Plow-Dirt balling up

I like to see complete un-broken ribbons all the way across the field...!! That is the way a properly adjusted AC plow will do it, and that is 7" deep with coverboards.. Sure is a pleasure to work it down, too... Had a guy "Help" one year with a JD 70 and a 3-14" pull-type plow...when it came to working the ground down he wanted to work the part I plowed... I told him" You made that mess, you work it down"..!! Besides, hauling gas to that 70 was like pouring gas down a rat hole...never did get it above half a tank.!!

ground has to be moist for better penetration.

I never could understand why some of the fellas would go to all the trouble of plowing and still end up leaving a third of the residue on top.

But, we all do it differently, I guess. Maybe it is a dry land/irrigated thing? Dunno.

Allan

Link loading="auto" style="width:auto;height:auto">

Howdy! I hope it's a nicer day there than it is here....Raining and cold. Turning to snow flurries later today.

I guess when you farm on a pool table like that picture, you don't worry so much about hard rains carrying away your land....Here, we need that residue left on top to keep the soil in place. Back when we still did tillage, we went to great amounts of effort to keep some of it on top. The ones that still plow, rip, chisel, disc, ect. aim for at least 35% left on the surface. Things vary from state to state and county to county. But back east here, where us REAL farmers are at..... ....

LOL. John

I think that fella farms up in South Dakota. You're not the only one, I've had other guys tell me that they do it that way to prevent soil erosion as well.

Down in this country it isn't the rains, because there just aren't any, it is the darned wind, which will carry the soil away, hence our need for the rotary hoes. :>)

Since I was raised on flood irrigated farm country, I learned to farm in such a fashion as to never leave as much as a single "stick" above the ground, because any trash at all would absolutely ruin your day when it came time to pour the water to 'er. :>)

Probably why you and I are always 'bumping heads'. :>)

Later Dude,

Allan

I never could understand why some of the fellas would go to all the trouble of plowing and still end up leaving a third of the residue on top.

But, we all do it differently, I guess. Maybe it is a dry land/irrigated thing? Dunno.

Allan

Link loading="auto" style="width:auto;height:auto">

Can't believe you are trying to plow standing grass. :>)

Ya gotta disc it first, ya know. Maybe twice at different angles if it is real heavy cover.

Allan

You can really make that work for you?

I tried it once, was 10 times worse to get the cut grass through the plow. Never, ever again.

Standing grass should pull through just fine, stays anchored in the ground.

If his ground is wet, the disk makes bricks. Ick.

I'll guess his plow is rusty or not adjusted to his tractor properly.

Dad used to plow down 4+ foot tall sweet clover, wires on the coulters. That was something! Never plugged.But, loose stalks, straw, even bean stalks - ugh with the old low-clearance plows.

--->Paul

Different things work for different folks in different parts of the country, that's for sure.

Also, as you say, moisture has a huge effect on what a fella is trying to do and I would suspect trying to plow down standing grass in the middle of December could be somewhat of a headache.

But to answer your question, yes, I would not even consider turning a heavy cover crop without first knocking it down and getting it to the point of it being at least "manageable".

If on the other hand, the disc still will not cut the cover, then it is for darned sure to wet to be in the field. :>)

Allan

Make things much worse. If it's a little too wet for plowing, it's _way way_ too wet for disking.

--->Paul

Dont know about disking it first. Tried that once and it made thing worse. How tall is the grass. We turned under clover one time with an F-12 and a TE-20 and weed rods on the plows. That was when I was 9 and if I stood up on the Ferguson I was about as tall as the clover.

It may be as the others say,you need to properly adjust your plow. You should get a manuel for both the tractor and plow.

steveormary