Smoothing land - How to start over.

[SgtSluggo]

We just moved onto our land and I have about 7 acres of field around the house. It is old pasture land that is extremely bumpy and hard. I would like to work toward getting it smooth enough to cut a least a portion of it with the zero-turn.

We are looking for a larger tractor, but I am trying to work with what I have for now. Currently I am targeting about half an acre that I am trying start with to test out my method. So far nothing has really touched it. I tried running over it with a chain harrow and that didn't really touch it. I bought a very small atv style disc harrow (was what I could afford not knowing if it would work) and it just mostly bounces off the top of all the worst parts. I weighed it down as much as as I could but that didn't help.

I think I have access to a one bottom plow.

Is there anything else I can try that would only require a semi restart of the grass and such? What do I do if I am willing to just start all over? I am trying not to invest in equipment that I won't have a use for later, and I am willing to put in more time to save money.

Just as a reminder - I grew up a city boy and this little 1700 with a bush hog is my first experience with a tractor. I am having to mostly teach everything to myself. I have what amounts to no institutional/inherited knowledge taking care of land beyond cutting the grass.

If the answer is to just pay someone to do this, who am I looking for and any advice on how to find that kind of service?

Thanks

 

[jeff9366]

Ford 1700 Dimensions
2WD Wheelbase:	60.2 inches 152 cm
4WD Wheelbase:	59.3 inches 150 cm
Length:	110.6 inches 280 cm
Width:	54.7 inches 138 cm
2WD Weight:	2444 lbs 1108 kg
4WD Weight:	2633 lbs 1194 kg
2WD Ground clearance:	14.4 inches 36 cm
4WD Ground clearance:	12.6 inches 32 cm
2WD Front tread:	43.5 to 57.5 inches 110 to 146 cm
4WD Front tread:	44.5 inches 113 cm
Rear tread:	43.3 to 58.7 inches 109 to 149 cm

I think I have access to a one bottom plow.

Whether your Ford 1700 is 2-WD or 4-WD it will manage to pull either a 12" or 14" width, one bottom moldboard plow through damp soil easily.

• Plowing will loosen the soil but not leave it any smoother. Pasture grass usually regenerates after one plowing.
• Improved pasture grass varieties my be 50% more productive relative to what you have, if you are willing to adjust soil pH if indicated by a soil test, and fertilize.

The best implement for smoothing after the plow with your light tractor would be a PTO powered roto-tiller.

VIDEOS (2):

FORD 1700 PLOWING - GOOD VIDEO.​

 

[Gee Ray]

I would till up the land with a tiller. You can rent one if you can not afford to buy one. Use your disk and smooth it out. Seed it and drag the area with the harrow.

 

[jeff9366]

I have about 7 acres of field around the house.

If your Ford 1 is 4-WD and the controls are working correctly, it should accomplish almost everything you need a tractor to do on seven acres, albeit slowly.

Sufficient tractor weight is more important for most tractor applications than increased tractor horsepower. Bare tractor weight is a tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used.

Within subcompact and compact tractor categories, a significant tractor capability increase requires a bare tractor weight increase of 50%. It takes a 100% increase in bare tractor weight to elicit MY-OH-MY!

We are looking for a larger heavier tractor.



I bought a very small atv style disc harrow and it just mostly bounces off the top of all the worst parts. I weighed it down as much as as I could but that didn't help.

Light implements are a waste of money. If you weight them, you will eventually break the welds.
Ask for implement recommendations here before buying implements.

 

[nybirdman]

Tiller will just bounce off hard ground,box blade with scarifiers.

 

[SgtSluggo]

I think I have access to a one bottom plow.

Whether your Ford 1700 is 2-WD or 4-WD it will manage to pull either a 12" or 14" moldboard plow through damp soil easily.

Plowing will loosen the soil but not leave it any smoother.

The best implement for smoothing after the plow with your light tractor would be a PTO powered roto-tiller.

VIDEOS (2):

I think my plan for next may be to take a small out of the way area of the field to test running a plow over it. Is it possible that I would be able to get it smooth enough with a disc and then chain? I'm not sure where a tiller will be on our list of things.

I would till up the land with a tiller. You can rent one if you can not afford to buy one. Use your disk and smooth it out. Seed it and drag the area with the harrow.

Tractor equipment rental isn't common around here, everyone seems to only have skid steer attachments for rent. A tiller is probably on our list eventually. Any risk in hurting the equipment it very hard soil?

I have about 7 acres of field around the house.

If your Ford is 4-WD and the controls are working correctly, it should do almost everything you need a tractor to accomplish on seven acres, albeit slowly.

Sufficient tractor weight is more important for most tractor applications than increased tractor horsepower. Bare tractor weight is a tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used.

Within subcompact and compact tractor categories, a significant tractor capability increase requires a bare tractor weight increase of 50%. It takes a 100% increase in bare tractor weight to elicit MY-OH-MY!

We are looking for a larger heavier tractor.

I like our little 1700, but it is only 2wd and doesn't have a loader. It's taught me a lot already about working on a tractor myself (i.e. I wouldn't exactly call it reliable). I have several uses for a loader (which is the real reason for looking for a tractor now), and I would also like to be able to run something bigger than our 5ft bush hog on some of the areas we aren't going to cut as often and that will be future proof for what I might want to do in the future. What we can afford will depend on what things actually end up being important (weight, hp, 4wd, etc) but I would expect we are going for a larger, more powerful, and heavier tractor.

 

[jeff9366]

I think my plan for next may be to take a small out of the way area of the field to test plowing.

I tried running over it with a chain harrow and that didn't really touch it. I bought a very small atv style disc harrow and it just mostly bounces off the top of all the worst parts.

