Entirely New Narrow Corn Head Introduced by Case IH

A new, from-the-ground-up corn head designed specifically for narrow rows (20- or 22-inch spacings) was introduced by Case IH today at the National Farm Machinery Show. "We took a clean-sheet approach to our new narrow-row corn headers," when designing the 4400 Series corn heads, says Kelly Kravig of Case IH. This engineering included reducing the weight of the new header compared to competing narrow-row heads on the market. Offered in 12-, 16-, and 18-row configurations, Case IH engineers were able to shave 100 pounds off of each row. "That's almost a 2,000-pound reduction for our 18-row header," Kravig calculates.

The drive system for the head was redesigned from an older Case IH head. Now power is transferred from the gear boxes in the center of the header and split equally to the right and left side of the heads. From there, separate drive lines power each row unit and chopper (if so equipped). This split-load design provides more efficient power transfer and additional protection to the drive lines.

Other entirely new features of the 4400 Series heads include:

• Flip-up tall-corn attachments to help prevent loss of ears over the ends of headers.
• Redesigned stalk roll spiral patterns.
• New divider profiles and hood designs that smooth out crop flow.
• Row guide sensors that help the row unit stay centered on the rows.

The 4400 Series heads are being offered in both chopping and nonchopping configurations. For more information, go to caseih.com.