Plowing

Ted in NE-OH · Jan 19, 2015

How many acres could a team of horses typically plow in a day with a single bottom plow??

How many acres could a 1940s tractor such as an AC Model B plow in a day with a single bottom plow??

Brendon-KS · Jan 19, 2015

I read somewhere once that a rule of thumb was one acre per day per horse. Don't know if that is true or not - I have no experience with "real horsepower" field work.

Assuming a 14" bottom at 3.5 mph would mean the tractor could plow close to a half acre per hour.

Leroy · Jan 19, 2015

Typically a single bottom sulky Plow would have had 3 head to pull it, walking plows were the only ones that used 2 head as there was less to pull with them. The tractor was geared for about the same speed as a horse walked, there were differences between horses. So the tractorwould be working at the same speed as the team and width would be the same so the only difference would be the amount of time the team had to be rested while the tractor could keep on going. John Deere with the B that was considered the same size as the AC B would have been pulling the same load and Deere advertised the B as doing the work of 4 horses. So figuring 1 horse was rested 1/3 of the time to use the 4 horses it would figure out to the same acreage per plow wether tractor or horse pulled. Typically the sulky plow and the tractor plow wopuld have been a aingle 14" bottom while a walking plow was more than likely a 12" plow and that would acount for some of the difference in a team pulling a walking plow as against 3 head on a sulky plow. As of now it is 5 head on a 2-14" tractor plow. And they are steel wheel clutch lift plows dating to that time.

Ron Muhlenkamp · Jan 19, 2015

Dad said for plowing they'd use one team in the AM and a second team in the PM. Western Ohio-Indiana
Also MPH times width in feet divided by 10 equals acres per hour.

David G · Jan 19, 2015

My FIL has stories about using the horses when he was a kid, I like hearing the stories.

brian(MN) · Jan 19, 2015

Guys have told me a tractor and a 2 bottom plow could get 12 acres plowed in a good day. Brian

Dick2 · Jan 20, 2015

I think most of the horse drawn plows were 2-bottoms of 12" shares for a total of 24" cut.

The standard at the time was to drive the horse 20 miles in a day; that was that limit for most horses. If you know tha length of the field, you can calculate the acres.

Knew a fellow that worked on a large Bonanza farm in ND. The hired men would leave the headquarters with a team and 2-bottom plow and plow 5 miles south and then 5 miles back north. They made 1 round in the morning and 1 round in the afternoon and had their 20 miles in for the day. It took a lot of horses, small equipment and hired men to farm those big farms at that time.

Almost all of those big farms went bankrupt.

Leroy · Jan 20, 2015

Most farmers did not have enough horses for that.

Leroy · Jan 20, 2015

In some areas of the country that were not nearly as populated they did have bigger farm and did have the gang plows as you are refering to in 2, 3 and even 4 bottom sizes. Around here Ohio they did not have those, just the walking plow or the sulky plow and the sulky plow is only a single bottom and was usually a 14" bottom but they were also made with 12" or 16" bottoms. I am learning about them as they are one of the machinery items on my list that I am trying to find for my Amish friends to use. Unless you had an 80 acre or larger farm you had only the sulky plow and most of the farms were in the 20-40 acre size with some in the 60 acre size. So no gang plows.

Donald Lehman · Jan 20, 2015

My father and grandfather told me they could do about an acre a day in a good day. Most days a bit less. Their first tractor was a Fordson on steel with a 2 bottom plow. They said that was like going to heaven compared with plowing with horses. Pop said he can remember Harvey Firestone visiting our farm and fitting the Fordson with rubber tires. What a joy he said it was to get rid of the steel wheels. Pop said Grandfather told him he would do whatever it took to come up with the money to buy those tires when Mr. Firestone returned later in the year.

With 5x16's behind my 1955 I could average 2 acres an hour in my conditions here. Quite a change.
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mb58 · Jan 20, 2015

One mule and a 6" turning plow. About an acre a day if you stayed with it from can to can't.

The Dukester · Jan 20, 2015

I used to think about the best I could do with my Super M and a 3-16 plow was about an acre and a half an hour. That was running 4 miles an hour plus in third gear with probably 10-12 percent slippage. 12-15 acres done in a 8-10 hour day and burned up at least 30 gallons of gas. Clay loam soils with a few rocks.

Plowing

Ted in NE-OH

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Brendon-KS

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Leroy

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Ron Muhlenkamp

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David G

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brian(MN)

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Dick2

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Leroy

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Leroy

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Donald Lehman

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mb58

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The Dukester

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