Last month, I wrote about our "go devil." For those not familiar, it is a cultivator-like implement.

I didn't really know much about it. My dad and uncle had one, but they used it rarely. As a kid, I vaguely remember they used the go devil to cultivate the corn. It has probably been 40+ years since it was last used.

And, to be perfectly honest, I didn't even know if we still had the "go devil" on the farm considering we moved here nearly 30 years ago. I should have known better -- we certainly never get rid of old machinery.

It took me a minute to find it -- the old implement was right behind an old portable hay feeder we had to stop using when there was nothing left on it to weld to. It was right next to the old John Deere three-point, four-row wide cultivator I cultivated with in my youth. Since we went to 30-inch rows several years ago, neither implement has been used since.

Luckily, our readers have MUCH more knowledge of these "go devils." Here are their stories.

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"We had an IH 4 row, 38" pull-type go dig. Also, we bought a John Deere 4 row, 36" three-point mounted one when we switched to 36" rows. Much like the one that you've pictured.

"However, the one that you've pictured has what is called a "trip saver" mounted on it. Meaning the long bar across the back of the cultivator with the shanks and wide sweeps to undercut the weeds in the middle of the rows.

"It appears the disks are set to throw out and the sweeps would kill the weeds as well as somewhat leveling the dirt, saving an additional trip across the fields. I'm very familiar with these."

Marlan Johnson

Alvo, Nebraska

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"In our area of south-central Nebraska, the go dig was also referred to as a weeder. I have used the 4-row weeder, both pull type and mounted as well as a front-mount cultivator. Then we had a 6-row weeder.

"The next step was a bar extended to the rear of the front bar with shanks that split what was left of the ridge. We called that a trip saver.

"Pretty much did the throw out and throw in the same pass."

Tom Moore

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"The two-row lister and the four-row go dig do work together. The go dig had 2, two-row units mounted on the main frame with rollers so they could follow the lister ridges independently with large bell wheels.

"I also remember an F-20 that my dad and uncle would add rear dual wheels so it would straddle the lister ridges. I used a three-point lister and three-point go dig for several years when I began farming in 1972.

"It was a lot of work but a simpler way of controlling weeds without causing resistance in the weed population."

Terry Woollen

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I thank Marlan, Tom and Terry for their informative emails about their experiences with go devils. Or go digs. Or weeders.

Terry's email was in response to part of my column from last month when I mentioned that we had an old two-row, loose-ground lister and this four-row go devil.

I just assumed that a two-row lister and four-row go devil probably did not work together. Obviously, I was incorrect. To be fair, I did write that I knew very little about either.

The two-row, loose-ground John Deere lister was originally my grandpa's and we inherited it. I guess he used it for his main planter until he bought a four-row planter sometime in the 1950s my dad estimated.

My dad and uncle took one row unit off of it and used it in my childhood to plant rows which were skipped by their John Deere 1240 planter. Then they bought their first John Deere 7000 planter, and the skips were less frequent. At some point, we put the one row unit back on the two-row lister and then we used it for many years to plant our sweet corn.

I think the four-row go devil was something my dad and uncle bought after they took over the farming for my grandpa in the late 1960s. I believe my dad said they bought it on a local farm equipment auction in the 1970s.

Do you have a go devil (or weeder) story you want to share? Please contact me today!

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

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