what a waste!

[Steve C]

I hauled a trailer load of scrap steel to the local scrap yard for my Amish neighbor. It was all very ugly stuff so it was good to get it recycled. While we were there a guy came in with a 7 bottom plow that was in perfect condition, no broken trip springs and the paint was still shiny on the frame!

Is there no need for a 7 bottom plow any more? It seemed like a huge waste of material to be selling that thing for scrap prices, $210 a ton. I don't have a tractor that would pull it but they are relatively cheap also. What is going on in our country!

 

[Nik]

No till farming is becoming more popular and supposedly is better for soil structure and leads to better yields than conventional till planting. Less disturbance of the soil by not plowing and using no till methods is advocated as a better and more environmentally friendly practice. Not defending what you saw but maybe that farmer was strapped for cash.

 

[Thomas]

"What is going on in our country!"

One might think when horse vs auto or train vs trucking.

 

[Skyco]

Waste- I felt the same way seeing the motors deliberately ruined on perfectly functional cars during that government cash for clunkers program.
I'm sure many a person down and out would have traded up to one of those cars from what they had....

 

[ayelvington]

I dont know, but I suspect that the new perspective of soil stewardship and no-till planting may have sent that plow the way of the buggy-whip in your neighborhood.

At least it got recycled instead of left in a field to rust like so much worn/obsolete equipment in my neck of the woods.

 

[20 20]

A few words sums up the new world...............Throw Away Society !!!

 

[oldnslo]

Plowing has been replaced by chemicals for weed control. Problem is weeds are like human diseases, the more chemicals you use the more resistant the disease or weed gets. When atrizine first hit the market for grass control 1/2 lb/acre did a great job, now 5 lbs/acre doesn't do anything but pollute the ground water.
Wish I could remember which school did the study but they determined that burying crop residue more than 6 -7 inches was a waste since it did not decompose effectively when buried deeper and actually blocked water from soaking in and good root development on crops. The same study also stated that no till or minimum till only worked for a few seasons and then the crop residue became a breeding ground for insects and also slowed the absorbtion of water and heating of the soil by the sun.

Typically conventional farming gives a higher yield per acre. I have worked fields where part was no till, part was chisel plowed and part was mold board plowed. Rarely did the mold board plowed field have lower yields than the other two. Problem is the increased yield may or may not cover the cost of the extra time, fuel and machinery costs.

retired farm kid

 

[deepNdirt]

well I think more to the story about who might had sold the plow, anyone of us know that a good used all purpose plow or 7 shank bottom plow will sale for 350-400 buck easily, and to take one in to sale as scrap would only bring what! 50.00 dollars... I'm not exactly implying but I have heard stories of people stopping in at homes and helping themselves to the junk outside, and if they get caught loading it they give a lame excuse that Buba must have sent them to "the wrong house" yeah right! a friend of mine had someone stop in and ask about a ridding lawnmower he had setting along side of his house, yes it look like junk but he didn't want to get rid of it, a few days later the lawn mower was gone, he said he ask his wife if he knew where anything? she said the man you give it to came buy to pick it up,, :confused2:
this kind of thing is going on everywhere, so be ware, ..... I'm a good customer of a local recycle business and was in there one day when the GPI investigator came in wanting to check for something reported stolen, turns out that a car trailer had been loan to a person to help him get his car off the road and back home, the person who con the man in letting him use his trailer loaded a junk car on the trailer and took it in and sold trailer and car for scrape.. so I would suspect there is more to the story of the perfectly good plow finding its way into the scrap pile,

 

[bjr]

Up in the Pacicic Northwest, here they'd got $1500-$2000 for that thing. I hear all about the chemical weed control but, everyone has and keeps a good plow out behind the shed. There's still nothing like turning the soil with a mold board plow every so often. bjr

 

[20 20]

DeepNdirt, Up here they break into the camps and rip out the copper to take to the scarp yard. The gentalmen across the way from me had this happen. They are very smart about it also. They do what is called a drive by. It's where they drive by a house let someone off and continue on with the vehicle. In a short while the vehicle returns and the copper scum theaf jumps in, away they go.

 

[Duffster]

How is recycling an obsolete piece of equipment considered "waste" or "throw away"?

 

[Soundguy]

I hauled a trailer load of scrap steel to the local scrap yard for my Amish neighbor. It was all very ugly stuff so it was good to get it recycled. While we were there a guy came in with a 7 bottom plow that was in perfect condition, no broken trip springs and the paint was still shiny on the frame!

