Implement help

[PDXRyan]

Yeah, back on track. :thumbsup:
400hp! That's a big one! The main PTO tractor I was looking at rates in about 235hp and I figure if I add another to the list I should be closer. I had just one combine listed but will double that up too.

At first I was thinking we needed to figure out how to do this on our own, like I would be the only operator. So, I just pieced out one machine for each job which was really wracking my brain trying figure out how to primary till, secondary till, spray and drill 500 acres in 12 days on my own.

Got my rough draft assessment back from the teacher tonight and he was letting me know that I really needed to look at adding more machines, which I'm assuming means I wouldn't be the only one doing the work. Phew!

For real, the price tag is going to be CRAZY! Thus, by the end of the project I'm sure most of the cost will be geared towards custom hire, used equipment and/or lease options.

Goes along with the best quote I've seen on this site so far.
If you want to make a million farming, start with 2. Or something like that. Classic.

 

[porky69]

Ignore what some of the nay sayers are beaking off about , and here is my opinion/suggestions (based on growing up/working on smaller farms(300 to 1000acres) and working for larger farmers (one of my former employers is currently farming approx. 150,000acres) and custom harvesting throughout Canada and the western US), so they may or may not work for you:

A lot of your equipment requirements depend on local geography and whether or not you will want to grow different crops in the future (some crops require speccialized equipment, as I am sure you know).

Around here (southern Alberta, Canada) 500 acres can be easily farmed with one tractor (250HP MFWD), with matching implements (don't know what would work best in your area...chisel plows for tillage and air press drills for seeding are popular around here but you don't have to go far to find farms that prefer one way plows or discs for tillage and use hoe drills for seeding, some farms have even had success with broadcast seeding and heavy harrowing to incorporate the seeds), and one harvester (one large machine(which most are nowadays) should be able to harvest 75-100acres per day on average). Or you may want to go with 2 smaller tractors (maybe 1- 100HP and one 175HP) and have more implements.

As for grain transportation I would suggest a 500 to 1000 bushel grain cart (depending on how big your tractor is) for hauling from the harvester to the truck (plus it doubles as mobile storage while the tractor/trailer is gone to the elevator)and one 48foot tractor/trailer unit for hauling to the elevator/mill.

Chemical (herbicide/pesticide) application may be best contracted out (depends on your local applicator licencing requirements) or if you wanted to you can buy a towable (behind the tractor) sprayer and apply it yourself to lower costs or there are affordable self propelled units for smaller acreages.

General rule of thumb is that you should be able to plant the same number of acres in a day as you can harvest (if your harvester can cut 100 acres a day you should be able to seed about the same) or vice-versa.

Are you going to include things such as irrigation? If you do you can do some of your chemical and fertilizer application through the irrigation system.

Bottom line is while you can gather a lot of options through forums such as this you still need to research what is being done in your proposed area.

 

[Egon]

The farming conditions in Eastern Oregon [ The big wheat growing area] should be very similar to that Porky69 refers to.

The western part of Oregon will be quite different.

So far there has just been mention of equipment. There will also be ancillary items needed.

Grain storage?? If it applies
Grain handling. [ truck etc, augers and drive units]
Fuel storage and transfer.
Grain dryer??? May not apply in your area.
Tools for fixing broken stuff!
Seed cost's?? Don't know if this applies

 

[Gary Fowler]

