Plow day aftermath

Eric in IL

Well-known Member
I have seen many plow day events. I know the theme is mainly to have fun.

Many of the rigs that attend seem to need a half day of adjustment and/or a couple thousand dollars of parts before they show up. The job that some do is so very sad, some would call it a disgrace.

I wonder if those that do such a poor job know that their mess isn't going to heal itself anytime soon? Unless that is, that someone takes the time to drag a land leveler across the field a few times.

The jobs some do are painful to watch, yet they make no adjustments. They just keep going round after round. Why don't the ones that do know how to plow stop and help the ones that are struggling?
 
Does anybody under the age of 60 even really know how to set up and plow correctly? I'm being serious. I'm 55 and have never used a mold board plow except to dig for a shelterbelt. In actual farming, by the 80s we used only a chisel plow, never a moldboard. I think at that time there was a handful of older guys who still plowed but they were also still using LA cases and W9s. They were just using what they had used their whole lives and weren't about to buy new equipment. I personally think it would be fun to learn how to do it the right way, not just drop it down and go, like I did 25 years ago when I was doing my shelter belt.
 
I'm 45 and know how to use one. I've plowed with JD A's and a Farmall M. Most the guys I've gone out plowing with generally have one or two guys watching as you're going down the field and then they will stop you and make adjustments. That's how I learned. Some of the guys, especially with the hydraulic lift plows, run theirs's shallow and even when told to go deeper they don't. Have many time seen guys plowing at a depth of 2" or less, just enough to skim off the top. I run 6"-8" at least.
 
Yes, some younger folks do still know how to plow. I think it may be more common here in Canada and in Britain where plowing matches are more common than the 'plow days' that you folks seem to have more of in the US. At 33 years old I suppose I'm not young anymore, but I don't think I qualify as 'old' yet, and a lot of my friends and colleagues my age are into match plowing. I'm ok, but I'll freely admit I'm far from great. Some of my friends are really into match plowing and it really shows when they go home and plow fields. One former friend from school who's younger than me is now a plowing judge for the matches in his region near Smith's Falls. I never really got the whole 'plow day' thing where folks just turn up and turn furrows without being judged (though I suspect I'd enjoy it if I ever went to one).

Take a look at this link: These are the plowing judging rules used in this neck of the woods: https://www.plowingmatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/judging-guidelines-conventional.pdf
 
I have seen many plow day events. I know the theme is mainly to have fun.

Many of the rigs that attend seem to need a half day of adjustment and/or a couple thousand dollars of parts before they show up. The job that some do is so very sad, some would call it a disgrace.

I wonder if those that do such a poor job know that their mess isn't going to heal itself anytime soon? Unless that is, that someone takes the time to drag a land leveler across the field a few times.

The jobs some do are painful to watch, yet they make no adjustments. They just keep going round after round. Why don't the ones that do know how to plow stop and help the ones that are struggling?
I believe there are at least 2 factors in the reason the plowing is as bad as it is in some events.
The operators of poor plowing are convinced they don't need help.
The experienced operators may not be wanting to confront (in their point of view) those with underperforming equipment or directional skill.
Jim
 
Does anybody under the age of 60 even really know how to set up and plow correctly? I'm being serious. I'm 55 and have never used a mold board plow except to dig for a shelterbelt. In actual farming, by the 80s we used only a chisel plow, never a moldboard. I think at that time there was a handful of older guys who still plowed but they were also still using LA cases and W9s. They were just using what they had used their whole lives and weren't about to buy new equipment. I personally think it would be fun to learn how to do it the right way, not just drop it down and go, like I did 25 years ago when I was doing my shelter belt.
I don't know how. I'm 40 years old. Grew up on a small hobby farm. The last field I worked by discing over and over again.

I too would like to learn how. But I don't have a plow nor time to spend on the hobby. Maybe someday before the folks who know are gone...
 
I believe there are at least 2 factors in the reason the plowing is as bad as it is in some events.
The operators of poor plowing are convinced they don't need help.
The experienced operators may not be wanting to confront (in their point of view) those with underperforming equipment or directional skill.
Jim
Ding, ding, ding!!!! We have a winner!
 
