More equipment finds at the farm

[Dukslayr]

I’ve got a few more implements that I scored along with the new farm. Some of them I think I will keep and put into service and some them I think I’ll find new homes for. Here’s what I scored.

Got this fault heavy older cultivator or ripper (not sure what the exact term is). I will probably hang onto this. Hopefully the new tractor will have enough juice to pull this. I’m guessing this will come in handle my turning over the CRP ground for food plots before I try to convert to no-till.

I contacted the previous owner and he said he never used this disc in the 11 years he owned the farm. The cylinder looks in decent shape and like it’s been used in the last 11 years...but this may take a little work to get back into service. I definitely think I’ll hang onto this disc if I can get it working.

Looks like I’ve got a bit of a home-brew spray rig. Looking over this thing I think I’m going to find a new home for this and start over with a commercially built sprayer. I’ve got a 25 gallon boom sprayer that’ll work for now but would like to upgrade to a 50 gallon. I just don’t want to deal with with someone else’s creative project.

I have no idea what this officially is. It’s definitely some sort of disc but appears to be something special purpose. It’s got some different parts on it than I’m used to seeing. What is this thing?

Obviously some sort of brush cutter. Kind of a different looking cutter so not sure if it’s special purpose or not. Not something I will be hanging onto though. Looks like it hasn’t been used in a while...

This might be the best score I got. I will definitely be putting this old dog back into service. I’ve always wanted a good cultipacker and looks like I’ve got one now...albeit an old school unit. Looks heavy as hell thats for sure.

Just a standard disc. I think this is the one the previous owner used for his smaller plots. I am assuming I’ll predominately use the hydraulic disc if I can get it up and running...but may hang onto this one for a year or two to see if I ever need it. I doubt it will get much use since I should be able to get the tractor and pull disc into most all of my plots.

Scored this old JD planter was well. I don’t know much about it other than the previous owner never used it and it looks like it probably needs some work. I will probably see what I can get for this locally in and effort to step up to a little heavier planter set up for no till (probably the on from KS Farms Mfg that I posted previously). Anyone know what model this planter is and roughly what an old unit that needs work would be worth to someone who rebuilds these things?

Got a number or other small old implements included with the farm. I doubt there much actual value in most of this stuff (outside the cultipacker and ripper) but thought I would share here in case there’s something I’m missing on any of these old implements.

Thomas


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rocksnstumps]

Duk,
The red disc with the 2 x 4 laying on it looks like one of the old Ferguson 3 pts with a spot for adding weight on front. Some claim for a 3 pt they were really the best design out there that could cut well even without a lot of weight. Some of the old ones had wood box bearings. I went to look at a pre auction spot by the road awhile back and sitting there among lots of collected stuff was a Ford-Dearborn version similar to Ferguson. So an old fella wanders out and I don't think he really wanted to have an auction, probably the wife or some family member was on him for it. He got all huffy when he saw me eyeing up his disc (was in really nice shape) and said that's not going in the auction. I'm not gonna take less than $1100 for that one! There was somebody on the old habitat site not to be named that was all about pull type over 3 pt ones to follow the contour of the land better and you could still use a smaller tractor and pull an 8 fter. Somewhere in that argument the old 3 pt Ferguson design was brought up as a good compromise since it had the ability to somewhat follow lumpy ground better than the square frame ones.

I have an Allis Chalmers disc very similar to the angle iron green one that you think the previous owner did his small plots with. Busting new sod or even a clover food plot you leave alone for 5-6 years before needing to rework and not so good without tearing up first with a ripper or spraying the ground multiple times to help break down that root mass. I think that type was more of a finishing type disc after working a field with a plow first.

Post a pic on Yesterday's Tractors site, might get some more info and maybe some offers!

