Starting from square 1 on implements for food plotting

Maddog66

5 year old buck +
Hi all,

literally the second post of my life on a chat forum, so here goes....

In the pathetic year of 2020, I know for sure at least one good thing happened. My wife and I bought the property on which we hope to live out the rest of our days.....starting in about 3 years.

The property is just under 300 acres heavily wooded with about 25 acres on the dead center of it being a beautiful, and very productive, Y shaped existing agricultural field (hay). I plan to convert 4 “corners” of that field into perennial plots this spring and early summer.....and then parts of them into annuals later in the year. Total will be about 6 acres. Soil testing is done, and I’ve already contracted with the local co-op to deliver and spread a 10 ton buggy this spring with the soil amendments I’ll need for clover. (Yikes, btw, that left a bit of a mark for a first timer$)

I also bought a new JD4066R with all the functionality I’ll need For what I’m about to embark on. Truth is, my main experience on tractors to now has been on machines literally as old as I am...and older. I’ve done lots of habitat work over the past 12 years on a friends farm, but most of the food plot work has been with ATV implements. I guess i also have to say I’m in my mid 50’s since I was dumb enough to mention it above!

I‘m in the market right now for my food plot “starter kit” for the new tractor. Today, other than the FEL on my tractor, a set of pallet forks, and a carry-all I made myself, I have precisely zero equipment for making food plots. I’m looking for advice on how to best spend some money wisely to get a real good start on my 6 acres with another 20 acres to “grow” in the future If I so choose. One limiting factor for about the next 3 years is that the property is about a 3 hour drive, one way, and I have one building on the property. An old 30x40 dry tin shed with a new cement floor I put in last fall as the snow flew.

I have 2 schools of thought on implements right now. The first is to buy separate tools. I know for sure I need a rotary cutter, so that’s a given. I also know I’ll need a sprayer and I’m sticking with my ATV and 10’ boom for now. That leaves me with needing “primary” tillage (leaning toward a 6’ disc), for sure a damn good cultipacker, and a way to plant. I suppose I could walk it with a bag spreader to start, but my ultimate goal is to have something more precise and versatile.

The other option, is to go with a multi-use implement for better use of time, But obviously more $. Firminator or Woods maybe? Not sure I, or my tractor, can swing a true no-till. These option and others similar include a much better seeder than a solo spinner.....so I understand they are going to cost more.

So, anybody do it one way and wish they’d done it the other? All advice is welcome.....and free here by all accounts!

Take care all! Happy Habitat Friday?
 
Sounds like you have it figures out pretty good, I would say a brush hog and cultipacker would be tops on my list. The disc and bag seeder are going to be quite a bit less money than a planter and not till is more yet so it really depends on how much you want to spend.
 
Congratulations! Some good things did come out of 2020 for many people, just not every day..

Read up on throw and mow. I bought a disk right out of the gate and it rarely gets dug out of the bushes. Not never, but not often.

If you can swing a no til drill in the next few years it might be worth it. You’re young and have lots of years to amortize the big up front cost. I wouldn’t rush in making big changes with out hunting it for a while. You may want to wait until you move there and have eyes on it every day. But with 300 acres you are going to want food plots. If for nothing other than the fun of it. If you’re planning on adding more plots think about putting them towards the outer edges of your land ( just not so they help the neighbors, unless you really like the neighbors) One big plot in the middle is better than nothing but makes it hard to hunt the wind because deer will come from anywhere.

I like to set things up so I’m just picking at the edges of my farm and the middle is for the deer to feel safe.
 
Thanks Bill, I’ve spent so many hours thinking about different layout options and I dont disagree with you at all. I actually have a couple of 3/4 acre deep woods plots already (Previous owners work). One close to the E side and one on the NW corner About 1/2 mile apart with the big field between them. Bedding and escape cover everywhere.

But one of my goals is to first just bring some deer to my property and help them survive. My farm is in far N Wi not too far from the big pond. We don’t have an over abundance of deer by any means. My aim is to put out some serious tonnage, if I can, and see what happens.

I hope to have many years to refine everything.

I’m just so torn now. 3 implements are cheaper but a PIA to store and I’m burning time running back and forth to change things out. Plus hand seeding and the 6 hour round trip and limited vacation time until I pull the pin at work.

A food plot seeder like I mentioned is easy to store in the shed, does double or triple duty on plots with a few turns on the top link (supposedly), and I could use it to put in our new yard when we build. One of them I’m looking at will be $10k and the other about $7500 (All in).

I’ve been working and saving for this moment for over 25 years and I want to do it right the first time.....or as right as I can within reason.
 
Can't comment much about the Firminator or all purpose units as don't know anyone that has one but can see that working out maybe just fine if you are going to always be plotting on former fields. If you are going to be doing any work on turning rough ground, think former wooded with stumps after pulling or maybe rocks/boulders removed into plot areas I would rather stick with a good heavy disc. I have a rig similar in size and weight as the 4066 but less horsepower. Course once on dirt vs. concrete it really is how much tire tread and weight vs. horsepower that matters. That said, if you do go with a Firminator type unit the 6 ft wide is probably about right. For a stand alone disc, the 6 ft is a little small and your tractor can handle a 7.5 or 8 ft unit no problem. With that many acres, can see you doing some fairly good sized plots down the road and undersized equipment is going to not be as tolerable.