I am 53, went to a plow day 6-8 years ago. I had the manual for the plow and the tractor. Set everything the manual said, just adjusted the center link, fully mounted plow. I had a blast, and got a few compliments, Others showed up with painted tractors, no weights, and pull type plows. All you could smell was their brakes, trying to keep straight. And the plow went down as far as the three point allowed. Others not so much. Was taught with a semi mount 5 bottom when younger, but really Dad set everything then and I just plowed.
 
I have seen many plow day events. I know the theme is mainly to have fun.

Many of the rigs that attend seem to need a half day of adjustment and/or a couple thousand dollars of parts before they show up. The job that some do is so very sad, some would call it a disgrace.

I wonder if those that do such a poor job know that their mess isn't going to heal itself anytime soon? Unless that is, that someone takes the time to drag a land leveler across the field a few times.

The jobs some do are painful to watch, yet they make no adjustments. They just keep going round after round. Why don't the ones that do know how to plow stop and help the ones that are struggling?
Sounds like an opportunity for a person or tractor club to offer a seminar or make a U-tube video on how to setup and adjust a plow.
 
Problem with setting up and adjusting all changes with the type of dirt moisture and crop being plowed down. Sod plows different then corn stalks and wheat stubble more like sod. Old hay fields plow hard and so on . Pull plows adjust differently then mounted and them different than semi mounted . I only ever plowed in the furrow when I worked for a couple guys up in the thumb they were adamant about the corn stalks being plowed down in the fall. So we plowed with water running down the furrow in front of the tractor in spots to be able to pull the plow we had to run in the furrow with an 8440 on 7 bottom. Duals on the left side and singles on the right.
 
I have seen many plow day events. I know the theme is mainly to have fun.

Many of the rigs that attend seem to need a half day of adjustment and/or a couple thousand dollars of parts before they show up. The job that some do is so very sad, some would call it a disgrace.

I wonder if those that do such a poor job know that their mess isn't going to heal itself anytime soon? Unless that is, that someone takes the time to drag a land leveler across the field a few times.

The jobs some do are painful to watch, yet they make no adjustments. They just keep going round after round. Why don't the ones that do know how to plow stop and help the ones that are struggling?
His 20 something daughter is no slouch either.
IMG_0028.png
 
I have seen many plow day events. I know the theme is mainly to have fun.

Many of the rigs that attend seem to need a half day of adjustment and/or a couple thousand dollars of parts before they show up. The job that some do is so very sad, some would call it a disgrace.

I wonder if those that do such a poor job know that their mess isn't going to heal itself anytime soon? Unless that is, that someone takes the time to drag a land leveler across the field a few times.

The jobs some do are painful to watch, yet they make no adjustments. They just keep going round after round. Why don't the ones that do know how to plow stop and help the ones that are struggling?
You want to host a plowing match. Not a plow day event, not a gathering of equipment, not a shin-dig, not a pub crawl, not a barn dance, not a rendezvous, not a soiree, not a sock hop, not an ice cream social, not a.... record session(?), etc. That way you get people that know what they're doing or at least are willing to try like heck.

Mike
 
You want to host a plowing match. Not a plow day event, not a gathering of equipment, not a shin-dig, not a pub crawl, not a barn dance, not a rendezvous, not a soiree, not a sock hop, not an ice cream social, not a.... record session(?), etc. That way you get people that know what they're doing or at least are willing to try like heck.

Mike
Dare I interject “windmill greasin’”?
 
I don’t know how to adjust my plow but my grandpa grew up plowing but he doesn’t really know how to adjust it but I think I’ve gotten my plow pretty close to correct it doesn’t trail funny leave any unplowed dirt and is level going across the ground and plows 8 inches deep
 
