Sunflower Harvest Options
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Editor’s Note: Many sunflower producers utilize row-crop combine heads. Numerous others opt for a harvest attachment specifically designed for sunflower. Still others employ special conversion kits for fitting to their corn head.
These pages introduce several attachments and conversion kits available on today’s market. The information has been provided by the respective companies and then edited as necessary for use in The Sunflower.
Contact details are included for those growers who wish to further investigate a given company’s products.
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Bish Enterprises
For sunflower farmers, brittle heads can shatter, uneven crop height can make harvesting difficult, and green stems mixed with dry material can create inconsistent feeding.
The SuperCrop® Header helps address these problems by gathering plants before they are cut, reducing head shatter, and improving recovery of lodged and uneven sunflower. Its gathering system and full-finger auger support smoother feeding of both green and dry crop material, helping operators maintain consistent crop flow as conditions change.
The SuperCrop is the only header on the market with an adjustable row-unit angle. Operators can adjust the angle hydraulically from the cab to match crop height and field conditions, giving them greater control over how they cut throughout the field. When desired, the header can also leave approximately 14 inches or more of standing stubble.
The SuperCrop is also designed for extremely low maintenance costs compared with competing headers, helping growers reduce service time, wear-part expense, and overall operating costs.
Beyond sunflower, the SuperCrop can be configured to harvest sorghum, industrial hemp, millet, popcorn and low-yield corn, giving growers greater flexibility from a single header.
Celebrating 50 years of ag innovation, Bish Enterprises develops practical, cost-effective solutions for traditional and specialty crop production. The SuperCrop Header helps growers manage difficult harvest conditions, protect more of their crop, and reduce losses from valuable seed left behind in the field.
Drago Gold
Drago Gold is the sunflower head that raises the bar on harvest efficiency and durability. Olimac, a recognized leader in high-performance corn heads, has applied its engineering expertise to design a sunflower head that puts more grain in the tank and virtually eliminates downtime. Its features help you optimize your combine’s power for greater productivity at higher working speeds, better seed quality and more return on investment, even in extreme conditions.
Drago Gold features block gathering chains equipped with special rubber teeth that firmly hold the plant as it is cut and delivered to the auger without vibration, increasing yield capture. Its advanced cutting system uses two opposed, tempered-steel disks that cut plants smoothly in a forward position without shaking them, resulting in high cutting speed without vibration and avoiding grain loss. It is also equipped with a massive auger — 20 inches in diameter — allowing higher forward speed with more capacity and efficiency, plus a security clutch that protects it from unseen obstacles.
Several features are exclusive to Drago Gold. It is the only sunflower head equipped with two radial slip clutches on the chain drives of each row unit, helping prevent damage from overloads on the gathering chains and cutting disks; each clutch is completely sealed from external elements and bathed in oil, delivering better protection with less maintenance. An adjustable adapter maintains the optimum working position regardless of the combine, a spring-loaded tensioner automatically tightens the chains throughout harvest, and an oil-bathed transmission requires no relubrication, reducing chain wear. In-season maintenance is minimal, with only three grease points per chain to service once per season.
Drago Gold can mount on any brand of combine and is available in 8-, 12-, 16-, 18- and 24-row configurations.
Flexxifinger
Convert your conventional header to a sunflower harvesting header with Flexxifinger® QD Industries Inc.’s Sunflower Harvest Pans and their patented Quick Detach (QD™) system.
Using the Flexxifinger QD system, it is possible to install and/or remove Flexxifinger sunflower pans in just minutes.
General Implement Distributors
SunStorm & SeedEater
Jamestown, N.D.-based General Implement Distributors (formerly West Country Products) markets the NARDI “SunStorm,” manufactured in Italy. This is the 11th year on the U.S. market.
The SunStorm is a rowless head, handling all row spacings with ease. Mounting adapters allow its fitting on most late-model combines. The low-maintenance head decreases shatter loss and promotes a fast, efficient harvest. A slip clutch protects the single gearbox, and a lightweight, reinforced rigid frame provides stability. The reel auger turns very close to the dividers (pans) and works like a shovel. It is set to time perfectly with the sickle movement to be gentle with ’flower heads. Reel distance from the feeder auger guarantees a smooth, continuous flow of crop.
Shield position can be changed manually or hydraulically for a more-aggressive harvesting, depending on the ’flower type. The dividers are designed for the best penetration among all row spacings, gently driving the ’flowers to the knives. Seeds that may eventually fall from the ’flowers are collected inside the dividers. A metal net covers the auger and to guarantee safety and minimal seed losses.
This revolutionary new-style head comes in three sizes, up to 50 feet, with affordable pricing. There’s a U.S.-based repair/parts source, and the SunStorm comes with a two-year warranty.
General Implement Distributors has distributed the “SeedEater” sunflower harvesting attachment since 2006. MIDMACH (formerly Midwestern Machine), its manufacturer, has been making the attachment since 1986.
Along with sunflower, the SeedEater also has been used successfully in milo.
The SeedEater is available with pan widths of nine or 12 inches. Overall attachment widths range from 18 feet to a newer split-unit 40-foot attachment.
“Key features of the SeedEater include a heavy-duty 16-gauge drum with specially designed fingers to move sunflower heads gently but positively to the auger,” according to General Implement. “It also has heavy-duty 14-gauge pans with strong design and extra-long dividers for more-positive row alignment.
