2 acre food plot question

[keving]

I currently don't own a plow or disc. I would like to plant a 2 acre food plot for the local deer population. Do I hire southern states to come in and do a kill, drill seed and watch it grow or do I go find a used plow and disc and plant my own with the 7040? Guide me o'wise tractor bretheren.

 

[PSDStu]

I currently don't own a plow or disc. I would like to plant a 2 acre food plot for the local deer population. Do I hire southern states to come in and do a kill, drill seed and watch it grow or do I go find a used plow and disc and plant my own with the 7040? Guide me o'wise tractor bretheren.

Keving......Keving...... this is a joke right!! You have that beautiful Cab 7040 and want to hire Southern States!

I'd go ahead and get the disc and plant my own plot. You could probably pick-up a disc for about what you'd pay to have someone else do the work for ya!

I know what I'd do if I had that 7040!

Stu

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'd look at this from a realistic view first. Then we can address which one would be the most FUN! What will give you the best food plot with the best use of money? Do you have, or have access to a drill/planter? What type is it? Will it work (well) in tilled soil? Or is it primarily a no-till drill/planter? What "crop" are you planting? Soil type and condition? What's growing there now? (ie weeds, good stand of grass, ect)

Plowing under a stand of sod and NOT having most of it grow back is a matter of timing AND doing a good job with the plow. Get a re-growth of grass/weeds in your crop, and your young stand is competing for valuable moisture and nutrients. IMHO, even if you choose to plow, doing a burndown (RoundUp) will be beneficial, tillage or no-till cropping. At that point, does tillage make sense? Is the ground compacted? does it NEED tillage? Are you planning on fertilizing. Does that fert. need to be incorporated, or can simply broadcasting it on the surface do the job? Is your land hilly and possibly proned to erosion? If so, not a doubt which way I'd lean.

Cost vs. results. That's why no-tilling is so popular. Less trips across the field, less equipment, less time, less MONEY, same or similar (or even BETTER) results.

I LOVE to plow. At the drop of a hat, I'll hook up my plow and start flipping dirt. During 35 years of farming, I plowed just about every acre of crop land I planted. If I was to start over today, sprayer, no till planter, and leave the iron in the shed.....

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I currently don't own a plow or disc. I would like to plant a 2 acre food plot for the local deer population. Do I hire southern states to come in and do a kill, drill seed and watch it grow or do I go find a used plow and disc and plant my own with the 7040? Guide me o'wise tractor bretheren.

PSDStu speaks from the heart. Farmwithjunk speaks from many years of experience and the prospective of a real farmer that needs the best possible yield. I am more like PSD. I love spraying, plowing, planting, and watching stuff grow. If it grows well, I can be proud of a job well done. If it doesn't, well the deer don't eat as good this year. Not a major ordeal. My livelihood doesn't depend on a good harvest. You have a tractor. Go buy a few inexpensive pieces of used iron. Decide wht you want to plant and get great advice on planting from all us "farmers" here on TBN. Life's too short to let Southern States have all the fun.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I am in the same boat, I have a two acre clearing that I want to turn into a food plot. I plan to get an old disc to work it over for weeds.

What is the best time to start that process? Should I wait for the weeds to sprout new growth and then disc them? Can I do it now?

 

[keving]

OK OK OK... I'm in, now I need a plow and disc.

1. What kind and what size plow would be good for the 7040?

2. What kind and what size disc?

3. Any special way to transport these if I bought them at an auction or private party?

4. Recommended websites for used equipment.

Thanks for the posts!

KG

 

[flusher]

OK OK OK... I'm in, now I need a plow and disc.

1. What kind and what size plow would be good for the 7040?

2. What kind and what size disc?

3. Any special way to transport these if I bought them at an auction or private party?

4. Recommended websites for used equipment.

Thanks for the posts!

KG

I see that you have two 21-acre plots and a nice, big 67 hp tractor. Your tractor can easily pull a triple bottom plow and a 8-10 ft wide tandem disc.

You should be able to find these implements used for a few hundred bucks each eBay, craigslist or locally by shopping around a little. Fastline.com and IronSearch.com are two good websites to look into for this kind of stuff.

I bought an old IH Little Genius pull-type 2-14 plow (two bottoms, 14" wide furrows) for $350. My 7-ft wide pull-type Ferguson disc cost $200. Both of these are over 50 years old and are in good shape. Plan to use my new Mihindra 5525 (55 hp engine, 45 hp pto) to plow and disc about 7 acres of pasture and grow some hay. Fortunately you live in a part of the country where old iron like this is pretty easy to find relatively close to home (few hundred miles).

I bought the plow from Chats Tractors in Avon, Illinois and had it shipped via an independent hauler. Cost about $700, but I really wanted that IH plow so I was willing to pay the freight. Listed my plow on uShip.com and got bids for the hauling job.

I used my 5x10 ft flat bed trailer to haul that disc about 100 miles from Woodland Tractor to my place. Fortunately the disc was easy to disassemble into two parts for easy loading onto my trailer. I used the FEL on my tractor to unload at my place.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

OK OK OK... I'm in, now I need a plow and disc.

1. What kind and what size plow would be good for the 7040?

2. What kind and what size disc?

3. Any special way to transport these if I bought them at an auction or private party?

4. Recommended websites for used equipment.

Thanks for the posts!

KG

I have my best luck going to consignment farm equipment auctions. I enjoy the auctions and can usually find what I'm looking for. Your tractor can easily pull a 3 bottom plow. You can ususlly get a 3 bottom as cheap as a 2 bottom because the 2 bottoms are popular because many "farmers" like us don't have a tractor big enough to pull the 3 bottoms.

The type disc you buy depends on where your plot is. If it is in a secluded area with little turn around space, a 3 pt pick up disc works better because you can pick it up and back around easily. If your plot is out in a more wide open area that has lots of turaround room, you can't beat a wheel disc. You must have at least one hydraulic hookup to operate a cylinder that operates the wheels up and down. If you're like me and learn to love old iron, you might get one of each.

Be careful, buying attachments can get addictive.

 

[keving]

THANK YOU for all the input. I'm on the hunt for a plow and disc....

 

[john_bud]

Or a Kingkutter 72" rototiller.

jb