Field Drag

[bruce65trojan]

Has anyone built a drag and had success with one like this? I'm looking for ideas for a heavy drag to smooth out some pasture land. It was planted in pines and has since been cut and root raked. I've already disked the land over but am needing ideas for smoothing it out since my spike tooth harrow does have enough weight to fill all the ruts and divots. I'm considering trying to find an I-beam or steel pipe to use. But am interested in what other ideas and methods y'all have used and had success.

 

[skipperbrown]

I am getting ready to make one out of 2, 8-10' sections of used power poles weighing about 200-300# each, lined up in tandem. I'll use eyebolts on the poles and connect to the tractor with chain to get a similar look as the drags in your picture. I have used these in the past. They are (relatively) cheap and easy to make but the shortcomings are spillage of dirt to one side or the other (creating a hill) and the weight tends to run too light (doesn't work at all) or too heavy (Too heavy and you end up with a 8' wide plow). Obviously, you can't back up while pulling. It would be nice to somehow add a boom pole to the 3 pt hitch to control the depth.

Another option is a chain drag harrow but you will likely need a heavy one and in the videos I've seen, grass/weeds tend to ball up and lift the drag off the ground.

 

[bruce65trojan]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I was wondering if building a 3pt hitch on it would work good. That way when dragging and debris is built up you can just pick it up and dump it then keep on going. I'm just concerned that it wouldn't float the same as if just dragging with chain hook ups.

 

[WranglerX]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I was wondering if building a 3pt hitch on it would work good. That way when dragging and debris is built up you can just pick it up and dump it then keep on going. I'm just concerned that it wouldn't float the same as if just dragging with chain hook ups.

Solid connect to lower 3PH points and use chain for top connect that way it will float, and you can also lift it....

Dale

 

[CoyPatton]

Have you considered a 3PH land plane??

 

[bruce65trojan]

Have you considered a 3PH land plane??

Yeah I have. But for what I'm trying to do I don't think its what I'm looking for at the moment.

 

[bruce65trojan]

I also found this style that I think would work too. Of course using it as a drag style or possible 3PH style.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Armstrong Ag offers a 3-point chain harrow frame. You can use their CH or .. in my case I already had one.

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

I think most of the posters in this thread and the line of thinking is geared more towards leveling row crop or small grain already tilled ground to make it easier to plant and harvest..

Our pastures here are reclaimed heavy forest and bush.. So they are quite rough by row crop or small grain crop standards..
I use a chain harrow drag similar to post #8 to break down woody stem bush and weeds to let grasses spring back when I'm not ready to mow.

I'm sure the drag in post #1 will do the job needed.. Again in already established and tilled crop land it may take a lot of passes and seat time to get the desired results. Using a disk on high spots and the like to make it easier to move dirt.. You can spend a lot of time moving dirt for the price of hooking the corner of a combine header into the ground just once..