Is there no need for a 7 bottom plow any more? It seemed like a huge waste of material to be selling that thing for scrap prices, $210 a ton. I don't have a tractor that would pull it but they are relatively cheap also. What is going on in our country!

dang.. I mighta been tempted to buy that and haul it home even if it was only a yard decoration...

soundguy

 

[kebo]

The time has long passed that the fed's should require every state force each scrap seller get a permit to sell to scrap yards. A permit would require proof of residence, ID picture, and maybe your social. After that, each transaction at EVERY scrap yard would be recorded with your permit number. Just for good measure, the license tag would be recorded with it, and a video camera would record the scrap being brought in. Yeah, I know this system would cost money to implement and add to the hassle of honest people trying to sell scrap, but I guarantee you it would cut WAY down on the number of "thefts to be sold for scrap" and make it lots easier for the cops to find those that tried to do it.

 

[MossRoad]

I hauled a trailer load of scrap steel to the local scrap yard for my Amish neighbor. It was all very ugly stuff so it was good to get it recycled. While we were there a guy came in with a 7 bottom plow that was in perfect condition, no broken trip springs and the paint was still shiny on the frame!

Is there no need for a 7 bottom plow any more? It seemed like a huge waste of material to be selling that thing for scrap prices, $210 a ton. I don't have a tractor that would pull it but they are relatively cheap also. What is going on in our country!

I'd bet the plow was stolen.

 

[Skyco]

The time has long passed that the fed's should require every state force each scrap seller get a permit to sell to scrap yards. A permit would require proof of residence, ID picture, and maybe your social. After that, each transaction at EVERY scrap yard would be recorded with your permit number. Just for good measure, the license tag would be recorded with it, and a video camera would record the scrap being brought in. Yeah, I know this system would cost money to implement and add to the hassle of honest people trying to sell scrap, but I guarantee you it would cut WAY down on the number of "thefts to be sold for scrap" and make it lots easier for the cops to find those that tried to do it.

SC does most of that, for non-ferrous metals anyway.
Drivers license, your vehicle tag is noted, your pic is kept- although they apparently get that off a copy of your DL. One is also not allowed to transport more than 25 lbs of non-ferrous metals without a permit or one has a bill of sale for the metal.

 

[buck12]

The time has long passed that the fed's should require every state force each scrap seller get a permit to sell to scrap yards. A permit would require proof of residence, ID picture, and maybe your social. After that, each transaction at EVERY scrap yard would be recorded with your permit number. Just for good measure, the license tag would be recorded with it, and a video camera would record the scrap being brought in. Yeah, I know this system would cost money to implement and add to the hassle of honest people trying to sell scrap, but I guarantee you it would cut WAY down on the number of "thefts to be sold for scrap" and make it lots easier for the cops to find those that tried to do it.

I think the time has long since passed that we no longer tolerate theft. Don't make life harder for the good guys because we are afraid to punish the wrong doers. My Dad had a chainsaw stolen a few years ago. The guy that stole it had been out of county jail for only a couple of days when he stole the saw. Bet he was out again within a day or two. By the way Dad recovered the saw himself from a local pawnshop. For some reason our society seems content to let a few folks make life miserable for the rest of us. Ok now I will step off my soap box.

 

[Duffster]

I'd bet the plow was stolen.

I'd take that bet.

There just isn't much demand for a plow let alone that size. People want either 2 or 3 bottoms or they want bigger, even bigger then seven. We have purchased several 4 bottom plows for $100 to only cut them up and scrap them.

 

[Soundguy]

I think the time has long since passed that we no longer tolerate theft. Don't make life harder for the good guys because we are afraid to punish the wrong doers. My Dad had a chainsaw stolen a few years ago. The guy that stole it had been out of county jail for only a couple of days when he stole the saw. Bet he was out again within a day or two. By the way Dad recovered the saw himself from a local pawnshop. For some reason our society seems content to let a few folks make life miserable for the rest of us. Ok now I will step off my soap box.

I agree.

I'm kinda ok with that 'string em up out by the road into town' thing.. or if ya do let em go.. carbve an X into their face so EVERYBODY knows they were theives..

soundguy

 

[texasjohn]

Scrap dealers here require driver's license and take vehicle license for every delivery...of metal of any kind, not just copper/brass/al.

 

[Steve C]

I'd bet the plow was stolen.

scrap yard requires picture I.D.

the truck that pulled it in on the trailer had a farm sign on its door

It looked like a lot of hardware for very little money. There is nothing like watching the soil roll over at a high rate of speed, not to mention 7 rows at a time.