Horsch and Holmer in the US

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Laapa

1) How are the sugar beets looking over there? We had a frost last night, and its really iffy right now as to whether they survive or not

2) You are right about the Terra-Variant having more uses then a Terra-Gator. First of all the Terra-Variant has a 3pth and PTO, both front mounted and rear. You can hook a large discmower on them, you could put a Kemper or Pottinger harvester on them, with a bunker. The uses are there - it is similar to the Caterpillar VFS system.

3) If you search through the Flexi-Coil website, you will see a similar concept to what you are talking about with the large seed tank. These days, guys are putting corn in the air tanks, and use a 60ft corn planter - either 36rows x 50cm, or 24 rows x 76 cm. The farmers do 170-200 acres PER FILL on corn, and they still are putting on starter fertilizer.

4) you are right - Case IH is using the Flexi-coil design now.

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Here's another good link showing the Holmer / Horsch tool

home.t-online.de/home/haslbeck.tf/x1.html

[Laapa]

Hey Jon, our beets are looking just fine thank you. Good luck with yours! Great link. That Theo guy has some great pictures on his site!

One thing on the Terra-Dos system (Where no two tyres follow in previous tracks thus creating uniform soilpressure over the vehicles wheight, it is available on other 4wheelsteer machines as well (Verdo, Xerion etc.) but I guess TerraDos is the most well known),

If the vehicle/implement is no wider than the width of the tracks it will create a nice, level, evenly compacted surface.
However, if the implement is wider than the tracks, wich is certainly the case with the big seeder, you will get a larger compacted area than when using "conventional steering" (rear wheels run in the tracks of the front tyres).

Now, it is true that the compacted area is only driven on "once", but the first pass over soil always makes the most damage (by far). Having the rear wheels go in the tracks really does not compact the soil all that much!

I think a large tractor with duals, and the wheels of the seedhopper passing in the tracks of the tracktors would work better in such an application.

Jon, you are right. We are returning to the subject of your previous post!

[eppie]

Hey, laapa,

Yes, the headquarter is in Holland.

I wouldn't say its all paranoia, we have clay in the "polder", and bog in other parts of the country. Especially clay (former sea bottom) is very sensitive soil.

Thats totally different than sand or those kind of soil you have in Sweden. (i have been there last year...)

[Laapa]

Hey Renze. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Sweden. Whereabouts were you?
As far as soiltypes, I guess they differ here as much as anywhere else.

A thought on your "polders", I understand the Neteherlands have some of the highest prices in Europe for arable land. Interesting since it is the only place in the world I can think of where land is not a fininite comodity. There is still a lot more sea to turn in to dry land!
Just don't remove your finger from the dammwall when typing.

[eppie]

So, you know about the fairy tale about Jantje, (in english; little Johnnie) who saved hundreds of people by holding his thumb into the dike, so that the water would not erode a bigger hole in it... That's great...

Hey, if i spell dike, it displays two stars in the middle. Id better say it just in Dutch, a dijk. By the way, what thumb did Jantje hold into the dike? A kind of a dirty fairy tale, i suddenly realize..

The land achievement: Farmers used to move the dikes seawards every year, but thats no longer allowed since the end seventies. By the way: only the real clay is good soil, the beachland is more like sand to use in cement and concrete.



P.S. i was in Sweden 2 or three years ago, not last year. We made a trip through southern Sweden and Norway. fourteen days, every 4 days 300 km driving to the next house we stayed. I saw a lot. Even a very rare Zetor 3016 halftrack, with the halftracks missing, but it still had the supplementary wheels for it. I saw loads of old Zetors there, especially 6011 and older. even the 25 A was well represented! i also saw a lot of old Volvos, BM,s and some Valmet.

That was the first year when we did not go on holiday with a Volvo.. That hurted my father.. Going to Sweden with a Japanese tin can...
We had Volvo 240 and later 740 for 20 years.

The last one, a 740 Turbo Diesel was on its end at 340,000 km. (not much, but in that time Volvo used the 6 cylinder Volkswagen Diesel, what was a bad block..) My mother didn't want a car with more than 180.000 on the clock, and wanted to try another brand. My father agreed, because the 850 (where my dad was very fond of) was too expensive. Now we have a Toyota Camry 2.2 on LPG, but it can never beat the torque of a Volvo 2.3 when pulling our 2-horse trailer. I think not even the Camry V6...

When we drove behind a magnificent Volvo 240 station car on a bumpy gravel road in Sweden, my father said: "those old volvos still have a great ride, dont you think??" Yes.. Dad.. You shouldn't have listened to mum..

I have a Volvo 440, 1.8 LPG, built in Holland, designed in Sweden. More torque at 1,200 rpm than the Camry.. I sometimes bully my dad with it...

Hey Laapa, what kind of car do you have?? A V70 T5 R AWD? That AWD can pull the harrow, while your 2+2 is ploughing....  Do you think they sell a them with duals??

What do you think of this Volvo 142 ? from www.volvolandia.com (sadfully not mine...)

[Laapa]

Way of the topic now Renze...
Woodbeef had a question a while back aobut cars too. Perhaps there should be a fram-car forum?

Anyways, I now drive a 1992 Volvo 940. Really like the size, engine and shape of it. I used to have a 1983 Volvo 240 but sadly had to let it go. Also while I worked in the US I drove a Ford CrownVictoria for about a year.