Next question from the planting angle is what types of plots are you thinking about? Lots of corn and bean rotations? I don't know anyone doing throw and mow corn honestly. They all use some sort of planter. No till drill is probably borderline for your rig but maybe ok if flat and pull type. If you want 3 pt than you are into the lighter/narrower units which work against doing lots of acres. So no specific recomendations but some general thoughts.
 
I would get a disk and three pt spreader for the tractor now and wait on a dedicated planting unit later. You are going to want something you can spread fertilizer with and that wont be many of the dedicated planters. I have planted a lot of ground with a bush hog, sprayer, disk, spreader, and drag of some sort. Everything but corn.
 
In the near term, I don’t think I’ll mess with corn or beans at all. I’d like to get a few nice clover fields started right away this spring and then till parts of them under for fall plots. In the past, I’ve had good results with radishes, peas, turnips,.....the usual suspects.

Now in the future, knowing that corn (and beans) is king, I definitely may want to try it.

my AG ground is beautiful. Not rock free but pretty good. My plots in the woods, not so much. Plus they are pretty irregular with apple trees sprinkled here and there to dodge. I worry a longer implement like a heavy disc might be tough to maneuver.

I definitely think I’ll be doing more and bigger plots in the future.

is there even an actual no till drill that my 4066 can handle well? I have loaded R4’s on it with 600# in each which should put me around 5000#. Lift is 2500# at 24” behind pins.
 
Corn is king when the snow gets deep. Just say'n. Unless you have 3000 apple trees and they hold into the winter but only know one guy on here that can use that strategy.

If the Op is close enough to the Big Pond (Lake Michigan) they can still grow corn vs. a few counties to the west when you get up in Oconto or Marinette counties. Now if up by Hwy 8, maybe not as likely.
 
Thanks swampcat. No cultipacker huh? I guess I’ve been looking at that, whether stand-alone or part of a multi-use deal, as a pretty critical thing to have at the start. Not so much?
 
Gitchegumee big pond. Snow up to my nipples every year (except this one). Southern Ashland County. A farmer down the road from me has awesome corn too. Blessed with some great soil in a small area.

I have a good 100 apple trees on the land but they’re done by mid October.
 
In the near term, I don’t think I’ll mess with corn or beans at all. I’d like to get a few nice clover fields started right away this spring and then till parts of them under for fall plots. In the past, I’ve had good results with radishes, peas, turnips,.....the usual suspects.

Now in the future, knowing that corn (and beans) is king, I definitely may want to try it.

my AG ground is beautiful. Not rock free but pretty good. My plots in the woods, not so much. Plus they are pretty irregular with apple trees sprinkled here and there to dodge. I worry a longer implement like a heavy disc might be tough to maneuver.

I definitely think I’ll be doing more and bigger plots in the future.

is there even an actual no till drill that my 4066 can handle well? I have loaded R4’s on it with 600# in each which should put me around 5000#. Lift is 2500# at 24” behind pins.
I looked up the specs for your rig. A couple hundred pound heavier than my JD 4600 for basic unit. My rig with same size tires (loaded with beet juice), loader and heavy duty bucket is right at 5500#. Your rig is probably closer to #5700 all in.
 
Assuming I continue to have a buggy delivered with a custom lime / fert blend when I need it, do you think I still need a spreader? Do you guys hit your plots with a shot of N (or whatever) at times other than before planting?
 
Ifyou are planting brassicas you'll probably need to hit them with extra N.
 
I can’t wait to put it to use this spring Rocks, sitting in my garage with 13 hours on it is killing me!!
 
13 hours. Some advice when they say to check the tire lug nuts after running a bit is to do just that. Also check the mounting bolts for the loader brackets. I checked stuff right after delivered new but later stuff did loosen up and loader brackets were really noticeable. After that retightening good for next 20 years!
 
I’ve heard about lug nuts backing off with use but never loader bolts. Thanks for that advice.....I’ll check the torque spec in my manual and put it on “the list”.

A huge part of the fun in this so far has been everything I’ve been learning about so many interesting subjects. Tractors, implements, soil, seed, trees, .......etc. I know you guys get it, preaching to the choir.

I just signed up for the program in Wi called DMAP. It’ll be fun to walk my property with a forester and wildlife biologist and hear what they have to say.

I wish already I’d started on my own land sooner but things happen when they happen for a reason, I guess.
 
Let me ask another question. Let’s say I decide to go with separate implements for now. Since I can swing buying new stuff financially, do you think I could get the best deal by buying most or all from one company or dealer? Quantity discount?

Rotary cutter, disc or tiller, cultipacker, seeder, spreader, box blade?
 
