First pass on the year

[IaGary]

It wasn't over dry but it sure plowed nice.

 

[omahagreg]

Gary, looks REAL nice there! Are you min till and just breaking sod, or do you plow alot each year? Greg

 

[IaGary]

Just moldboard plow the sod.

I fall chiesel and one pass with a field cultivator in the spring on corn stalks to beans.

And one pass field cultivate in the spring on bean stubble and plant to corn.

Gary

 

[Lanse]

today i got my wheelhorse going, pulled a drag around in the unplowed ground and it was great. Have a good year gary!!!

 

[Jim k]

Hey this is a family site.
LOL

 

[Anonymous-0]

Using a guidance system? Appears to be a rather long and straight pass there. If not that is pretty impressive. I suppose that is some of your lighter ground too huh?

 

[Lee in Iowa]

How big a plow is that? Do you think I could pull a 6-16" on land hitch with a 1486? Lee

 

[IaGary]

That is 6-16s.

I use to pull it with a 966. And pulled it for years with a 1086.

The answer is yes.

Gary

 

[Lee in Iowa]

Thanks for the quick reply I know where I might be able to find one close by. I get tired of fighting the down hill wheel in the furrow in the hills, also be nice to be able to run both duals. Lee

 

[IaGary]

Yep it's the only way to plow.

I use to get a sore back with the in furrow 5 bottom from setting at an angle all day.

Gary

 

[Anonymous-0]

Lee I bought a 6-16 IH model 710 automatic reset on land hitch plow a couple of years ago to pull behind a 4-150 White. It pulls really nice and does a very good job. The guy I bought it from was pulling it with a 4440 JD.

 

[Texasmark]

I always heard that "corn belt" soil was some super stuff. What I'm seeing out the back of your moldboards is utterly amazing.

To get that here you'd have to harrow it half dozen times.

Congratulations.

Mark

 

[Fergienewbee]

Great looking ground, Gary. I usually see it in the fall when it clings to my boots. Adds about 10 pounds while walking up birds all day. Seeing many birds this year?

Larry

 

[DaveH IA]

Did you get it done before the Rain came in??

 

[hayray]

Gary, is that some more hay or pasture ground falling to the high grain prices?

 

[IaGary]

Nope Rained me out about 6:00 last nite.

About 40 acres to go yet.

 

[IaGary]

Yes and no.

It was due to be plowed. Not a very good stand of grassor alfalfa anymore.

But I am not seeding any down to replace it.

Cutting back on cows so that yours will be more valuable.

Gary

 

[fixerupper]

Gary, last couple of time I no-tilled roundup beans into the alfalfa and then sprayed, and sprayed, and sprayed. This was on sandy, erodable ground so no-till makes a little more sense than plowing if the planter is capable of punching it in.

Maybe my timing was wrong with the spraying, but that alfalfa is tough stuff to kill. Jim

 

[IaGary]

I have tried no-till about 6 different times.

Corn into sod,corn into bean stubble and beans into corn stalks.

Every time I tried it it was my worst yeilding field for the year. Notil does not work where I have been running cattle to grub on the stalks and grass. Ground is to hard.

Most who are notill around here are just trying to cut expenses, but they may be cutting income by more.

Only thing that seem to come close on yield was beans into corn stalks. I will do that again.

Until you do some good side by side tests you don't know what you are missing on yield on notill verses tillage. I have done the tests and this is the way for me.

Now if you have some old clay hills I could see where there might be a benifit to notill.

But it's not for me.

Gary

 

[Wyokid]

I pull 6-16s with a JD4255 (2wd) 120 horse.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I know it's not a popular opinion on this Board, but I am a fairly strong advocate of zero or minimum till. Many of the advantages (perceived or otherwise) do not seem to kick in until after a few years. I am sure there are many soils where it just WILL NOT WORK. It has been kind to the Canadian prairies on a very wide variety of soils.

 

[Lee in Iowa]

Around here you're never sitting straight up so you get used to it. Lee

 

[Texasmark]

Doesn't work here, even in some of the fields that are on the loamy side vs hard black clay which is the norm.

I felt that weeds just ate away at the fertilizer stored in my soil so this year, right after the last hay cutting, I plowed in the stubble. I have run the cultivator over the fields since in an attempt to keep the weed population down. and since fall have been over the fields at least 3 times prior to the one below.

The cultivator I am referring to is a spring shank mechanism with a 10" chisel tip (multiple shanks across the width of the plow) and 3 rows of spring fingers following.

As most folks, we have had hard rains with the fronts coming through and just this week I thought I would do it again as I am getting ready for planting, and the ground was so hard (after the field dried out adequately) the cultivator just bounced across the top of it; I had to get the plow out.

I know good and well that the drill wouldn't penetrate that and then there is the never ending nuisance of weeds coming up faster than the crop I plant.

I don't use chemicals to kill the weeds for several reasons so plowing is my only recourse. But even if I did, the soil still doesn't cooperate.

Mark