Ahh, the joys of a plow day!! Best remedy is to run over it with a chisel plow and then field cultivated it at a angle and then a second time crossways to level it out, the faster the better. There are a few You Tube videos about setting a plow that night help if you can get any of them to watch them. Our club does a working fall show each year and lets members plow everything during the show. The last few years, I have been trying to help the guys that didn't know what they were doing get their plows set to do a decent job. Last year one of the board members asked me to show his son how to set his 2 bottom plow during the show and I said that I would. When we got ready to start, I said they should video this because I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to do it. A young lady videoed us setting up the plow and getting the depth set and plow level. He got the hang of it pretty quick and did OK. They showed it to a young man in the club and the next day he was out in the field helping set plows( Thanks, James!!). There were a couple young guys that hadn't plowed before and needed help and they told them to get ahold of me. James and a couple of other member and me got them going. We plowed Saturday and Sunday and I saw some guys having trouble and parked my tractor to help them. Got them going but I walked too much and my left knee hurt so bad I could hardly walk by the end of the day. I wasn't real happy with how it looked, but Sunday morning Tom, the guy who plants in the spring came up to me at breakfast and was tickled pink about how good the plowing looked, said it was the best job ever done there. That made me feel better and I mellowed out some after that. If you're gonna have a plow day, you just have to tell everybody that if their plows aren't set right they will get some help whether they want it or not. I have some pictures on my phone that I'll add later. I'm not an expert and I didn't sleep at the Holiday Inn last night but I can get a plow set to do a decent job. Chris
 
Ahh, the joys of a plow day!! Best remedy is to run over it with a chisel plow and then field cultivated it at a angle and then a second time crossways to level it out, the faster the better. There are a few You Tube videos about setting a plow that night help if you can get any of them to watch them. Our club does a working fall show each year and lets members plow everything during the show. The last few years, I have been trying to help the guys that didn't know what they were doing get their plows set to do a decent job. Last year one of the board members asked me to show his son how to set his 2 bottom plow during the show and I said that I would. When we got ready to start, I said they should video this because I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to do it. A young lady videoed us setting up the plow and getting the depth set and plow level. He got the hang of it pretty quick and did OK. They showed it to a young man in the club and the next day he was out in the field helping set plows( Thanks, James!!). There were a couple young guys that hadn't plowed before and needed help and they told them to get ahold of me. James and a couple of other member and me got them going. We plowed Saturday and Sunday and I saw some guys having trouble and parked my tractor to help them. Got them going but I walked too much and my left knee hurt so bad I could hardly walk by the end of the day. I wasn't real happy with how it looked, but Sunday morning Tom, the guy who plants in the spring came up to me at breakfast and was tickled pink about how good the plowing looked, said it was the best job ever done there. That made me feel better and I mellowed out some after that. If you're gonna have a plow day, you just have to tell everybody that if their plows aren't set right they will get some help whether they want it or not. I have some pictures on my phone that I'll add later. I'm not an expert and I didn't sleep at the Holiday Inn last night but I can get a plow set to do a decent job. Chris
Setting a plow: a pull type trip plow has 2 levers. The lever on the furrow wheel sets the depth and the lever on the land wheel levels the plow. It should be level looking from behind the plow when plowing. The turned furrows should be even, it not adjust the land side lever to make them match. Hydraulic lift plows are the same only you use the cylinder to adjust the level of the plow, adjust accordingly to plow level. Semi mount and mounted plows, decide how deep you're going to plow( we'll say 8 inches) and drive the land wheel of the tractor up on a 8 inch block with the plow hooked on. lower the plow and adjust the lift arm until the hitch is level. On mounted plows, adjust the top link until the plow is level front to back. Most semi mounts have a stop bolt, adjust that until the plow is level front to back. That will get you close, adjust from there to make it plow level.
 
I know how to set up a plow. All the neighbors could not believe I could pull a 5-18" 1450 semi-mount plow with a 4240, 2 sets of weights and radial tires, no liquid ballast AND a full set of front weights. I plowed everything until I had to quit farming due to health. Everyone did. The problem is if so many of the other plows are not set up and you do a round once in a while your plow will never plow right, either. A plow needs a constant furrow depth to plow right. Even back in the day so many farmers that plowed all the time would buck and snort their way down the furrow. Key is to be smooth and have both wheels in the furrow, ALL the time. I pulled a 2-16" #60 hyd lift IH plow with a Farmall H, a 2-16" 4240 Oliver plow with a super 66 for plow days. So many of the Hot Rod super tractor drivers are trying to pull too big of a plow, better 1 bottom smaller, but the ego gets in the way....James
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top