With the caveat I'm in North Florida and have fairly soft / mostly rock free soil, my "cultipacker" only cost me a tiny bit of sweat equity. Heavy 4" x 6" wrapped at the end of a 8' long section of chain link fence with a loop of heavy wire tied to the other end to hook around my UTV ball hitch. Eventually I want to get a no-till/cultipacker setup as well, but haven't exactly had horrible results with the chain link drag thus far.

Clover.jpg

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112520 Greens.jpg

As for a possible strategy to consider, even having only 112 acres myself I've worked on building somewhat of a circular travel ring around the edge of my property with about 6 small plots planted out of view from one another along points of the travel ring. In four of those plots (and the smallest plots) I have simpler mixes such as only clover and/or rye with clover, and in the two larger plots I most prefer to typically hunt I plant a more versatile mix including multiple grains (oats and winter rye), winter peas, strips of several different clovers, and strips of brassicas. The separate plots out of sight from one another (but somewhat visible from my house in the center of the property) lower social stress among the deer herd and let bigger numbers use the property at one time (counted 24 different deer in my plots one evening this past week).

And agree with what Bill said on keeping the middle of the property a relatively safe sanctuary if you can so that the deer don't get pushed out from the middle toward neighboring properties, but instead feel more danger at the boundaries while at the same time feeling as safe as possible in the bulk of the middle of your property (if practical / feasible).

Good luck and BIG CONGRATS on the purchase!
 
Hi all,

literally the second post of my life on a chat forum, so here goes....

In the pathetic year of 2020, I know for sure at least one good thing happened. My wife and I bought the property on which we hope to live out the rest of our days.....starting in about 3 years.

The property is just under 300 acres heavily wooded with about 25 acres on the dead center of it being a beautiful, and very productive, Y shaped existing agricultural field (hay). I plan to convert 4 “corners” of that field into perennial plots this spring and early summer.....and then parts of them into annuals later in the year. Total will be about 6 acres. Soil testing is done, and I’ve already contracted with the local co-op to deliver and spread a 10 ton buggy this spring with the soil amendments I’ll need for clover. (Yikes, btw, that left a bit of a mark for a first timer$)

I also bought a new JD4066R with all the functionality I’ll need For what I’m about to embark on. Truth is, my main experience on tractors to now has been on machines literally as old as I am...and older. I’ve done lots of habitat work over the past 12 years on a friends farm, but most of the food plot work has been with ATV implements. I guess i also have to say I’m in my mid 50’s since I was dumb enough to mention it above!

I‘m in the market right now for my food plot “starter kit” for the new tractor. Today, other than the FEL on my tractor, a set of pallet forks, and a carry-all I made myself, I have precisely zero equipment for making food plots. I’m looking for advice on how to best spend some money wisely to get a real good start on my 6 acres with another 20 acres to “grow” in the future If I so choose. One limiting factor for about the next 3 years is that the property is about a 3 hour drive, one way, and I have one building on the property. An old 30x40 dry tin shed with a new cement floor I put in last fall as the snow flew.

I have 2 schools of thought on implements right now. The first is to buy separate tools. I know for sure I need a rotary cutter, so that’s a given. I also know I’ll need a sprayer and I’m sticking with my ATV and 10’ boom for now. That leaves me with needing “primary” tillage (leaning toward a 6’ disc), for sure a damn good cultipacker, and a way to plant. I suppose I could walk it with a bag spreader to start, but my ultimate goal is to have something more precise and versatile.

The other option, is to go with a multi-use implement for better use of time, But obviously more $. Firminator or Woods maybe? Not sure I, or my tractor, can swing a true no-till. These option and others similar include a much better seeder than a solo spinner.....so I understand they are going to cost more.

So, anybody do it one way and wish they’d done it the other? All advice is welcome.....and free here by all accounts!

Take care all! Happy Habitat Friday?

Do you enjoy food plot work, or are you more geared towards just making sure you’re competitive habitat-wise come hunting season?

What amount and type of food would it take to be ‘best available’ in your area?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks swampcat. No cultipacker huh? I guess I’ve been looking at that, whether stand-alone or part of a multi-use deal, as a pretty critical thing to have at the start. Not so much?
I am not saying a cultipacker is not a useful tool - but I planted 25 to 30 acres for years without one. In fact, I have never owned a stand alone cultipacker. I have one on the back of a woods seeder now, but I went 35 years without one. I plant wheat, peas/beans, clover, sunflowers, millet, and some turnips.

But, I will say this - I have some soil down here called “gumbo” that just will not till into anything that could be considered smaller than small clods. A cultipacker definitely helps with small seeds like clover and turnips for that soil.

My typical planting method for bigger seeds is disk, spread seed, and drag. If planting clover or turnip or millet, disk, drag, spread seed, and drag again. Typically, I use a half of a 16’ cattle panel with three tires wired to it. They are cheap enough I pretty much have a drag at each food plot. That way, I can spread seed and drag without having to leave the food plot.
 
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