plowing back field

i have a field in the back about 500' x 500'. for the last 30 years nothing has been done with it, other than mow it the last 5 years or so. now that i finally live here i've decided to fence and plow it up and put in a nice pasture. have a 860 ford and a decent 2 bottom plow. i'm getting excited. while looking at my new plow it dawned on me i probably shouldn't just start plowing without asking for some pointers first. i'm sure some of you guys have forgotten more about plowing than i'm ever going to know. anyone have some helpful pointers / instructions? thanks.

dO YOU HAVE HORSES? cOWS? Why not plant it in alfalfa or corn and harvest it? That is 5 acres of farmland.15 tons of alfalfa per year. At 200 dollars a ton.

i want to get some cattle back there. i have 6 kids all struggling in todays world. i thought 1/2 beef apiece would make a good christmas present.

I can't help you much here, but what does your new plow look like?
Does it have coulters and good points/shares?
I turned some ground two years ago that hadn't been plowed in ~35 years.
My plow had not been used in many years and wasn't in the best of shape.
It was not pretty. I had to go over it several times with a disk.
I didn't have a field cultivator or anything like that to use.
I did get it done, but it took some time and effort.
The better shape I got my equipment in, the easier it went.
Best of luck to you and I'm sure the kids would think that was a great gift!

I can certanly say, beef makes a GREAT Christmas present, as long as they realise the value (both of the meat, and knowing where it came from) and are greatful.

My parents used to butcher a steer or heifer every year for Christmas, but one of my brothers got greedy and others didn't really use much of their share because they live farther away, so they quit doing it. They still let me have at the freezer, but I work on the farm for them.

Not much I can say as far as plowing goes, but it's gonna take a while with a 2 bottom plow. It is a good size field though, if I did my math right it's 6 1/4 acres. Can grow plenty of hay on it.

Donovan from Wisconsin

If it is really weeds and not much grass. it will be tough to get it back to hay/pasture. I would use a broad leaf weed killer on it before plowing and after emergence.
As to the plowing, start with a back furrow, go a measured 70ft in from one side measure both ends and put a white flag on a branch or post.
Adjust the plow so it turns a pretty good set of furrows with both wheels on the level. Proceed from about 20 ft from one end to no closer than 20 ft from the other, in a straight line keeping the flag in sight.
Turn around to the right and plow the opposite direction, with the right wheel just edging onto the turned earth from the other set of furrows.
When you get to the starting end, turn into the furrow, the right wheel will be in the furrow.
Stop and adjust the plow to level with the wheel in the furrow. Experiment to get it so each bottom is making equal depth cuts. (may require some digging to make sure.
Continue around and around this "land" (what it is called) till you get as close to the fence as comfortable.
Measure from the last furrow to the next 70 foot back furrow. and repeat the process. When you finish this "land" you will have a "dead furrow" where two furrows are in the same place. No issue, it will be disked somewhat smooth.
Repeat until you get to the far side of the field.
Make the last "land" 1/2 the distance to the side fence so that it will finish off the field.
Then do the headlands. Plow with the earth turning toward the field. Drive back to the other end of the same headland to keep the single furrow on the outside toward the fence. Jim

Good advice, but don't let it all overwhelm you. Before you start plowing you should see if you can find any dead furrows left from the last time it was plowed. If you can find some signs of previous deadfurrows then just plow the field using them for markers. Just remember the least times you split the field the better because you will leave fewer dead furrows yourself. Just try to drop your plows and pick them up the same distance from your headlands that way when you plow your headlands a few quick passes will finish them up. Also leave enough room on your headlands to turn and reset inline with your furrow but not too much because headlands are a one way deal and you don't want to spend to much time driving around and around to finish them up. Bottom line is besides deciding where to strike out you just keep doing circles till its done. Good luck. Ps- don't get discouraged how hard and slow it is. When your plow gets shined up it will pull easier and the big thing is people tend to exagerate just how many bottom plows and how fast they did it years ago. I think you will have your hands full especially with the hard ground but you will get used to it.

There are some pretty nice youtube videos on setting up 3pt hitch plows to plow properly. I think Leinbach may be the company that produced them.

A lot of people just hang the plow on the tractor and root up the ground, proud of the mess they made. Get it set up so it's plowing level front to back and side to side at a consistent depth and you can do a real nice job of plowing and not have a whole bunch of work getting the ground leveled back out so you can drive over it again.

i realize grazing this summer is not going to happen. i thought i'd split the field in half once the grass gets established, and make a little hay, on the half the animals don't graze. i don't have much in the way of equipment, but my neighbor has offered to help me out with first years crop if his health allows. it has taken me 34 years to move onto this property. i can't start to explain how excited i am. thanks for all the help.

