Ask the Mechanic

Steve Thompson, Contributing Columnist

Then & Now: Corn Harvesting

DJ Family Farms, Wolfe City, Texas

Look closely. Jerry Workman is holding a 1903 corn sheller, built by A. H. Patch in Clarksville, Tennessee. It will shell one ear per minute. Move forward a few decades to the John Deere S680, with a 12-row corn head that will pull 7,128 ears per minute. Plus, it will cut the stalk, shred the shucks and stalk, and chop up the ear. That's at one ear per plant, 4 1/2 mph with a 12-row corn head. Now, that's Mules to Marvels.

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-- MULES TO MARVELS is an occasional feature comparing "yesteryear" technologies to today.

-- Write Steve Thompson at Ask The Mechanic, 2204 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 415, Birmingham, AL 35209, or email mechanic@progressivefarmer.com, and be sure to include your phone number.

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