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silage chopper

S

Sparktrician

Member
Ok, need to get a new (to me) chopper before harvest this year....our #35 Deere is well past worn out.

We chop 30 -60 acres a year, mostly corn, some hay.

What would you be looking for, brand & model?

I'd kind of like too keep Deere, spent a fair amount on sprockets and chains on our Deere head last year....

I'd like more capacity than that 35 has also

Thoughts?
 
check out nh 790, should be able to get one in the $5000 range, will handle 150 hp, dont know how it compares to 35 jd
 
If you want to keep Deere I would go with the 3900 series, they aren't to bad in price, seems not to many want an old chopper!
 
Best bet is to go to auctions and keep your eyes open. Not too many Deere choppers here, mostly Gehl and some nh.

I'd stay away from Gehl being that they don't make them any more and some parts are starting to get hard to find.

We went from a Fox 3000 to a New Holland 892. The nh is a good machine and is way heavier than we need, but I think it still pulls easier than the Fox ever did. We got the nh for $700, and another $500 for a corn head (in oak season) after the one sold with it turned out to be for a smaller model so it didn't fit at all.

Don't know anything about Deere harvesters.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
Go with a Deere 3940 or 3960. Parts are very plentiful both new used and aftermarket. The 3950-3970 is almost identical and the heads you now have will work on them as well. The Deere harvester is very well built and can easily be rebuilt. No other harvester will pull as easily as the Deere.I have had a 38,two 35's,3940 and a 3960. I just sold a 3960 with a seven ft hay head and brand new Deere knives for $3500 and it was field ready. We use a 3940 to chop our hay and use a 244 combine head to make snaplage as well.There is a big difference in capacity between the 35 and the 3940. We run ours with a 4520 that is putting out 170hp(We do not run it full capacity).I still have a 35 and we chop a few loads every year with it and the 4020.I would not buy a Gehl as I feel they are poorly built. Neighbor has a 865 Gehl he bought new and he likes my 3940 better. I think the NH machines have to many moving parts compared to how simple the Deere is.But I will say the 790 NH is a good machine and if you have a big tractor the latter 900's were good as well.Tom
 
Don't overlook a CaseIH 881 or newer. I had a 781,hated it,never wanted another CaseIH. Got a deal on an 881. Takes the same heads,looks pretty much identical except that the knives are wider and it's just plain built a little bigger. Totally different machine from the 781 when it comes to capacity and how much easier it runs with that extra capacity.
 
If you are mostly chopping corn, buy something with a kernel processor. If you milk cows, you will pick up 6-8 lb of milk, and if you are raising other cattle (steers, etc) the rate of gain will be improved similarly. Plus, the cattle eat everything, and don't leave the corn cob pieces. That alone is like picking up several % in yield.

It might be more than you want to spend, but it will be worth it. And keep in mind, the kernel processor technology has been around now for 20 years. There are plenty of used choppers out there with processors.
 
Since you want to keep the Deere head go 39XX JD forage harvester. If it is like NH the header may need a few bracket changes to go on the newer machine but those can be found in a boneyard. Kernel processors are a good idea and some units here in the East can be found with them already mounted on the chopper. I see used KP's advertised and there are of course new aftermarket. You are starting your search early enough that you should see some good choices out there.
 
I work at a New Holland dealership that does a fair amount of business with pull type choppers. In your situation I would highly recommend a 790 with a well known 824 head. Great parts availability and a great product to put in the silo.

Jim
 
Kernel prossesing is not such a big deal if corn is stored in a bunk or bag, and chopped at the right moisture. I grow silage corn , not grain corn , to feed to my milk cows, and store in a bunk and bag. Don't have a prossesors on my harvester , and never see whole corn kernels coming through the cows in the manure, and no cob disc in the manger. Prossesing takes extra power to run , and extra dollars to buy. Just my point of view.
 
We've had one since 1997... and would not be without one. We still open fields with a self propelled without a KP, and you can tell in the bulk tank as soon as you hit the unprocessed stuff, if for more than a day.

You also will not use much more power than without, because you can stretch the length of cut out to 3/4 in or so. I'm guessing if you never see a cob left in the bunk you are chopping extremely fine, or have very hungry cows!
 
No need to chop fine, just chop fine enough so that the kernels hull is nicked or cut, making it fully digestible. A TMR will also eliminate cob leftovers. That said, many dairy guys here have added a processor to their harvester;I never did and my cow's production was always better than the DHI average. Ben
 
I'm in southwest ohio, been chopping with a 4020. We have a 4440, had it on the bagger. I have a 806 that will eat that 4020 in two if I get it back together (dad rolled it).
 
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