Back in the days when I was about your age, I worked with my dad and we farmed about 500 acres that was scattered about 10 miles or more in fields of 40-100 acre plots. We farmed cotton and soybeans and did it all with one Ford 9000 tractor (125HP)and one AC 190XT(90 HP) and nothing larger than 4 row equipment. This was back when no till was just a thought in the Ag extension vision of the future. We did have a 14 foot header combine and a 2 row cotton picker and not only did we harvest our own acreage which was about 100 acres of cotton and the rest soybeans, but when we finished ours, we custom harvested for other farmers in the area. You dont need 300 HP 4 WD tractors and 28-40 foot disc and cultivators to do this job. Grain drills work well for wheat or broad cast soybeans and are cheaper than the high dollar air drill equipment etc. THey plant and cover in one pass although you may need to till the soil with disc harrow etc to get it fairly loosened up. Your application technology is up to you. You can get 400+ HP tractors and hook everything in like a freight train and do it all in one pass if you had a couple million dollars for equipment. I am just saying that you could do this with one person but 2 would be easier and you dont need more than 2 tractors for this and they dont need to be that large. W did over 300 acres in row crop with nothing larger than one 70HP tractor and one 50 HP. This was deep tillage type farming and cultivation of all crops unlike wheat that just plant and forget with exception of weed control maybe. With the price of combines today, I would look to have it custom harvested rather than invest in the equipment needed to harvest and haul 500 acres of wheat. 100acres a day may be pushing it but 50-75 per day is easily acheivable with one small combine run by yourself and custom harvestors would get you finished in a day or two at most.

 

[Baby Grand]

Find out what equipment the estate sold to pay off the debts. That should give you a prety good idea of what was required to operate the farm. I think most farmers operating on that scale have to play it close to the bone, know their land, soil, weather, water supply, etc. better than anybody else. Knowing what you have is key to knowing whay you need.
-Jim

 

[LoPresti Lawnscape]

Everyone needs a 4-500 HP tractor. There's just no denying that fact.

:thumbsup:

 

[clemsonfor]

Interesting thread. I don't know where it got off track but...


I'm no farmer but i do know that 500 acres is a big farm. When you say Tractor.....I think you need to say "Tractors" plural and 400HP too. Combines? Harvesters? Same thing. You'll need big too. No junk.

I would think at least three tractor trailer setups depending on how far you are from a mill.

Chemical spraying is always subbed out for 10-15 an acre or whatever but if it's about implements get ready to spend a lot on application equipment.



Don't forget 6 grand for a hot tub!

In Illonois or Iowa (im not from there) a farmer could barely make a living farming that much land. They would have to rent out some land inaddition. Again i am not from there nor a farmer so i really dont know. I do know around here you can make a living off 500 acres though. You will need multi-hundred horsepower tracotors pulling 20+foot equiptment though, i would think.

 

[clemsonfor]

Find out what equipment the estate sold to pay off the debts. That should give you a prety good idea of what was required to operate the farm. I think most farmers operating on that scale have to play it close to the bone, know their land, soil, weather, water supply, etc. better than anybody else. Knowing what you have is key to knowing whay you need.
-Jim

This is a theroretical farm and theroreticle stuff sold off.

 

[Reverend Blair]

500 acres of wheat? I'd hope to win the lottery so you could afford to keep on farming. Either that or lease it out on a third-bushel basis.

I guess we'd need to know if you are using minimum/zero tillage methods or summer fallow rotation etc.. We'd also need to know about the terrain.

I don't know about where you are, but around here it's been twenty-five years since a guy could make a living off of five hundred acres unless he was into specialty crops.

As a blanket answer though, I'd suggest keeping the size down and using older equipment in good shape. You'll want to invest in some good wrenches and a welder too.

 

[Reverend Blair]

Okay, I've been thinking about what we used to use for about 1000 acres (call it 800 arable) when I was a kid. I'll stick with 1970's methods because that's what I know.

You'll need a 12-16 foot deep tillage, a disc/seeder (10-14 ft.), drag harrows Same width as the deep tillage), a tractor, a swather and a combine. You'll likely want a sprayer too. A rock picker if you live on rocky land.

You can get by with an 80 or 100 HP tractor if you keep the implements small (even 60 HP for that matter), but I'd suggest going to at least 125 HP. For the swather you might want to try to find an old Oliver...once you get used to the sticking valves they are a lot of fun to run. For a combine, and I know I'm dating myself here, a Super 92 was as big as it ever got for us.

Whoever suggested a tractor pulled hopper to haul wheat with was right on. You can truck it later, but for work in the field hoppers are a beautiful thing. For trucking later, I'd take a really hard look at getting a one-ton dually diesel and a good wagon. More trips, but if you bin your wheat and haul over the fall and winter it will work out.

I'd say that one thing you really need to do is shun the frills. You don't need air conditioning, GPS, or fuzzy dice.