looking at getting 4 row cultivator for Farmall 656

I'm considering getting a 4-row cultivator for my Farmall 656.

I'm thinking of going back to doing mechanical cultivation in my row crops (corn and soybeans). Because it might let me use less herbicides. And it might help with the increase in glyphosate-resistant weeds.

Two questions:

1) Do you think it's ok to start doing some mechanical cultivation? I haven't done it in about 15 years.

2) What would be the best cultivator for a 656? I'm looking at an IH 184 that has "barrowing off disk and shields". What are those?

What should I be looking for in a good row crop cultivator? What would be the best brands? Thanks for any advice!

Cultivating too early can actually hurt your herbicide control. It buries the chemical too deep and can help germinate more weeds if the crop does not canopy fast enough.

I can't comment on the do's or dont's of cultivation because farming isn't what it was when I quit but if you go that route definitely look for a front mounted unit vs a 3 point rear mount. The only reasons I would run a rear mount would be if I could not find a front mount or if that's the only tractor you own and it had to be taken on and off the tractor more than once a year. Some of the later front mounts went on and off the tractor lots easier than ours did. The front mounted A-C were particularly easy but on our M and SMTA they were put on tbe tractors when we were done planting beans and stayed on until the crops were too tall to get through. We had other tractors for hay and chores.

Make sure it is a later model with the shovels further apart on longer ranks so trash goes through. Older models the shanks were so close that todays trash levels won't feed through. Also avoid the danish tine models as they flex too much and go around tough weeds.

I'd go with a 183 or even the old IH 153. The 184 is a no till cultivator and is flipping HEAVY. Single shank with a wide sweep. The disks are used close to the row for flipping dirt. 656 should easily handle a 6 row, but if you plant in 4, then 4 it is. If you no till, then the Hiniker is great. I'm not sure any one brand is better than another.
AaronSEIA

Whether or not you till and how much trash you leave is going to be a major factor in what you cultivate with, or if you can cultivate at all. If you plow, disk, harrow, and plant, about any cultivator will work. If you completely no-till, cultivating is going to be pretty painful. Any type of tillage in between will depend on what you can use. I use a 725 John Deere, but I till. In trashy conditions, it will plug.

If you do go for it, there are a few front mount IH 78 cultivators on the Madison WI CL right now for $1000 (4r) and $2000 (6r)

Good luck--around here nobody cultivates but the organic people. So instead of a field of solid weeds, you will end up with a field of rows of weeds. My first tractor-H John Deere with 2 row cultivator.---Tee

I still cultivate my sweet corn with a Deere RM cultivator.Spent many hours as a kid with it on the 4020. Watch out for the dreaded cultivator blight!

We use to call it Iron Worm---Tee

Little farmer, I do not know your tractor so don't know if capable of front mount or not but a front mount will do a better job and easier to keep on the row. That tractor may or may not be able to use a front mount but the older tractors with the front mount even without power steering were easier to operate than the rear mount. I know because I used a late John Deere A with 4 row front mount and no power steering and a Ford 4000 (4100 Blue 3 cylinder tractor) with a 4 row rear mount and after a couple of years with that rear mount I put the cultivators back on the Deere and went from dreading the cultivating with the Ford to a pleasure again with the Deere. Cultivating or not if it will do any good will depend on what herbicides you use. premerge broadcast, premerge banded in row or post emergence and that will depend on what weeds you have. Haven't farmed for several years so do not know what herbicides are out there now but that will be a big factor if cultivating will work or not. I mostly banded herbicide with planter but depended on individual field conditions and sometimes sprayed later in season. Never used roundup as where I tried using it for quack grass in wheat stuble both applied by me and dealer applied it never even stunted that quack grass. Even your row width can come into consideration as the difference between 30" rows or 40" rows requires different ways to handle things. Some cultivators cannot be set corectly for narrow 30" rows.

Thee days I use a 'belly mount' cultivator on a 'dedicated' M Farmall.use both front and rear tools.For your purpose,a 3 point culitivator would do just fine. I recommend a Danish S tine.However as guys have said,big and tough weeds can push the sweep aside. Any brand is fine as long as it is not worn out.Many years ago I had a Farmhand,later a JD RM. Currently have a White. It is the heaviest of all. They all worked equally well.

Never heard that one! I would alway mess up when i would mess with the old fender radio. I bought an audiovox radio one summer with my sweet corn money so I could listen to my ac/dc tapes!

Here is what I used last year. Mostly cause it took me back to the good old days. I did not have many weeds anyway. But even as ridged as are I saw a tough weed or two that they did not take out. This year I plan to have the field sprayed a little earlier.

I don't know model numbers, but spent a lot of my youth on an IHC 300 and Ford 960 with belly mount cultivator. Worked well, easy to steer.

Spent a fair amount of time with a 3ph cultivator, they are a little less forgiving. Hills mess with them, and to correct you need to make it worse before it gets better, tail behind the dog...

The attachments you mention are good. The disc blades replace the inner shovels and cut the weeds away the first pass. The shields protect the young crop from getting covered.

The trouble with cultivation is no one remember how, or has the time. You can't get around to it.... you need to be killing the weeds when they are tiny white spears you can't see from the tractor seat. If you wait to see the weeds from the end of the field, you are way way to late.

A row cultivator is the worst erosion creating machine in my soils, I'm kinda glad we don't any more. In my soil type, a fall plowed field will stay rough and cloudy and not wash. In late spring when you row cultivate here you create small rivers of loose fine dirt and it is our rainy season, it becomes a terrible thing here.

The older cultivators with 3 or more shovels between rows do not like heavy trash on the surface, as we tend to leave today. I couldn't get one to work any more. The newer single shank, big flat shovel, work well I hear. Something to consider.

Paul

183 IH. hands down. I've used a lot of brands and this is by far the best. I had to add lift assist as could not lift it with this tractor. Stay away from S-tine. They are just barely better then nothing.

Forgot pictures

Years ago I tried puting the big sweeps on my cuktavator taking the middle ror of sweeps off to get more trash clearance. Found out those sweeps do not work. They have to have a bit of tilt to go into ground and when you get them where they will go into the ground when the point is where you want it for depth the ends of the wings on the sweeps are above the ground. Think those sweeps are still laying around 20 years later someplace.