Advice needed on Plows and Plowing

draftx · Sep 13, 2016

Got some weedy land we want to work up and plant in Orchard Grass and Timothy. Fields range from 3 acres to 10 . Got a Ford 5610 and a JD 2940 that we can use. Don't own any plows so going to have to buy one. Need advice on what to look for. And how much land can we expect to turn over in a day. Hope by plowing we can get rid of some weed seed that's been being dropped as the owners have been letting it go to seed and bushogging in the late Fall. Also I have never used a plow so need some advice on usage. Thanks

NY 986 · Sep 13, 2016

You have a wide variety of issues besides plow selection. My time is limited so I will cover weed management. Plowing will help weed management in the short term but long term other things need to be thought about. Establishing a hearty stand of grass depends in part on rainfall. You will need to have the ground ready for when rain is adequate so for conventional seeding the plowing should commence a couple months ahead of the anticipated seeding date barring probable erosion issues. Plants take hold and grow best when fertility is good and soil pH does not tie up nutrients. If the intended crop does poorly then the native plants (weeds) will overtake the crop jeopardizing the intended outcome. Most grasses will tolerate a wide range of drainage qualities but drainage along with droughtiness should be considered when picking species and varieties. Perhaps legumes which produce nitrogen for other plants such as grass should be considered based on adaptability. Got to go.

Tx Jim · Sep 13, 2016

5610 should handle a 3 bottom & 2940 3 or 4 bottom moldboard plow.

Good rule of thumb is multiply width of cut of plow X tractor MPH divide by 10 and that will yield a very close acres per hour plowed.

flying belgian · Sep 13, 2016

I don't know what size but for small fields a fully mounted plow sure is handy. Especially if they are odd shapes.

JMS/.MN · Sep 13, 2016

The previous owner of the third farm I bought had a 2940...he plowed a pasture with it- had either a 3 or 4 bottom semi-mount plow on it...this is heavy clay soil. I just remember pulling him out when he got stuck.

Regarding plowing acres per day...you can roughly figure a half acre per hour, per plow bottom. Granted, my 6-18 will do more than 3 acres per hour, but a lot depends on field size. Most of mine are from quarter-mile to half mile long rectangles. When you"re doing small plots, with a small plow, you don"t get as much...but hey- it"s more seat time! I haven"t plowed for years- it"s all disc chisel now...faster, no dead furrows, just work across the field. And faster than plowing. 6-18s is 9 feet per pass. Same tractor (JD 4450 MFWD) easily pulls a 12 foot disc chisel.

BushogPapa · Sep 14, 2016

I must tell you to not be surprised if you have a good deal of trouble with Grape and Poison Ivy Vines plugging your plow... we had a Devil of a time breaking ground in one field that had not been plowed for over 10 years and we were using a JD "R" and 4x16 Case Pull-Type plow...

Have your Coulters set LOW enough to cut all of the trash..

If you check, you will see an occasional reference of using a length of #9 Wire..allowed to drag from the Coulter mounts, to lay the Grass down, so it covers better...might be worth looking into..

showcrop · Sep 15, 2016

Plan on seeding in the fall, much less problem with weeds.

RustyS · Sep 15, 2016

You might save yourself some time by burning the field before breaking with a moldboard plow. If you need the plant matter under the soil then set the coulters deep.

Advice needed on Plows and Plowing

draftx

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NY 986

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Tx Jim

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flying belgian

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JMS/.MN

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BushogPapa

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showcrop

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RustyS

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