size combine copared to acres farmed??

Just curious what make mosel combine some of you guys run and how many acres you have. I have 200 this year, and just got the go ahead to rent another 120 next year. As I am shopping for a combine (1440-1460 IH) I am asking sellers why they are selling and an awful lot are stating they are going to a bigger combine(mostly 1660"s), and when I inquire how many acres they are cropping, alot of them are farming far less than I am, and will be. I am working on another 100 acres which could put me at 400-450. Am I thinking to small? I have an 8RN planter and was thinking a 4 row head would be fine, but I wonder if I should be thinking more the lines of a 1660,1640,1480, with a 8rn. Crops I will be growing will be corn, soybeans, small grains(oats, Winter rye, possibly wheat). Am I undercutting my operation by looking at 1440"s? Please share your situation"s and advice. I do not want to borrow a combine this year, and I also dont want to spend $30,000.

For the 10 or so years I had an F2 it harvested on average probably 375 acres per year. I really didn't need a bigger machine, but the time and money came together to get something newer. (Along with the purchase of a 6 row planter) I bought a 1660. (Gleaner is dead here)

For what it's worth, I farm about 140 acres with my Dad, and we run a 1420 with a 4rn head, plant with 6. It all depends on the time you have. With my "real" work schedule, I usually end up with around 15 days off right around harvest, and with moving fields (15-25 acres here and there) several times, we can finish in 5 or 6 good weather days, changing over to beans from corn and all. Could finish quicker if we wanted. People think we're crazy shelling 4 with a 6 row planter, and it is a little tricky every now and then in corn, but if we ran 6 rows with a 1440 or 60, we'd be done so quick it would hardly feel like we had any crop. I enjoy harvest so much I think I'd stay with a four row up to around 250 acres or more as long as time didnt play a factor on me. Youre also only as fast as you can haul away remember. A 1440 or 60 with a four row is a great combo, have to run with the ladder up in corn to keep from knocking the left hand row over. You could always trade up to a 6rn head if you desired, you have plenty of machine. A 1440 is not gonna run an 8rn.. and also, 8 rn is going to require auger extension, harder to transport, and probably heavier lift cylinders on the feederhouse.

A good six row machine can do 1000-1500 acres if it is reliable and can keep rolling. You can't afford to own a combine for less than 1000 acres if you can find a good custom harvester to harvest and haul your crops. That said, with the variety of crops you are growing you might go through less hassle owning your own machine but you're going to need three heads-corn head, straight cut head and a windrow pickup head. If you can find someone who really knows his combines to check out your potential purchase he might save you a lot of headaches. You can easily throw $5000 in repairs into any combine, old or new. Jim

My neighbor farms 160 acres mostly soybeans but uses a john deere 7720 hydro with a 16ft head and a 6rn corn head and he says its good for around 1000-1500 acres i also have a friend that uses a massey ferguson 550 for 1800 acres

Farm 550 acres (used to farm 750)have an R-62 Gleaner With an 8 row wide and 25' table. Up till last year worked full time off the farm, and I'm a 1 man crew. Prior to the 62 ran an M-3 Gleaner with 4 row and 15', and my uncle farmed with me.

I think you will be happy with a 1400 series size combine with a four row head for 4-5 hundred acres. I have a neighbring farmer who farms around that and has a full time job as well and has used a 1440 with four rows up till last year he bought a six row head because he wanted to switch to a 6 row planter with splitters so he only needed one planter.

It realy depends how fast you what to get it done. For 500 hundred acres I would want a 20ft table and a 6-30 head. Anything larger will require a larger combine and much more $$. I think there are plenty of good buys around for medium sized combines. You will be spending money on repairs. If you have help to haul and unload you could get by with smaller stuff. We found with larger stuff we could actualy guit earlier in the evening and spend some time with the family.
Brian(MN)

I guess I would recommend a larger combine if you have a choice. You can always grow into a larger machine, hang larger heads ect. If you buy a smaller machine and grow out of it its going to cost more to trade up in a few years. I would avoid 1440 or 1640 as they have weaker final drives and transmissions. Hard to beat a 1660 with 8rn and a 20 FT platform.

1660 and 1460 are very close to the same size machine.

The 1660 is just the newer version.

I have done 1100 acres with a '81 1440. Then moved up to a 1992 1660 in 2000. Last year went to a 2002 2366. Still only do about 1200 acres.

If you can find a good condition 1460 it will preform about the same as a good condition 1660.

Gary

Its amazing how the times have changed.In 1978 a neighbor bought a new 4400 JD with a 16 ft head.He farmed 1200 acres and with the doublecrop beans ran 1500-1800 acres of wheat-milo-beans thru it every year.

In the early 1980's I knew a guy that ran 1500 acres per year thru a 1440 IH that he bought new,

One neighbor still puts 320 acres per year thru a 4400 JD and beats everyone done.Hes one of the last of the small farmers that lived near me.

Its common now to have a 20-30 ft grain head and 6-8 row corn head for 400-800 acres.My neighbor runs 3-4000 acres per year with a 9770 JD with a 35 ft head and 8 row corn head.

7720, with 300 acres, 6 row corn and 16ft grain. Think we paid 16 for it.

We farm 2300 acres and up until this fall we've used two 9400 John Deeres with 18ft platforms and one 6 row corn head. They handled the load fine. A 9400 would be an excellent size if you're considering something other than red. They may be a little more expensive but dad only got about 35k for the combines here and they are a popular size here. He traded the two in for a used 9770 with 12 row corn head and 30ft platform. Hopefully we won't regret not having two combines.

I plant 8 rn , combine with 6 row, many people think it is crazy but 98% of the time it works fine, just plant headlands and strips in mulitples of 6, such as 24 at a time, comes out good. I have a 1460 with 6rn corn, 20ft. bean head and combine 300ac corn and 200 beans, work 40hrs. a week up town. I get it done no problem, but the age of the machine is starting to show, would like to move up to a 1660 or 1680. Might try to do that next year.

Dave I"m running a 1420 on around 300 acres. It"s not the combine that slows me down it"s the trucking. I don"t always have a driver available so have to run on my own a lot. My best move would be a semi with grain trailer but just haven"t pulled the trigger yet.

I wouldn't mess around with a 1440 or 1640 unless low hours and "cherry" Many more 60's and 80's series to choose from. Eight row head is pretty big to transport on the road, but many do around here because traffic is generally reasonable. Six row is a lot nicer, but I have ran down the road with a 20 ft bean head. A few go with a 25 ft on the road and a vey few will try a 30 ft between close fields. I use a 1480 on 50 acres, which could be used on 800 acres but it is nice to have oversized equipment and let someone else contend with the remainder. Sure was a good choice last year. With the elevator open 2-3 hours/day because of drying capacity, it still took way too long only doing 50 acres. If you already have the 8 row, I would run it for a few years with a six row head and eventually upgrade to matching 12 row planter.

Get a good 1460, learn the ropes a bit on owning a combine and you will learn what to look for when you go to write a bigger check for a combine

Make sure to get something taken care of, and definatly electric over hydrualic header controls