plowing and discing field

[ihuntbear]

I didn't plow or disc last year because I caught that h1n1 flue.put me out of comission for a month.anyway now that the snow has left for about 2 weeks now can I plow and disc the field for food plots or do you guys think it should dry up some? I drove on the field with my truck and didn't make to big of ruts.I'm just dying to get some seat time.When I plowed before with my smaller two wheel drive tractor I've always waited until june because I wood get stuck.Smaller I mean a SATO 65.I don't know why I bought that because it was to small then.But now that I have my new 4x4 50 hp mccormick I think I can do it.Is there a reason farmers plow in the fall and disc in the spring

 

[tulenutn2o]

Yes, they are using nature to help break up the clods and such, also give organic matter time to break down before remix by discing. As a sidenote, here in the central U.S., most farmers swear by no-till now. They use a drill. Food plots,of course, still need the normal prepping.

 

[beenthere]

Plowing some soils when it is "too wet" to plow, will result in very hard clods that can't be broken up easily with a disc. I suggest you wait until the soil doesn't ball up in your hand when compressed.
Clay soils are the worst for working wet.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

My guess would be that your ground is still to wet, better to wait awhile. What type and size disk are you going to be pulling? Just wondering, is most of your 900 acres flat?

 

[flusher]

I didn't plow or disc last year because I caught that h1n1 flue.put me out of comission for a month.anyway now that the snow has left for about 2 weeks now can I plow and disc the field for food plots or do you guys think it should dry up some? I drove on the field with my truck and didn't make to big of ruts.I'm just dying to get some seat time.When I plowed before with my smaller two wheel drive tractor I've always waited until june because I wood get stuck.Smaller I mean a SATO 65.I don't know why I bought that because it was to small then.But now that I have my new 4x4 50 hp mccormick I think I can do it.Is there a reason farmers plow in the fall and disc in the spring

I'm wondering why you bother to plow the ground for a food plot. Seems to me running an offset disc over the ground is sufficient for the type of planting usually done on food plots.
I disc my 6 acre hayfield in Sept-Oct using an old 7 ft wide Towner offset disc and my Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto) and then plant a hay crop (Kanota oats this year) using a 10-ft wide grain drill. Mowing and baling is done in May.

 

[ihuntbear]

only 10 acres is field .the rest is 65 yr old mixed timber,hard wood and soft wood.I have a log cabin in the middle of the 900 acres next to the river.I don't know what kind of disc it is but I'll take pictures and post them

 

[ihuntbear]

I had to bring it home to do some welding and fix the missing knives.almost finished painting her up.just took some pictures to see if you guys know what kind it is.The only sticker on it says Hillsbourgh

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Looks like it is about a 7.5 foot wide tandem? Your disk blades look like they are worn down some. How many times do you usually have to go over the ground to get it the way that you want it? I would like to know what the time difference is disking with the new tractor vs your old 2wd. Let us know.

Thanks for the pictures, as you know we always like pictures. :thumbsup:

 

[ihuntbear]

2 times If I plow first but 1/4 of the time with the new tractor.It used to be an all day job with the old 2wd because of lack of power and traction.Love my new tractor called baby:thumbsup:

 

[ihuntbear]

I plowed and disc the dry field and just disc the other which was to wet to plow.Just made a mess with discing only.I should have waited for it to dry before doing anything but I wanted to see how it would turn out.Just made big clumps.I think I will plow it and disc it when it dries up.