When an entire growing season goes into producing a crop, the last thing we want to do is leave yield behind in the field.
Here in Northwest Ohio, harvest windows can tighten up quickly when weather changes. That makes reliable equipment, efficient harvesting, and minimizing grain loss important parts of our overall operation.
Our experience with Drago corn heads goes back more than a decade. Since purchasing our first Drago in 2013, we’ve seen firsthand how the design has helped us reduce maintenance, minimize downtime, and, most importantly, keep more of the corn we grow moving into the combine.
Drago recently featured our family and operation in a customer story about our experience with Drago corn heads. After more than 10 years of running Drago equipment, we wanted to share our own perspective on why we continue to choose Drago at Maranatha Acres.
How We Got Started with Drago
Our move to Drago started in 2013 when Randy saw a Drago corn head at a regional farm show.
At the time, we were running a Case IH corn head and dealing with some of the typical wear items that come with putting a lot of acres through a header — deck plate wear, sprocket issues, and replacing gathering chains every couple of seasons.
The build quality of the Drago immediately stood out to Randy.
We went ahead and ordered a Drago Series II that year, and the difference was noticeable almost immediately. We liked how it handled the stalks and, just as importantly, how well it captured the ears and kept grain where it belonged, in the combine.
As our operation continued to grow, Drago continued developing the corn head. The Series II eventually evolved into the Drago GT, with improvements in all of the areas we saw as flaws in the Series II.
We then traded in our Drago Series II for a Drago GT. It was an easy decision.
What We Notice in the Field
After more than a decade with Drago, there are a few things that stand out to us every harvest.
Clean Feeding & Less Trash
One of the first things we noticed with the Drago was how cleanly it feeds corn into the combine.
With some corn heads, it’s common to see a ball of stalk material and trash build up directly in front of the feeder house. Not only does that put more material through the combine, but it can also contribute to header losses.
We simply don’t see that with our GT.
The Drago’s self-adjusting deck plates move independently from both sides to help center each stalk as it enters the row unit. As the stalk moves through the rollers, the design helps reduce kinking and breakage.
The result is a cleaner flow of material into the feeder house and less unnecessary trash going through the combine.
For us, that’s a pretty simple measure of a good corn head:
It eats corn.
Reducing Ear Bounce and Butt Shelling
Another feature we really appreciate is the QuadSuspension™ system on the Drago GT.
Dry corn and brittle stalks can create conditions where ears hit the deck plates and bounce right back onto the ground. That’s especially frustrating when we’ve already invested an entire season in growing that ear.
The QuadSuspension system uses shock absorbers underneath the deck plates to allow them to absorb some of that impact rather than sending the ear bouncing away.
We’ve noticed a difference in this area. Ears that might otherwise hit a deck plate and end up on the ground are more likely to stay in the row unit where the gathering chains can capture them.
That’s one of those features that may not be obvious when looking at a corn head sitting on a dealer’s lot, but it becomes pretty valuable when watching the header run through a field.
Less Time in the Shop, More Time Harvesting
Reliability is another major reason we’ve stayed with Drago.
Before switching to Drago, replacing gathering chains every year and a half to two years was just part of owning a corn head.
We haven’t had to replace the gathering chains on our Drago.
Instead, we’ve primarily needed periodic tension adjustments to keep them running properly.
Pre-harvest preparation is also straightforward. We check the gearboxes, grease the header, hook it up to the combine, and go.
That simplicity matters.
During harvest, we don’t want to spend our time rebuilding a header when we could be putting bushels in the tank.
We also use the Drago Club portal each fall as a quick refresher for maintenance. The service videos and manuals make it easy to double-check grease points and other maintenance items before heading to the field.
Local Dealer Support Matters, Too
Equipment is only part of the equation. Having a dealer we can trust is just as important.
We’ve worked with Paul Martin & Sons for our Drago equipment, and having a local dealer who understands our operation gives us another level of confidence.
Good dealer support isn’t necessarily about selling more parts or more equipment. For us, it’s having someone we can call, get an honest opinion from, and know that they’re going to help us make the right decision for our operation.
That kind of relationship matters when we’re trying to keep equipment running during a tight harvest window.
Protecting the ROI We’ve Worked All Season to Produce
A corn head isn’t just another piece of equipment to us. It’s one of the most important pieces of equipment during corn harvest. The goal is to have as much corn enter the grain tank as possible – and that’s why we choose Drago.
We spend months managing fertility, seed, weed control, fungicide applications, and everything else that goes into producing a crop. Once harvest starts, we want our equipment to do everything it can to preserve that investment.
That doesn’t necessarily mean harvesting faster.
It means capturing as much of the crop as possible, minimizing downtime, and keeping maintenance costs under control.
ROI is always an important part of the conversation we have with neighbors and fellow farmers. Quite a few of those conversations have ultimately led to the growers choosing to go with Drago after seeing what we’ve experienced with our own equipment.
Why We Continue to Choose Drago
After more than a decade of running Drago corn heads, the decision comes down to a few simple things:
- Great grain capture
- Clean feeding with less trash
- Reduced ear bounce and butt shelling
- Durability and reliability
- Less routine maintenance
- Less downtime during harvest
- Strong local dealer support
We’re not interested in changing equipment simply for the sake of changing equipment. When we find something that works well for our operation, holds up over time, and provides a good return on the investment, we have a reason to stick with it.
That’s been our experience with Drago.
At Maranatha Acres, we believe good equipment doesn’t have to be complicated. We’re focused on making practical investments that help us manage our crops efficiently, protect the yield we’ve worked all season to produce, and keep our operation moving when harvest conditions are right.
More than 10 years after buying our first Drago, we’re still running one for the same reason we bought the first one: it works.