Spent a good bit of time in front of a rotary hoe. Only been about 35 years or so. First with the JD 720 and an old jd hoe that had been converted to a three point hitch. That tractor would “pop a wheelie” like no other! Later dad picked up a jd 400 hoe. It was a four wide/six narrow and not as heavy as the other one. We actually added a couple brackets to hold suitcase weights to make it more aggressive. We began switching to no-till about the same time that the wheel bearings started to go bad.
 
I use one occasionally in the garden to crack open a thick crust on the ground caused by.a hard beating rain. It helps newly planted seeds come up.
 
A farm not too far away used a fairly big one that they pulled with their White Field Boss on what was for around here a lot of acres of corn. That has been years though.
 
Last time was 1986, JD 400 on a 3010 and 4020. Landlord has an IH in the shed we moved it a couple years ago. Had my son take it through the cornstalks with the JD 630 so he can say he used one.
 
I think there is still one around here somewhere.
When I was a kid we used it, but not to actually pull weeds. We would use it after planting and we got a rain that crusted the ground. Would use it to break the crust to let the corn emerge.
Never did really understand how it could pull weeds without pulling the crop plant up.
 
I think there is still one around here somewhere.
When I was a kid we used it, but not to actually pull weeds. We would use it after planting and we got a rain that crusted the ground. Would use it to break the crust to let the corn emerge.
Never did really understand how it could pull weeds without pulling the crop plant up.
Most people have the wrong idea of how a rotary hoe works. It will not get weeds that are already up. That's why it will not hurt the crop that is already up. Rather it will get the weeds before they come up. It's kinda a "preemerge" tillage tool.

If your crop comes up clean people think there is no point in going over it with the hoe when actually that is the perfect time to do it. You cannot cleanup a field with a rotary hoe but you can keep a clean field clean.
 
I remember hoeing with our IH400. High fourth gear- a pretty good clip across the field. Seemed the hoe worked better the faster you went- within reason- or maybe it was a light draft load so could cover more ground. Anyway, I came to an end, slowed down a little (I was a kid so probably not much), and gave the steering wheel a spin. That's exactly what I got- the wheel spinning freely and no response from the front wheels!

Got it stopped before I hit the fence- barely- and sat for a moment to check my clothing situation. All good. Turned out a spring pin that connected the steering wheel shaft to the power steering unit had worked it's way mostly out. Tapped it back in place, scrounged a piece of baling wire to keep it there, and went back to work. Whew!
 
how many here have used a rotary hoe
how many here have used a rotary hoe
Just sold my 4 section JD hoe this fall. Hadn't used it in years but remember using it back in the day. Son hoed some recently planted milo this spring after a hard rain packed and crusted the soil which then started blowing when the wind hit 45-55 mph. He had to replant some of it; just harvested it about 10 days ago and he said it yielded 124 BPA which is pretty good for this dry part of the country.
 
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