atv setup for food plots

Bszweda

5 year old buck +
Hey guys,

Iam starting to price out some equipment for food plots I'll be doing next year. Anything iam missing and what do you think? I am still thinking about going the tractor route but that will probably put me more at 15k- 25k range.(18-24 hp) My planting method would be no till most likely either way. The additional functionality of a loader on a tractor keeps nagging me.

New Polaris sportsman 570 - 5.5k
Atv trailer - 1.2 k
Sprayer - 300 dollars
Cultipacker 300 dollars
Harrow - 300 dollars
Spreader - 300 dollars
Optional fail mower 2k ( i feel the existing dead vegetation in my fields needs to be cut to improve seed to soil contact)
 
Optional fail mower 2k ( i feel the existing dead vegetation in my fields needs to be cut to improve seed to soil contact)

Hey now, failure is not an option!!
 
throw all that money in a jar and save for a tractor, unless you plan on doing less that 2 acres ever in a year with an atv. Besides that you will KILL the atv before you are ever happy with the results. IMHO
 
I LIKIE that 3600 series, beefy enough for you to do a LOT of work. Acres of plots without driving around in circles on the atv side of things. Get a 6 foot brush hog, and the rest of the goodies.
 
Absolutely second the tractor. Used my Polaris 800 for several years and once you get past 2 acres, it gets very time consuming. Especially if you've got lots of small plots and you're having to run from plot to plot fetching implements. If you can get some type of planter like a Woods or Firminator, that will make your life even easier. But no matter what, get a tractor. Even carrying bags of feed or fertilizer in the FEL will make life easier. And being able to lift the 3 pt implements makes maneuverability easier.
 
I LIKIE that 3600 series, beefy enough for you to do a LOT of work. Acres of plots without driving around in circles on the atv side of things. Get a 6 foot brush hog, and the rest of the goodies.

Me too. Of the two I’d go with the higher HP and bigger frame.

Your original post of 18 to 25 hp had me a bit worried. I happened into an 18 hp new holland with a Front end loader.
The bucket beats a wheelbarrow and it’s a smidge of a step up from a lawn mower, but not much.

Good hydraulic’s though. If I try to pick up something to heavy the ass end flys right off the ground :)
 
throw all that money in a jar and save for a tractor, unless you plan on doing less that 2 acres ever in a year with an atv. Besides that you will KILL the atv before you are ever happy with the results. IMHO

Me too. Of the two I’d go with the higher HP and bigger frame.

Your original post of 18 to 25 hp had me a bit worried. I happened into an 18 hp new holland with a Front end loader.
The bucket beats a wheelbarrow and it’s a smidge of a step up from a lawn mower, but not much.

Good hydraulic’s though. If I try to pick up something to heavy the ass end flys right off the ground :)


I agree with this completely. No matter how much hp you get with your ATV/SUV, they are built for speed, not torque. Most of the differential gear boxes are metal or composite chains or belts. Not built for the stress of dragging a disc, mower, etc.

Both of the above are very good comments. Sub-compact tractors are glorified lawn mowers designed for yard work, not the farm. I have a Kubota MX5800 ... best investment I made. I don't know the class or series of other tractors, the lowest to consider for what you want is Kubota's L-series.

Weight, torque, and 4wd are best ... pay more for a tractor with FEL & disc upfront, then add a 6' cultipacker and you will be golden. Add an implement each year. You''l learn what you need most as you go.
 
keep in mind also, that when looking at tractors, remember that diesels almost always have a ton more torque.
 
keep in mind also, that when looking at tractors, remember that diesels almost always have a ton more torque.

Good ... not sure how that is something he can process ...
 
just that diesel rated at 40 hp is able to do a lot more work than a 40 hp gas tractor.
 
I agree that diesel gives you more power than gas but gas doesn't have issues with cold weather if the cold may become a factor? I have a flail mower and love that mower for my applications(great for throw and mow) especially mowing when the terrain may have a few surprises hidden under grass,weeds or brush. Flail mower is a durable beast in my opinion.
 
I am trying to get away from a tractor myself. I don't own one so I am reliant on someone else for one. I don't like that. I want to be able to plant my food plots on my time. I am working toward ZERO tillage and am having some success. Will it limit what I can plant? Maybe. I do know that this year I will be planting the cereals at twice the rate that I use to. I am growing peas with great success but my beans and sunflowers are spotty. (I used free older bean seed and bird food sunflowers) It could just be the seed but I think I needed more thatch. Tilling for clovers, chicory, brassicas, and the like is a complete waste of time, money, and isn't doing the soil any favors.
 
