About when did New Idea quit building pickers of all types? They must have basically had the market cornered for quite some time, it's all anyone around this area really uses. I do know of a one row IH picker, it's in the minority anymore though. JD dealer has a three row JD 300 picker but you don't see them much either.
NIck, I think it was the mid 70's about '76. IH stopped making them in '74, although they were still being sold til almost the 80's. Which Jd dealer is it that has the 300 picker? Dad thinks he wants one, I'd rather have a newer Uni.
New Idea quit building pull-type pickers (323,324,325) in 1985 as far as I am aware. I know several area farmers that bought new ones when they heard NI was going to quit building them. The last grey Uni's had husking beds up until they were discontinued in 1992 I think. Many, many lawsuits over injuries with their pickers prompted in large part to stop production of pickers.
The last ones have a solid block NI decal and large safety decals on the snouts.
Voelker has a JD picker, 3,30 inch I think. I am sure you could put a 244 head on it though, three rows of corn would make alot of ear corn at once! It'd be cool though.
I didnt know there was a bunch of law suits. I had heard there a few. suits and someone had had figured out how they could have made the pickers safer but never have heard what it was they could have done to make them safer on the snapping rolls
I saved this ad from a farm paper but didn't think to write a date on it. Looks like 1984 may have been the last year. I took the photos at the 1982 Farm Progress Show in Indiana.
Tony, if your dad wants a JD pull-type 3-row, I see them at every spring and fall consignment sale at the Denison, Iowa sale barn. I bought my NI324s there (average price of $450, and they all work). I don't remember what price the JDs went for, but ear corn pickers in general don't get a lot of attention at auctions in west central Iowa. Ear corn pickers are plentiful in this area, although all I have seen are pull-types and a couple of Unis. I hear the same thing about the Carroll, Iowa annual consignment sale. It looks like you are from Michigan, which would be quite a haul, but the price and availability might be worth it.
Those are great pictures! I have seen those large lettered decals on late pickers like that but am not sure what year they switched to them. Guessing late '70s.
Near what town was the FPS held that year? I thought it was a big deal in 1985 when dad got me out of school and we went to the one held at Knightstown. I will never forget how muddy it was that year. Rubber boots and rain slickers were hot items!
Thanks for posting that ad about the last pickers being sold. Have never seen that before. I would like to see (bet there is one out there somewhere) a corn picker that was bought new (or never sold at a dealer) that HAS NEVER PICKED AN ACRE OF CORN. A few years ago a low acreage 1 row 323 bought in 1982, had picked a total of 250 acres of corn, a fellow had was consigned to a local consignment auction. It was nice in every way, he had kept it covered with old bedsheets inside his barn and it was clean as a pin. I admired it, but did not buy it, it sold for $3700.
Anyone else got any old photos of new pickers from back in the day?
In 1982 was held at Foutch, Helderle & Meadors Farms by Wolcott, Indiana.
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Randy Freshour Member: White County Antique Power Association, Indiana Allis Chalmers Partners Own: 1955 Wd45, 1953 AC 66 All Crop "Small Bin" Combine, #53 3-16 plow, various other implements
