Maintenance Tips to Get Your Grain Cart Ready for Harvest
Harvest season is still a little ways away, but it’s never too early to get your equipment in gear for this year’s haul. Addressing the maintenance needs of your combine is typically the first line of business for most farmers, but don't forget about your grain carts. The grain cart is a hard-working piece of equipment, so you’ll want to be sure it’s in good shape before heading to the field this fall. Here are some preseason preventative maintenance tips for your grain carts. INSPECT AUGERS FOR NOTICEABLE WEAR This is key because over time augers will become smaller in diameter, diminishing their overall performance. Inspect for wear especially where grain transitions from the horizontal to vertical auger or from the...
The Kinze History Book: 50 Years of Disruptive Innovation
"When I started this business 50 years ago, I never once thought of what it might become. I just knew that I didn’t want to work for someone. I had to have room to chase after my own ideas and create things — innovative and new things." – Jon Kinzenbaw We were approaching our 50th year in business and it occurred to some of us —mainly my wife, Marcia, daughter, Susie, son, Jonathan, and a few members of the Kinze Senior Leadership Team — we should do something special to commemorate that half-century. More than just tell the story of how Kinze Manufacturing began and how far we’ve come, we wanted to celebrate its culture, which is the basis of...
Depth Control Equals Uniform Emergence for Indiana Farmer
Today, Sparks of Innovation takes you to New Haven, Indiana, where Ron Funk counts on Kinze planters to get better seed placement and depth control. He made the switch to Kinze back in the early 2000s when he purchased a 3500 interplant planter to seed beans. “We had a good stand, seed placement was perfect, and we had uniform emergence. Depth control was so much better than what we had before,” said Ron, who now plants with Kinze 3600 and 3650 planters. Watch the latest installment of Kinze in the Field to see why Ron thinks Kinze planters run just like sewing machines (that’s a compliment). And click here to view his full testimonial.
Great Kinze Innovations: the Rear-fold Planter
By the mid-1970s, Kinze was growing steadily through sales of its grain carts and anhydrous ammonia applicators, as well as the adjustable width plow licensed to DMI, Inc. Still, Jon Kinzenbaw sensed there was something missing from the Kinze product offering. That big idea that could propel his still-young company to the next level. Lo and behold, the big idea walked right into his shop. In 1975, a farmer from southern Iowa stopped by the shop and commented that somebody should figure out how to fold a big planter horizontally to make it easier to move from field to field. New to the market were 12-row planters that folded upward, which resulted in seed and insecticide being spilled from the hoppers. Folding vertically...
In Planters
Illinois Farmer Sees Perfectly Spaced Rows in All Directions
This month, Sparks of Innovation takes you to Georgetown, Illinois, where Charlie Lambert has counted on Kinze planters since 1996. Charlie’s previous planter didn’t provide the spacing he wanted, so he tried a Kinze 12-row econo-fold planter with finger pickup. He was so happy with the spacing and accuracy of it that he’s stayed true to blue ever since. Today, he uses a Kinze 3600 16 row with Interplant to plan corn and soybeans, and he says one of his favorite things is to drive by his fields and see perfect rows in all directions. Click here to see Charlie’s full testimonial. Enjoy the latest installment of Kinze in the field.
THE STORY BEHIND (BENEATH) THE ICONIC KINZE YARD ART
Over the years, millions of people traveling along Interstate-80 have passed Kinze headquarters and marveled at the spectacle of our yard art. Just about everyone who drives by and sees the iconic Kinze corporate sign, rotating planter and grain cart stack, can’t help but ask themself: What’s the story behind those installations? Well, without further ado... Kinze Corporate Sign The large Kinze corporate sign along Interstate 80 has been a familiar landmark to travelers since 1978. Towering over exit 216 and supporting a full-size grain cart, it is easy for millions of east and westbound travelers to recognize where they are on their journey. Many grain carts have ridden the rails up the side of the tower as cart models...
Kinze Plants “50” in the Field
If you’ve passed by Kinze headquarters in recent weeks you may have noticed a new addition to our collection of Kinze yard art. A big yellow, commemorative “50” in the field along Interstate-80. What’s It All About? As part of the Kinze 50th anniversary celebration, we thought it’d be a neat idea to plant two big 50’s that showcase our newest innovation, the Multi-Hybrid Planter as well as commemorate our 50-year anniversary milestone. How’d We Do It? First, prescription maps were created, placing the 50’s into the hill of our demo grounds so they would be visible to travelers heading both east and west. Then the prescriptions were loaded into a 16 Row Kinze 4900 Multi-Hybrid Planter, which has the capability to switch...
In Kinze News
Introducing the Kinze 50 Year Anniversary History Video
2015 marks a milestone year for Kinze Manufacturing as we celebrate our 50 year anniversary. By now, most of you are likely familiar with the story of how Kinze got started. In 1965, my father Jon Kinzenbaw started a small welding and repair shop in Ladora, Iowa. Dad was only 21 years old at the time, but he had the confidence, creativity and skill set to make something of himself and his small business. In the early years, dad took any job that came through the door – even those that promised little to no profit. He never backed away from a challenge, but instead found ways to overcome it. And, through determination, innovation and unwavering faith, he built that...
In Kinze News
A Tractor & His Boy: a Book About Following Your Dreams
Part of what makes Kinze Manufacturing such a special company are the many rich stories of our founder and president Jon Kinzenbaw. In 2013, we released a children’s book “Big Blue and Polly,” which shared a story of friendship and determination with the next generation of farmers. The book was so well received among kids, teachers and Kinze fans that we got to work on a second book soon thereafter. In December 2014, we released “A Tractor & His Boy,” which is based on the true story of how Jon Kinzenbaw rediscovered his father’s old tractor – The Old H – decades after it was thought to be long gone. This is a story about never giving up on your dreams, a...
In Kinze News
, Planters
New Kinze Technology Makes Farming Easier
We continue celebrating 50 years of loyalty, innovation and improvements with the next post in our year-long series on Sparks of Innovation, which takes you out in the field to meet our customers and hear why they stay true to blue. This month, we’re visiting Dan Brettnacher of Brookston, Indiana. In the early 1990s, Dan bought a Kinze 2600 planter to plant 15" rows of soybeans. Until then he’d been pretty loyal to another color of planter, but was so impressed with the accuracy and depth control of his first Kinze that he later bought another Kinze planter for his cornfields. Today, Dan uses a Kinze 4900 24-row planter for both corn and soybeans, and he says it makes him feel proud to see...