I have always use the 15 pace land for laying out a field. (a pace being about a three foot walking step) I pace over from the edge at both ends and set a stake. I plow my back furrow to the stakes. I plow that land until I get to the edge where I started pacing. I then start pacing from the last furrow and set a stake 45 paces and plow until I have a 30 pace land with a 30 pace unplowed land in-between the two plowed lands. Plow between ending up with a dead furrow. The next time I plow I would locate the dead furrow and make that my back furrow. A level plow has been covered to have a good looking job.

If it has any fescue in it, I would consider spraying it with Roundup first, then wait two weeks to plow it.

I would also consider getting a disk in there and disking the heck out of the sod before plowing.

If you can cut that sod up with a disk, you dont have those big slabs to try to work down.

Whatever you do, dont plow it wet. You'll never get it worked up then.

You really need to consider spraying. You need to kill out everything present to start a good, new pasture.

also, again with fescue, (I hate fescue) lots of the country is infested with the Endophyte that gets in fescue and causes toxicity to cattle.

Might want to check that out on the net. There are new varieties of Endophyte free fescue seed if that is what you seed back.

Good luck, Gene

First things first. Are the plow bottoms and shares rusty? If so, get a wire wheel or a flap disc sander and remove as much rust as possible. The plow will not begin to do a good job until it scours. Wear goggles and a dust mask. Chris

If you do not have it, save this PDF file and read it.

About the only other suggestion I would have is when setting it up, the spot needs to be "flat". I usually do it on the road since I do not have a concrete pad. In the grass is tough because inches make a difference.

You should literally be turning it upside down. in one nice continuous flow (sod).
Ford plow book

If you don't have the equipment, get someone in the area to put corn in it for a year. Old sod grows great corn and it will break down the sod clumps and help eliminate the weeds when they spray it. You could rent it to them or pay them to do what you can't and have a corn check in the fall. It will be a lot smoother and cleaner.

You can't grow feed for cows and pasture them on the same land. There's more to finishing beef than letting them out to graze. Farm the land use the profit to buy finished steers.

I can't claim to be an expert, but it sure seems the advice given has covered everything, from layout, to adjusting the plow level in the furrow and what happens when the results are not desirable from any or all of what was said.

I've had the experience of breaking ground that was idle for as long as that, cleared with a rotary cutter, a few small stumps and heavily root bound soil, which here is a loamy top soil, some round rock, some clay/gravel etc.

In my experience with the conditions described and watching the farmer plow since I was a kid, its mostly the correct adjustment of the plow and the plow wear parts being within tolerance, not worn out. This seems to make the difference. I think its ideal to have the coulters on and set at a depth of 1"-2" max. I learned a lot by fooling with 3 different plows one a Ferguson AO 14" , a Ford 110 1-16" and a Ford 101 2-16"'s. All 3 had appreciable wear, the Ferguson was a basket case, but I did get it to work with decent results, the 110, eventually gave the best results and pulled so easily, all I had to do was level it with one wheel chocked up about 8" or so, I did not have to adjust the width of cut or how it trailed, seemed like that was right on. I enjoyed the heck out of using it, and the results were excellent, compared to earlier attempts. Now I need to master that 101, which has new wear parts, except moldboards, only dilemma is thick root bound sod in deep top soil, I did finally see some good results, after I got away from that deep top soil, it wanted to go a little too deep and would not completely flip the sod, stand on end or just a little over, but when I got in an area that I had worked before, still 1 year of sod or weeds, mostly grasses, not as deep top soil, it performed almost perfect, results were good. I'm using an old tractor, draft control does not seem to be working on it, lot of variables to consider, the goal was to get the top completely under to get a good kill off.

The only thing I can suggest is to test it out until you get desirable results, vs forging ahead and doing a less than desirable job, you do want to get this part of the tillage done right.

Most farmers here would plant corn if the ground was idle for a long time and I have seen the results of one area that I recall in thick sod since the early 80's. He plowed it up with an IH 5 bottom, then the disc, we planted corn in it and for some reason the fertilizer was not dropping, that corn was really nice, tall, lush green and produced nicely, just like the advice below, we had oats right next to it so I got a good look mid summer, for some reason no one plated that section for years, I had the job of trimming and pushing trees back in there ahead of the plow.

The photos show what I did to level the plow and the results, which I think were good, this garden plot was in sod, the plow left nothing exposed, clean furrow etc.

The best strategy will vary a lot with the part of the country that you are in.

Lot of good advice given here.

Here is an example of what NOT to do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSiErEFuGk

If you're not in a big rush talk a friendly neighborhood farmer into planting that patch of ground with round up ready beans and plow the bean stubble next fall. The ground will work up a lot nicer.

That was hilarious. The sad part is the guy has a you tube channel and knows about you tube..but clearly doesn't watch anything else despite a wealth of information on how to do it right.

I've never seen anyone screw up plowing a garden so badly as that guy did.

The icing on the cake was using the adjustable row crop cultivator on the freshly turned green sod...