“The SeedEater is easily mounted on your own combine header and can be easily removed, if desired, to use your platform on other crops,” the company adds. “The pans are mounted on a tube frame; the drum can be rolled off the reel arms onto the pans for off-season storage. The chain binders release on the back of the header, and you are ready to back away from the SeedEater.” This process can be done by one person in about half an hour.
Geringhoff
Geringhoff has been a trusted partner to farmers around the world since 1880. Our lineup of sunflower harvesting solutions are designed to maximize the capabilities of your combine and help you speed through even the toughest conditions, while gently harvesting sunflower heads and seeds.
— Geringhoff SunLite Sunflower Head —
Our SunLite sunflower head uses 7-inch-wide tapered pans to gently capture crop, guiding it to the cutter bar while the integrated seed catcher prevents seeds from dropping to the ground. Its curved auger trough design results in an optimum crop flow, and the gentle han-dling of the crop greatly reduces losses. Using reliable mechanical drives for the auger and sickle, the SunLite requires less power than the competition.
SunLite sunflower head is available in 25-, 30- and 40-foot working widths.
— Geringhoff Sunflower Adaptor Kits —
Growers can transform our Elite Series corn heads into the ultimate sunflower harvesting system with Geringhoff kits. Choose between Passive or Active Sunflower Kits to meet the unique characteristics of your field and crop, and prevent crop loss with the optional Sunflower Adapter Screen.
— Passive Sunflower Kit —
• Adapters for the Passive Sunflower Kit feature a hardened-edge cutting knife that is mounted between the deck plates. These knives separate the sunflower head from the stalk. This design reduces disturbance of the head during harvest and substantially reduces shatter. Clamped between the deck plates, the adapter retains any seeds that may accumulate and transfers them back to the auger trough.
• Passive Sunflower Kit includes chain extenders bolted onto the lugs to ensure a consistent feed of crop to the cutting edge.
— Active Sunflower Kit —
• The Active Sunflower Kit adapters feature a single rotating disc system driven by the gathering chain and a deck plate cover for enhanced seed retention. Recommended for higher sunflower acreage farmers, the Active Sunflower Kit provides a more aggressive cut while reducing wear and maintenance.
• Active Sunflower Kit includes chain extenders that are bolted onto the lugs to ensure a consistent feed of crop to the cutting edge.
— Sunflower Adapter Screen —
• Add the optional Sunflower Adapter Screen to help redirect sunflower seeds into the trough. Back and side extensions mount to the head to prevent crop loss and help maximize yield retention. These are especially helpful in down or lodged crops where a low cut is necessary.
Golden Plains Ag Tech
Golden Plains, based in Colby, Kan., has been marketing the “SunStar” sunflower harvesting system for more than a quarter century, serving customers in North America and South America along with additional countries.
SunStar corn head attachments are used on John Deere, Case IH and New Holland heads. Golden Plains has a model for the JD 40/90 Series headers, JD 600 Series and 700C corn heads, the Case 2200, 2400 and 3200/3400 Series, and the New Holland 96C, 98C, 98D, 966 and 974 heads.
SunStar is designed to take advantage of the unique physical characteristics of the sunflower stalk. For that reason, sunflower is the only crop that can be harvested while the SunStar attachments are installed. However, the attachments are installed and removed quite easily, so the grower can quickly switch from ’flowers to corn, or vice versa, if needed.
“With SunStar conversions installed on the producer’s corn head, he can move quickly through his standing ’flowers with a very small loss,” says Golden Plains Ag Tech. “He will be able to lift lodged stalks and move the heads into the combine with minimum loss.” Sunflower heads enter the cross auger “with the heads unbroken and six to 12 inches of stalk still attached to the head.”
SunStar has no moving parts and requires no physical modification for attachment to the corn head. There is only one simple adjustment, which is usually made once per season.
Hamilton Systems / Fantini
Fantini has been one of the foremost combine header manufacturers since 1968, specializing in corn and sunflower headers. Fantini headers fit all makes and models of combines, offering a wide variety of options for your machine.
The Fantini Sunflower/Sorghum headers are designed to harvest the crop correctly with minimum losses. The Fantini sunflower header is simple, reliable and requires minimum maintenance. Stalks are held by unique rubber blocks on the gathering chains and are immediately cut by rotating disc knives to prevent shaking and seed loss. The knives are a self-sharpening, counter-rotating disk cutting system. The specially designed collection pans slope rearwards and help reduce header losses to virtually zero. (The gathering chains and rubber blocks can last up to 10,000 acres.)
As the header incline is adjustable, the collecting pans can be set to slope rearward at almost any cutting height. The points (snouts) also are adjustable, ensuring maximum pickup of downed ’flowers. The auger is designed to ensure the most efficient transfer of harvested material to the combine with minimum damage and loss, facilitating maximum harvest efficiency whatever the harvesting conditions. Our headers come with auto height and row sense and optional stalk stompers.
Fantini headers are available from four to 18 rows and come in various widths. They come with an unmatched industry-leading four-year warranty on row unit transmissions and drivelines.
The Fantini company and factory are owned and operated by Hamilton Systems, Inc.