulics. Hydraulic cylinders, mounted on the tongue, push or pull the wings and fold or lift the toobar. Moeller says his concept can be adapted to all planters. He is presenting his patented idea to Deere, Case and Caterpillar.