We've been scuffing up some fields to be returned to hay over the summer and our farm's 3pt disc (5ft two gang) is getting a workout. This disc belongs to my Dad, but everyone in the family uses it. I just started using it and have been pleasantly surprised as how well it skins the soil. In as much as we are the Saudis Arabia of rocks, I now feel this is the route we need to go in preparing our ground for replanting for grass hay or alfalfa vs moldboard plowing or even tilling.
The plan is to lime, fertilize, based on soil samples, work that stuff-in via the disc. Once we've got the ground worked up pretty good, we'll hit it with roundup and then plant and pack down the seeds with our recently aquired cultipacker.
Working our fields takes the family disc from occasional garden and deer plot duty, to some pretty heavy duty use - so I feel I should buy my own disc and if I break it, it's on me, no one else's problem.
I like a 3pt hitch disc from a transport standpoint, but it leaves something to be desired when turning in our odd shaped fields where perhaps a tow behind disc would do.
The minimum tractor I've got is my trusty MF50 diesel. So whatever I get - can't be so large that the MF can't pull it.
Any advice on disc harrows to seek out for what I'm doing? I see 3pt, a few pull behind disc harrows - most look like they are a few pulls from a repair. Ford, MF - any particular brand disc you would recommend just on repair parts availability?
Below is a link to the Nebraska test for my MF50. Max drawbar at almost 2000 rpms is 32ish hp. The MF runs at around 1400 ish rpms at 540 PTO speed. I like he sound of the tractor there - don't want to abuse the machine. Maybe I should up the rpms to 2000 and get use to that and perhaps no harm will come to the 54 year old tractor?
5, 6, 7, 8 ft - what do you recommend for the hp I have? 3pr or pull behind? How do you transport a pull behind without tearing up the ground between fields?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks!
Bill
MF50 Diesel Nebraska Test
The plan is to lime, fertilize, based on soil samples, work that stuff-in via the disc. Once we've got the ground worked up pretty good, we'll hit it with roundup and then plant and pack down the seeds with our recently aquired cultipacker.
Working our fields takes the family disc from occasional garden and deer plot duty, to some pretty heavy duty use - so I feel I should buy my own disc and if I break it, it's on me, no one else's problem.
I like a 3pt hitch disc from a transport standpoint, but it leaves something to be desired when turning in our odd shaped fields where perhaps a tow behind disc would do.
The minimum tractor I've got is my trusty MF50 diesel. So whatever I get - can't be so large that the MF can't pull it.
Any advice on disc harrows to seek out for what I'm doing? I see 3pt, a few pull behind disc harrows - most look like they are a few pulls from a repair. Ford, MF - any particular brand disc you would recommend just on repair parts availability?
Below is a link to the Nebraska test for my MF50. Max drawbar at almost 2000 rpms is 32ish hp. The MF runs at around 1400 ish rpms at 540 PTO speed. I like he sound of the tractor there - don't want to abuse the machine. Maybe I should up the rpms to 2000 and get use to that and perhaps no harm will come to the 54 year old tractor?
5, 6, 7, 8 ft - what do you recommend for the hp I have? 3pr or pull behind? How do you transport a pull behind without tearing up the ground between fields?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks!
Bill
MF50 Diesel Nebraska Test