disk sizing

[Karl Kostman]

Hello Folks I have a 730 diesel it s 59 the tractor has about 200 hours on an overhaul and it runs very well. I have 160 acres of CRP land and my contract is approaching its midterm meaning I have two options according to the CRP office one is I can cut the grass but it has to be removed, meaning baled and the bales need to be burnt (as in fire) and a rep. from the CRP office needs to witness this activity! and NO I am not kidding. The second option is to disk the land and they require 4 inches of soil penetration to meet their standards. Now this land has not been turned in a long time so I feel a standard disk wont touch it so I am looking for a 10 ft offset disk and my thinking is that will have enough weight and cutting design to get done what I need? As far as the 10 ft width in my readings it sounds like I could possibly go to a 12 ft disk but that may be pushing the tractor to hard?
I could sure use some thoughts and opinions on this subject please!
Thanks much
Karl

 

[Fordy20]

Had this disc when I had my 730 and it would go down a good 6" in almost any soil. However, it was really heavy. Even with weights on the front of the tractor it still wanted to come up. Scary job trying to load it on a gooseneck.

 

[diesel fumes]

if you are talking offset disk,which is what it woud take for crp , the 730 will not pull 10 footer; we farmed with 30 series jd . 9ft offset was too much for the 730, so always hooked up the 830 .also disk will not go deeper into soil because it is wider.

 

[David G]

I really like to burn my CRP in place every 3 years, comes back super nice.

 

[Old Farmall Fan]

If you pull an offset disk through that you will be mad every time you bounce across it thereafter. I have been spraying a light dose of Roundup on my CRP for Mid Contract Management and I would recommend either doing that or burning it.

 

[J Hamilton]

I didn't think tillage of any kind was allowed on CRP ground, it's supposed to be for erosion control and tillage aids in erosion.

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 19:09:42 10/30/20) if you are talking offset disk,which is what it woud take for crp , the 730 will not pull 10 footer; we farmed with 30 series jd . 9ft offset was too much for the 730, so always hooked up the 830 .also disk will not go deeper into soil because it is wider.

Ditto 10 ft offset disk is too large for a JD 730 D. I think 6 or 7ft offset disk would be a better match

 

[LonM]

I think an offset disk would be too detrimental to the sod. For mid-term management,we disk our CRP with a 210 john deere, running fairly shallow, and still get good results. A 210 is not a heavy disk at all... A disk with straight blades or a Salford both work well too. They cut up the residue but don't disturb the soil very much.

Lon

 

[Tx Jim]

I once owned a JD 210 disk. Good luck getting it to penetrate 4'' in CRP land.

 

[Loosehandle]

What kind of a mess is burning bales from 160 acres going to be? I'd get a ridged type 8 foot disc add weights and get ear protection....

 

[David G]

I would really recommend just burning it without cutting, no sense making it rough with disk. The hotter the fire the better, the base that builds up kills all the weeds and energizes the bluestem. I have had the best luck with weed control by doing it as late in the spring as practical, plan on it the week before weather is warm enough to plant corn.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

We have a 730 diesel and a ten foot disc. The 730 can pull the disc cutting corn stalks where you're not going very deep, but for anything more aggressive like fitting hayfields it can't do it, so we leave that to the 80. I suppose the 730 could pull the disc in sod, since it doesn't sink in like in plowed ground where you're fitting it, but I really haven't tried it. But anyway, it'd be about all it could handle.

 

[Karl Kostman]

loosehandle please excuse my lack of disk knowledge but what is a ridge type disk and your thoughts are to load it up with weight (estimate how much) and how wide would I be able to go yet still be able to pull it effectively with the 730D?

 

[Karl Kostman]

Hey guys first off I just wanted to say THANKS for sharing your great knowledge on the disking with my 730 and I sure dont want to make this field a rough offroad course, so the offset disking is going to be out, I will likely be looking at a more conventional type disk of the kind that I can get at least a little soil penetration! I checked with the FSA office and as much as I really like the idea of burning it off that is not allowed in ND and I honestly have no clue how BIG of a mess it would be to burn all the hay off this piece and I sure hope I never have to find out!
Do you folks think that if I found a conventional disk with the cutouts, or almost like serrations in the blades that would be able to cut through the grass and get into the soil at least a little bit, and of course in a width that my tractor could adequately handle?
Thanks again folks your knowledge has already helped my a whole lot!!

 

[fixerupper]

I have never heard of baling CRP and burning the bales. 160 acres of bales will smoke for weeks if set on fire and would have to be monitored the whole time. The only options I have ever heard of is burning the grass standing or disking. Everyone in my area including me burns the standing grass. No one hits it with a disk. A disk will make it rough forever.