I read a "You might be a farmer if..." list once and one of the signs were "... you have driven your pickup into the dicth while looking at crops".
I actually rolled my 240 of a narrow elevated road after checking out a seedbed. It rolled 90 degrees and landed on the right side. Fotrunately nothing was damadged (well, except the side mirrors) and we pulled it back on the road with our JD2650 and I could continue on my way to work (peaharvesting) delayed only about 5 minutes.
Scratced and dented the car a bit, but that's not why I let it go; beam holding the transmission fell off 8 months later.

Dad has been prone to Volvos most of his life and now drives a 740. In the past we had a 1976 240 wich me and some friends painted black with fireflames while my parents were on vacation. SUPRISE to say the least.
We also have a VW Caddy pickup (and some Volvo tractors).

For a new car I might not go with Volvo anymore. The Ford ownership, front wheel drive and rounded design has ruined the magic of the brand for me.

[HPP]

How did you guys get in to cars anyway? Wasn´t this topic about Holmers or something?
Well OK, you started it!
From around mid -80:s ´til -99 I´ve driven approx 1.000.000 km in Mazda 626:s. The last one had 250.000 on the meter when I totally wrecked it. Got hit and it was all junk. Otherwise I never had any trouble at all.
So, all of a sudden I had to get a car fast. Found a BMW 320 Touring. A little M-Styling and stuff. Thought it looked nice so I bought it. Never had as much trouble with a car ever before! Luckily a cousin of mine has two cars. That way I can borrow her old Volvo 760 when ever my BMW is in the workshop. And that´s quite often!
It´s a little consolation because the 760 is a really nice ride.
However I still dream of my old Chevy that I had driving around the States in the early -70:s. An Impala -63, 327-engine, 4-barrel carburator. An old lemon, but h.ll of a nice ride. Lived in that thing.

[Woodbeef]

O.K. now guys this just ain't fair!! I'll try and refrain from digressing to my days of growing up in suburban Detroit in the late 60's early 70's. Back in the days before Ralph Naderism,when you could still buy a real muscle car brand new,and gas had lead!!

[kenjar]

Was the subject Horsch or Porsche?

Hey Laapa, how did you like the Crown? It's my wife's latest drive.

Hey HPP, them 4bbl carbs do bring back some memories.

Are there any Formula One fans out there? Monaco this Sunday. Any chance we will hear the German or Italian national anthems?

[eppie]

Volvo 240 power:

Once, my dad had his 41 hp Johnnie (not a popper, but a 4cyl JD-Lanz, we used to call it Johhnie)stuck in a 3 meter deep hole, where we dumped debris from a dismantled barn. It was about 15 years ago, one of my childhood memories. We took a long rope, the 240 stationcar with ballast weights (we put about 200 kgs sacks of horsecubes in it..) so that the 240 could pull on the flat ground, not on the slope of the hole. And yes, the 240 pulled out our johnnie with spinning wheels and bad smelling clutch... THAT was sensation!

My father used to bring sows around with horse trailer pulled by the 240. (He used to be sow breeder, he mostly delivered them to the farmers home.) once, he fell asleep in the car, and hit a tree. the bumper got a curve. That evening, my father tried to push it against the wall of an old shed, to straighten it. Volvo bumpers are strong, so it didn't work at all. He started bumping at the shed. faster and faster, the bumper was still curved, but the wall got some splinters off. (you will believe it was indeed a very old shed.)

In winter time, my father used to play in the snow with cars, when we drive to curch sundays. (ha used to say it was important to know the behaviour of your car, in case of emergency. He was right, but he used the argument more like an excuse to mum) The first snow days with the Camry were not what they used to be...

He grumbled: "what's that thing doing spinning at the front.. let it just do its work at the back"

I think my next car will be a 240 turbo, if i can get one. An old friend of mine's dad has a 740 turbo.. Chiptuned... with 260 hp.. You better not pull the throttle wide open in the first gear...

[eppie]

Oh, HPP:

Holmer:

I said they were too big for Dutch farming operations

Laapa mentioned Dutch soil compaction paranoia

I said our clay soil is much more sensitive than Swedish rocky sand soil, i have seen it in Sweden, i have been there on holiday

Laapa said where i was in Sweden

I said around his area, around Malmo too. i said it was the first holiday without Volvo, brought up some (Volvo) memories, and asked Laapa for his car.

Laapa brought up all kind of good old Volvo memories, and then the rest of us started to do the same about their cars. That is a kind of "common sentiment", all those memories, everybody has them.



Hey Woodbeef, i might hop over the pond next year!! I have family in Canada, Ontario. Around Fergus, and Brampton. Kenjar said it was close to your place. Do you mind if i come and take a look on your farm when i'm around?? I guess i just have to follow the Steyr, if i see one.. that must be the only one out there...

New topic: How to track down the AgMachinery members??

[Woodbeef]

Hey Renze,

Sure stop by anytime!! I'm a tad bit farther east though. Pearson is about 2 hours from me(if you can get through T.O. though of course) Bosman is way out west somewhere too. Not many Dutch green farmers around here most are milkers.

[eppie]

Thanks woodbeef.

I will say it to you next year, when i go there... ;D