Sorry but to call almost any plot created with an ATV a food plot is off, I tend to call those more of kill plots than food plots. Unless you have way more time on your hands than I, the resulting plots are smaller. 2 overlooked nutrients as I would call them, are H, and P. I am talking horsepower. Can it be done with an ATV?,sure, but in the long run the ATV is going take a beating and the food plot will end up smaller than what you could achieve with almost any other tractor.

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Weird soapbox. Food plots come in all shapes and sizes. What you call them is semantics. How they’re created doesn’t matter in the end.
 
Sorry but to call almost any plot created with an ATV a food plot is off, I tend to call those more of kill plots than food plots. Unless you have way more time on your hands than I, the resulting plots are smaller. 2 overlooked nutrients as I would call them, are H, and P. I am talking horsepower. Can it be done with an ATV?,sure, but in the long run the ATV is going take a beating and the food plot will end up smaller than what you could achieve with almost any other tractor.

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hate to tell you this, but its NOT HP< that is a factor in making a food plot or not, as many atv's have WAY more HP than most food plot guys tractors do
most 700-800 cc atv can have a 100 HP these days, or at min 75+<
and very few food plot guys are running 75+ HP tractors

its about weight and gearing that make the REAL difference in between a ATV and a tractor and then there is the size of the implements being used

anyone that is serious about making and up keeping food plots, I agree is foolish to NOT buy into a tractor at some point, and honestly, if I had to do over again, I would hve bought before the atv, as good older used tractors can be had for a fraction of the costs of a decent NEW atv, and will out work it by an incredible amount in seat time to work actually being done

NOW as for can a ATV make a REAL food plot,
I firmly say YES they can,
I have made countless food plots using an atv in sized up to a little over 3 acres

and YES 150% YES< it was a LOT of seat time to make them, but back in the day, I used the tools I had

I doubt I spent any more $$ on fuel used, but sure put a lot of miles and hours on my atv driving in circles LOL

and as for tractors I use now, most are under 50 hp, and many are just about 25 hp, and work just fine due to being older heavier than the new ones of like HP< and well were built to last and to be worked on by uneducated farmers!, no BASH< being honest, they were made SIMPLE back in the day, so folks would be able to fix themselves and NOT need to go to a dealer!

lots of tractors from, the 1940's-50's and 60's still running today, I doubt we will be able to say that about modern ones in 50+ yrs<< again, once they were made to last and company's took PRIDE In saying there product would last
now, its a disposable world, things MADE to fail so you buy again and again!
 
Been doing plots with an atv for 7 years now. I have two quads . One is 500cc and other is 700cc. The most abuse it takes is pulling my Tufline disc, but I only till two inches. I have lots of time on my hands and take care of the quads. Some years I did 6 acres, but I’m usually doing 3. I’m not saying to go with the quads or tractor. I’m just saying what I do. I enjoy doing the plots as much as hunting .
 
throw all that money in a jar and save for a tractor, unless you plan on doing less that 2 acres ever in a year with an atv. Besides that you will KILL the atv before you are ever happy with the results. IMHO
Agree 100%. I always say if atvs are the way to work and plant fields, all the farmers would be using them. I have a ATV that I use for spraying and spreading seed/ fertilizer. Everything else is done with tractors. I can't even imagine doing 2 acres with a ATV. My FIL put 50miles on his ATV discing a 1 acre plot, beat the crap out of him and machine, also didn't do that nice of job to boot.
 
Absolutely. I have an 800 cc Polaris and it has served me well discing, cultipacking, and spreading over the years, but at about 2 acres it was becoming VERY time consuming and tough on the machine. Now, I pull a heavy Tartar disc with it, so a lighter one may have been easier. The time I was spending moving implements from one field to another, driving in circles, etc became almost impossible to do. At my age, and the time I have to travel to get to my place, I need to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Getting the tractor and Firminator was life changing for me along those lines. It's also allowed me to easily open more space for planting, or plant roads I never had time for before. Not to mention it's nice to know that I can knock out several acres in a day and my toughest decision is whether to turn down the air conditioner or turn up the radio :-)
 
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