Is it possible that I would be able to get it smooth enough with my ATV disc and a chain harrow?

It is possible if your soil is moist, you plow first, and you are then willing to make twelve to fifteen passes over the furrowed field. 'Moist and hard' is much, much easier to work than dry adobe brick. (I would not spend my time this way.)

Light implements are a waste of money. If you weight them, it will eventually break the welds.



Most tractors under 3,000 pounds bare weight operate in residential or hobby farm applications on one to ten flat acres.

Selling a used tractor is easy. Selling multiple light implements in order to buy heavier, wider implements for a new, heavier tractor requires a lot of time. Depreciation on implements is worse than depreciation on a tractor.

When considering a tractor purchase bare tractor weight first, tractor horsepower second, rear axle width third, rear wheel/tire ballast fourth.

 

[jeff9366]

I would also like to be able to run something bigger than our 5ft bush hog on some of the areas we aren't going to cut as often.

When your field is smooth you should be able to mow at 4 mph.

• With a 60" mower @ 4 mph you should cut a least two acres per hour.
• With a 72" mower @ 4 mph you should cut a least 2-1/2 acres per hour.

Rotary Mowers, like other implements, come in Light Duty, Medium Duty and Heavy Duty models. Generally speaking, there is 150 pounds of weight difference assoicoated with heavier increments. If you carefully study new mower specs, most have Category 3 drive lines. Heavy Duty models have Category 4 drive lines. Dealers often refer to HD Category 4 mowers as "Right-of-Way" Mowers.


25 horsepower will power a Light Duty 5' Rotary Mower
35 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 5' Rotary Mower

35 horsepower will power a Light Duty 6' Rotary Mower
45 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 6' Rotary Mower

Using a HD Rotary Cutter of 1,000 - 1,100 pounds you will need an FEL to hold down the front of the tractor on moderate slopes.

 

[SgtSluggo]

Most tractors under 3,000 pounds bare weight operate in residential or hobby farm applications on one to ten flat acres.

I'm not sure our land could be more flat except for the ditches that drain the land into the creek. We do have some areas that get muddy easily, but more because they are the edge of wetlands rather than a valley.

 

[jeff9366]

I'm not sure our land could be more flat except for the ditches that drain the land into the creek. We do have some areas that get muddy easily, but more because they are the edge of wetlands rather than a valley.

SPECS: https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/spec-sheets/l02-specs.pdf?sfvrsn=b38325da_2

 

[SgtSluggo]

SPECS: https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/spec-sheets/l02-specs.pdf?sfvrsn=b38325da_2

Been recently looking at either a used L3940 or L4240 in our area that are within our price range.

 

[ruffdog]

A heavy duty spike harrow with a couple of rail ties tied on will scrape the high spots and level it. I'm just thinking that getting a plow is going to make things worse.

 

[2manyrocks]

I'm in middle Tennessee, too. We haven't had much rain lately. My ground is so hard right now that it would be difficult to smooth out. Back in March-April, the ground had enough moisture that it was more workable.

Perhaps you could hold off until we get more moisture back in the ground? Probably going to be some months from now. There are transitional points when it goes from being muddy from the winter to being workable in the early Spring to later being rock hard.

Plus, the heat index was pushing 110 last week. It's better this week, but we're headed into late June, then July and August which are usually our hottest and most dry months.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I’d wait till fall

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I’d wait till fall

 

[jeff9366]

Been recently looking at either a used L3940 or L4240 in our area that are within our price range.

Kubota 'Grand L' tractors are wonderful.

I had two economy tractors before purchasing my 'Grand L' - L3560.
Well worth the incremental cost.

The L3940 and L4240 mostly draw 72" wide implements.
Either tractor will operate an 84" wide, forward-rotation tiller.

Make sure the tractor you buy has 4-WD.

Dimensions L3940 and L4240
Wheelbase:	74.6 inches 189 cm
Length:	121.5 inches 308 cm
Width:	66.5 inches 168 cm
Height (ROPS):	94.4 inches 239 cm
Weight:	3,527 lbs 1599 kg (Open Station)
	4,001 lbs 1814 kg (HST - Cab)
Ground clearance:	14.6 inches 37 cm
Front tread:	51.2 inches 130 cm
Rear tread:	50.6 to 60.2 inches 128 to 152 cm

 

[Egon]

Your present tractor will work fine. The same sized tractors have been used to convert many a pasture into seeded crop land. ( pastures like over 50 acres )
Plough the area. Weight your disk down and work the ploughed area in different directions till the sod is broke up. Then use a drag about 15 feet long pulled at a slight angle to level the area down. Might have to till a few time in between the dragging. When the surface meets your needs reseed.

 

[bill9068]

I had kind of the same situation. I own wooded property with about 15 acres if fields and had it select cut timbered last summer. It rained towards the clean up phase and the logger’s tried their best to smooth out the land where they stored logs to load and had equipment, thus area was about 2-3 acres with ruts as it dried last summer. I simply put my box blade on my Kioti DK5510 tractor and ran back and forth, sideways etc and after a long day had filled the ruts and planted clover for fall.

 

[Desertsasquach]

A couple of years ago, I rented a compact roller that vibrated. I waited until after a rain while the ground still had some moisture. It made a difference.

 

[oosik]

jeff93666 is spot on. I have a Land Pride 1048 disk. My field grass is so tuff - there are areas where this grass prevents the disk from even making a mark in the dirt. Just a waste of money.

I would like a HD tiller. But too much - $$$$. I lower the scarifiers on my LPGS and slowly but surely smooth and level many areas. Lower the scarifiers in stages - not all at once.