Not Exactly A Compact Tracor

[irvingj]

Visited with wife's family in Brashear, MO last week; helped BIL move a grain feeder bin out from his storage barn. Man, that's a big tractor! (And this is his small one!)

Just a tad different than my GC2310!:ashamed:

Yeah, he's kinda partial to green....

 

[Thomas]

Little rear ballast and tire chains think of all the fun you'll have keeping driveway clean of snow.

 

[MossRoad]

Does it scalp the lawn in sharp turns? :laughing:

 

[Johndeere3720]

Wheres the MMM? :laughing:

 

[sld]

That kind of puts things in perspective.

I hunt on some land near here and regularly talk to the farmers. One day he was feeding calfs with a huge (to me) 4wd John Deere. As we were talking, he said that the tractor was "only" 90 horsepower and they considered it their little one.:laughing:

 

[irvingj]

There are some monsters out there... 4WD, with dual full-size ag tires on each axle... Guess BIL prefers 2WD, though I thought he had one of those 6-wheel 4WD models some time ago.

He used to farm row crops, mostly soybeans, but now is in to cattle, black Angus. His newest venture is going in with a man who has a lot of land but no cattle, and no experience in "rotational grazing." Apparently BIL is regarded as somewhat of an authority in that area.

As I understand it, given a water supply in the center, up to 125+ cattle will move over a 20-acre space and evenly graze. After 2-3 days, they're moved to another 20-acre plot (with another centrally-located water supply), and so on.

The idea is that 1) they're grass-fed, not grain-fed, and 2) they never deplete the grasses in one spot. The project he's now working on will involve about 8 such 20-acre plots, IIRC.

Just before we returned, I was assisting him in placing stock waterers made by Cobett, which sit in the ground and are well insulated- enough so they won't freeze up. Ingenious device, "energy-free" as they say. We went up to Peru, IA Wednesday to pick up 12 of these things that BIL and some others had ordered. These things were invented by a farmer, who is now in the business of making them, and doing quite well; a great success story for good ol' American ingenuity!

What really amazed me is that they'll have to, from a large farm pond, run underground water lines to each of the 20-acre areas, as well as fence each of them in --with gates. They were just beginning with a team, one mini-excavator and a Ditch-Witch trencher. Guess they don't have tons of large rocks in the ground, like around here!:laughing: How much water line? I asked. "Oh, about 10,000 feet..." -- Not to mention the electric supply to get to the pond for the water pump....

As far as getting around? No, the tractor pretty much stays at home; what he now uses mostly is a one-ton Ford 4WD flat bed with a round bail picker-upper thing on the back. That and a trailer, either a 35' stock trailer or a small "lawn mower" trailer, which can carry --and then be pulled by-- one of his Polaris 500cc ATVs.

So- stock trailer to lay in a 1/2 dozen of these waterers under a tree, then back a day or so later with the ATV on the small trailer. Drive the ATV off, hook the trailer up to it, then load a couple waterers and off into the fields to place them here & there. Pretty slick.

Really nice territory out there, and really nice people. Spent the 4th of July in Hurdland, MO (pop. about 500) listening to live music (local musicians, of course-- and not bad, either!), watching fireworks.

And the really good news? I think I'm finally developing a tolerance for those ******* CHIGGERS!:laughing::laughing:

 

[wroughtn_harv]

And the really good news? I think I'm finally developing a tolerance for those ******* CHIGGERS!

I never have. I don't know why but them little hussies will leave the women and kids alone and zero in on me everytime.

Must be the man smell (it's the females that cause us the problems).

 

[jayste]

He used to farm row crops, mostly soybeans, but now is in to cattle, black Angus. His newest venture is going in with a man who has a lot of land but no cattle, and no experience in "rotational grazing." Apparently BIL is regarded as somewhat of an authority in that area.

As I understand it, given a water supply in the center, up to 125+ cattle will move over a 20-acre space and evenly graze. After 2-3 days, they're moved to another 20-acre plot (with another centrally-located water supply), and so on.

The idea is that 1) they're grass-fed, not grain-fed, and 2) they never deplete the grasses in one spot. The project he's now working on will involve about 8 such 20-acre plots, IIRC.

I've read up a little on this type of rotational grazing. I've considered it but need more land to lease. Pasture quality and number of head would dictate rotation frequency. Would prohibit over grazing. Thanks for sharing.

 

[irvingj]

wroughtn_harv-- I love fishing, and when I get to MO I hit the farm ponds big time. Wasn't quite as good this year, but still managed a few largemouth, crappies, bluegill & one catfish-- all on a Rapala F-7 gold minnow lure.

Problem is, those chiggers apparently like to hang out in the tall grass I have to negotiate. The first year I did this, maybe 6 years ago, the drive home was excruciating-- worse than poison ivy!! I was in agony the whole way back, then for another 2 weeks after I got home!

This year, after an hour or two of itch, no problem, save for some fairly mild recurrence after sitting in car for umpteen hours on the way home. A bit less each day, however, and only just before bedtime. By the time we got home (after 3rd day), all gone. Much easier!:thumbsup:

jayste-- BIL likes the idea, has been doing some on a smaller scale --40 to 50 head, I believe-- on his own land. He finds his "grass-fed" angus command a bit higher price at auction, and figures he's also saved a bundle in feed; thinks he'll only need to get just a few (?) bales of hay this year. Sure sounds like it makes sense.

 

[CMSporthorses]

Round here my 90hp Case is a toy... The usual tractors are four wheel drives, 400+ HP, running duals both ends..and are dragging air seeder tillage bars between 45-60 feet wide.. but considering "little" farms are 3000 odd acres and the bigger guys are 15,000 or more, you sort of need to cover ground....

My toy gear, a scarrifier thats 24' and a combine seeder about 16' is handy for doing the little 5-10acre paddocks round town... It takes the big guys longer to unfold and fold than to do the jobs...