Headers for combines today often cost more than a new combine by itself cost just a few short decades ago. What are you getting for the extra money you must invest in a new grain head or corn head today?

If heads discovered at fall farm shows are any indication, you are getting two important advantages. The first is increased size. If your grandfather labored shelling corn with a two-row head, he would marvel at the 12- and 16-row heads of today. And when you buy a head of that size, you can be confident that there will be enough combine power supplied by today’s larger, more productive machines.

Look at MacDon’s FlexCorn head. Available soon in 12- or 16-row configurations, this head is designed for hilly terrain. With the 16-row head, it can be 61 inches higher on one side than on the other side when necessary to match the roll of the land. And all the while, it is harvesting corn from a whopping 16 rows in one pass.

Second, you get a vast amount of improved technology. Features like adjustable deck plates on snapping rolls make harvest not only more efficient, but also more convenient. Even the transport carriers that carry heads from field to field are longer and stouter, and have features that guarantee the head will arrive safely at the next field in good condition. Check out the Unverferth Road Runner HD transport unit in the slideshow to see what modern header transport vehicles look like now. 

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