Two idiots, but that was funny, it's amazing what's on utube!
Like someone else said, why don't he watch it and learn how
to do it right. Lol

Good tight fence around field first, then let spring farrowed pigs at the field- about 10 to the acre so 50/70 litle critters and 6 to 10 mamas. Sell pigs in fall, send sows away also and disc once, over winter and then one pass spring with disc and plant beans or corn depending on your gowing season. Fall harvest, disc winter wheat as ground cover nurse crop and overseed in spring with whatever grows locally. Bale wheat green for feed or let mature for meal and straw bales. Plowing is one way, pigs are another way to dig up field- and the disc plow instead of moldboard is the way to go with rough stumped fields. If you have low ground that gets a bit wet- start in middle of field and work outwords- then the dead furrows are at edge of field and drainage improved a bit in center that gets slight rise. Put a fnce down middle for 2 fields is good idea, 2 fences for 3 small paddocks may be better- what was done with about dozen sheep for a rotation with 2 acres fields. Cattle need a head high plus shelter, pigs and sheep can be stuck in XL doghouses and can be wrestled down by a medium sized healthy lady- you want to stop a startled steer by yourself? Cattle fence needs to be igher than hog fence a bit- but should be just as strong. Sheep can be held in with a bit lighter fence, T posts and 3 instead of 4/5 foot woven wire and one top barb instead of 2. Dorpers are self shedding and bred for meat. Shetlands are lighter but get premium price as meat or fleece- Fawteen posts sometimes and has had fair luck with them as weed eaters and supper fixings. Fancy mounted plows a bit more than I started out with in youth - pull types with clevis mounted to drawbar and a trip rope with open wire loop at back of seat for when hitting stump. Last pasture plowed few years back was after mother"s last cows sold and then I used a 3 bottom fast hitch with IHC 350D. RN

Oh man, I needed a good laugh today. That was
almost too much. Thanks!

It depends on lots of things, like where you are: the climate and what grows well there;like what is growing there now: like what kind of soil you have and if it has been farmed previously; like what your long term plans are for the field; like how much time you have to work on the project(s); and probably many more factors.

If it is very weedy now, you probably will end up needing to spray the weeds, no matter what else you do. Most weeds produce lots of seeds, and you WILL be dealing with those seeds for years. Some weeds can be dealt with by spot spraying, but most will require more thorough application.

If the ground was previously tilled and used for crops, it probably could be tilled again fairly easily and with some fertilizer, it probably would grow things again. On the other hand, if it has never been tilled, or it is a very long time since it was tilled, there is probably a reason, like too many big rocks, worn out or bad soil, or not enough moisture ever available for crops. Most good appearing land has, at one time or another, been tried as farmland. Lots of marginal, or poor land has also been tried, but often farming it was abandoned after the farmer decided it was not profitable.

It is fun to plow ground up, but then you really have to do something more with it. To get it ready for planting a crop, it needs to be disked, harrowed, possibly leveled and maybe other passes with machinery. If your ground is like some of mine, you will also need to pick LOTS of rocks off of it and put them someplace else, hopefully not someplace where you will need to move them again. If you just plow the ground and do not do anything else with it, you will get LOTS of weeds, which will require spraying, possibly multiple times. If you do nothing, you will probably make your neighbors mad at you, and even possibly local government might give you grief over the weeds.

Unless you get lots of rain and it is a fairly warm climate, I would not plan on raising more than a couple of steers on property of that size. Unless the ground is ULTRA productive, you will end up buying lots of hay and other feed if you try too many head of stock. BTDT! Never again.

It is a lot of work building fence, but this time of year is the time I like to do that job, since with the ground soft, it is fairly easy to pound in metal T posts. I like to use railroad ties for corners, gate posts, and occasionally along a fence run, but they require digging a hole, which can be challenging in my rocky soil. But it is a lot easier to dig now than it will be in the Summer when the ground is dry. I like my cow fences to be at least 4 strands of tight barbed wire on mostly T posts.

I think that I would start out by building a good cow tight fence around the property and then try putting a couple of feeder steers in that fenced area for the Summer. Then I would see what they would eat, and what they would not eat of what is growing on the property as it is. Then in the Fall, I would feed them some grain for a couple of weeks and then have them butchered. The steers would need a constant water supply, a salt block and not too much else for the Summer, unless it gets really hot there.

And plowing the ground? I probably would not do it this year, as you most likely have lots of other things to do getting settled. I would build the fence (although a fence is something you have to miss all the time with any equipment), try a couple of steers, and I would walk the property many times, seeing where things grow well, where there probably are rocks or other obstacles, and I would plan just what I wanted to do with that field. I would spot spray any weed patches, pick up any rocks or other junk on the property and really get it ready to farm, if that is what you truly want to do with the property. Tilling property and farming it requires lots of attention, time and machinery. Leaving something as pasture requires very little, and that might be a better overall choice for a small plot. But it is your decision of what YOU WANT TO DO. It takes some time for ground to go back to natural grass and other ground cover, which it probably now has. Good luck!