Plow Day questions

My dad did it twice, no limit, he payed for everyone's fuel and lunch. Had around 20 come.
 
Nope,anyone came come.The participants pay their own fuel,etc.We have a barbeque,have a real 'party'.We discourage big/modern equipment thou.
 
Did it twice some years back. NEVER AGAIN. No limit and for the second one we had 27 tractors. If it was just the 27 tractor drivers it might not be so bad but it is all the rest of the people that are the problem. People wondering all over your yard, in and out of your barns and sheds crawling all over your machinery, kids climbing on the granary roof and running around the house. Up on the house porch and swinging in the porch swing. Stealing stuff off the farm. Nope, never again.
 

DO request they have properly prepared equipment..

Most seem to show up with miss-matched, out-of-adjustment equipment that can only do a lousy job (at best)..

If it is "Just for fun", THEN DO GO FOR IT...!

Ron..
 
I have one every year always the last saturday of october. I have had good attendace when the weather co-operates. I dont furnish fuel but i do furnish lunch and drinks to all that show up. i have never had a problem wiyh theives or people going into my buildings yet.

i do try to help everyone set up their plow so we have a uniform plow job.

All in all they have went well and i am looking forward to oct for the next one.

gramps
 
Some folks do show up with substandard equipment.We can help them to get it right-educat a little.The little bit of plowing is often the only chance some of these folks get.A couple passes with a sisk and or land plane will smooth things right out.Above all,FUN (safty too) is the objective! Steve
 

Yes, it is always a "GOOD TIME"..!!

I usually spend most of my time twisting wrenches and making adjustments on many of them..

Old very rusty plows are always a problem..and tractors lightened up for "Pulling" usually cannot pull their rated plows(too light)..

Ron..
 
I"m gonna answer from the other side of the coin...as someone who is ALWAYS looking for more places for our club to plow. We have actually lost one of the places we annually plow due to equipment that isn"t adjusted/functioning properly, and people that don"t have a clue how to plow. For some reason some folks just are resistant to having anyone help them adjust, or asking questions, I have seen 2 different guys actually trying to plow with the wrong wheel in the furrow; one actually got mad and left when we stopped him and told him to turn around. We have guys that try to help with adjustments, but some people just keep on going never looking back...it"s a shame because good seat time is hard to come by. But we have never had a case of people entering buildings or abusing a farmers property. I would suggest that you ask the club leaders to do a little info session with their club at one of the meetings prior to the plow day, hopefully get people interested in plow/tractor adjustments and such
 
We soon will have our 7th annual plow day. Last year 55 tractors were plowing and 5 more were doing tillage work. We draw 150+ spectators, and the local 4-H sells the food and drinks; the kids love it as it gives them the experience of working with the public, how to count change and they make a good profit for their club.

Our rules:
1. All tractors have to be 1959 or older.
2. No passengers on tractors allowed.
3. No tailgating or hot-rodding.
4. You must have fun!

(1. Otherwise huge tractors with huge plows show up and the ground is plowed in a few minutes. We don't have large fields available.)
(2. We are strong on safety, and our drivers cooperate with us....liability issues are scary).
(3. Anybody wanting to show-off is sent home, we want a safe enjoyable day....and that is what we have...see #4.)

I ask many plow drivers to spend 1/2 hr to 1 hr in pulling "people mover" wagons and driving loader tractors....rarely get turned down. People like to help where they can.

Host farmer doesn't care much about some plows not set right....today's big equipment smooths out everything in one pass anyway.

Tractor drivers pay $5 entry fee which pays for porta pottie rentals. Drivers use their own fuel.

We do not set up near farm bldgs, we use field driveways down the road. Our local newspaper and radio station get involved with free advertizing and they attend the plow day and interview people. Sheriff sends a deputy to slow road traffic going by.

A local man makes an excellent 1/2 hr video, we sell them for $10 and the proceeds go to food pantries and other ag related donations.

With good weather, we might hit 60+ plowing this year. It's grown into an area high-lite for Spring.

But you have to have people involved who know how to set rules and people who like to follow them. People like to go to safe and enjoyable events.

I am proud of our local group!
LA in WI
 
Hi Lowell, the information you have given , sounds like a pretty interesting day.
Wish I was closer so I could be there to enjoy.
Cheers, Murray
 
What Is a land plane, not around the eastern part of country. 40 years ago, perhaps 50 one was brought into the plowing contest and the biggest Deere tractor at that time could not pull it.
 
If you're worried about people getting hurt or stealing, pick a field away from the farm buildings. Most of the plow days I've been to are at remote fields with no buildings in sight.
 
Hi Murray,

I"m watching our tree branches bending down with ice accumulation; 30F and misting so the ice keeps getting worse. No snow yet, just lots of ice.

Plow days: In my area we just get together, drop our plows in the ground, and then it is just follow-the-leader for the most part. It is not a contest, just a fun day.

I went to the Ontario Plowmen"s Association plowing event near Waterloo, Ontario last Sept. It was a real learning experience as they follow strict rules with different types of plows, how long they allow plowing, with judges scoring how perfect the furrows are turned, how straight the furrows, etc. That type of plowing is based on world-wide contest rules.

I admired the competitiveness, and at the same time the friendliness of the entrants. It seemed like long-time friends getting together like some sort of fraternity.

It looked to me that to win you needed a good Massey Harris #26 plow and a nice Massey Harris tractor; that brand was by far the most popular.

Hope to see you again sometime.

LA in WI
 
LA in WI - I know you are right about the big machinery, but let me just say that I host a plow day usually every year in Kansas. This past year a couple different guys practically made a mess. One was plowing about 1" deep with an old JD plow, and the other didn't have a stop on his and he went from 2" down to 10" or so, and then back to 2" etc. LOL! I kept thinking, oh well, I'll straighten it out later. No doubt my bigger machinery smoothed everything out in a couple of passes, but MAN it was ROUGH getting it smoothed back out! LOL! I'm like you though, I try to make sure everyone has fun. That is what it is all about. Bob
 
Thanks all for the input, I'm thinking about putting one together for a little fund raiser this fall. Got some good feedback
 
All plow days around here are all one club based members only plow days. You do not have strangers comming, perhaps club members you personally do not know but are known to others that you do know. No publicity except thru a club newsletter or phone calls or emails to members that would participate if too short a time to send out a newsletter. I don't think what you are thinking about would go over. I know I would not even consider going to something like that even to watch only.
 

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