Found an old pic for you


And a small version with the weight box upfront

 

[Dukslayr]

Duk,
The red disc with the 2 x 4 laying on it looks like one of the old Ferguson 3 pts with a spot for adding weight on front. Some claim for a 3 pt they were really the best design out there that could cut well even without a lot of weight. Some of the old ones had wood box bearings. I went to look at a pre auction spot by the road awhile back and sitting there among lots of collected stuff was a Ford-Dearborn version similar to Ferguson. So an old fella wanders out and I don't think he really wanted to have an auction, probably the wife or some family member was on him for it. He got all huffy when he saw me eyeing up his disc (was in really nice shape) and said that's not going in the auction. I'm not gonna take less than $1100 for that one! There was somebody on the old habitat site not to be named that was all about pull type over 3 pt ones to follow the contour of the land better and you could still use a smaller tractor and pull an 8 fter. Somewhere in that argument the old 3 pt Ferguson design was brought up as a good compromise since it had the ability to somewhat follow lumpy ground better than the square frame ones.

I have an Allis Chalmers disc very similar to the angle iron green one that you think the previous owner did his small plots with. Busting new sod or even a clover food plot you leave alone for 5-6 years before needing to rework and not so good without tearing up first with a ripper or spraying the ground multiple times to help break down that root mass. I think that type was more of a finishing type disc after working a field with a plow first.

Post a pic on Yesterday's Tractors site, might get some more info and maybe some offers!

Found an old pic for you
View attachment 22813

And a small version with the weight box upfront
View attachment 22814

Yep, that looks like it exactly...minus the rust, weeds, and wear. Thank you for the input! Maybe somewhere around me will be interested in taking it on and fixing it back up.

 

[yoderjac]

I’ve got a few more implements that I scored along with the new farm. Some of them I think I will keep and put into service and some them I think I’ll find new homes for. Here’s what I scored.
...
Got this fault heavy older cultivator or ripper (not sure what the exact term is). I will probably hang onto this. Hopefully the new tractor will have enough juice to pull this. I’m guessing this will come in handle my turning over the CRP ground for food plots before I try to convert to no-till.

...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No-till or min till is not something to convert to if you haven't started yet. It is the place you want to start! It doesn't make sense to ruin something in a season or two and then spend many years trying to get back where you started. Having said that, A cultivator will just scratch the surface in inch so if set right. Their original purpose was to disturb young weeds mechanically between row crops. It is a great tool for minimal tillage if minimum tillage is even needed with your soils.

I'd let the disk sit and rust unless as far food plots go, but it can be a great tool for refreshing firebreaks.

If you think the CRP grasses are too thick for throw and mow, consider a controlled burn. Much of the nutrients will still return to the soil. It is better than tilling. If you have a heavy clay component in your soils and they tend to glaze you may need that cultivator. Otherwise, I would simply burn, broadcast, and cultipack (a great tool!).

Thakns,

Jack

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Some nice finds! There's something about old farm equipment that I love. That's one heck of a cultipacker!

 

[Dukslayr]

No-till or min till is not something to convert to if you haven't started yet. It is the place you want to start! It doesn't make sense to ruin something in a season or two and then spend many years trying to get back where you started. Having said that, A cultivator will just scratch the surface in inch so if set right. Their original purpose was to disturb young weeds mechanically between row crops. It is a great tool for minimal tillage if minimum tillage is even needed with your soils.

I'd let the disk sit and rust unless as far food plots go, but it can be a great tool for refreshing firebreaks.

If you think the CRP grasses are too thick for throw and mow, consider a controlled burn. Much of the nutrients will still return to the soil. It is better than tilling. If you have a heavy clay component in your soils and they tend to glaze you may need that cultivator. Otherwise, I would simply burn, broadcast, and cultipack (a great tool!).

Thakns,

Jack

Not sure I can get the stand of beans and corn I am after unless I do some sort of tillage this year. After 20+ years in CRP I’m assuming getting anything 1”+ down in the ground is going to be a challenge without some disruption?

 

[rocksnstumps]

No-till or min till is not something to convert to if you haven't started yet. It is the place you want to start! It doesn't make sense to ruin something in a season or two and then spend many years trying to get back where you started

Blah, blah, blah. I know the intent is good but people tend to make assumptions that they know everything about the situation of others. I see the no till thing repeated over and over. I think in some situations it is a good thing vs. tillage. But very unrealistic in some types of property or maybe in certain stages of property being reworked to get to even having a field prepped in the first place.

If you take a wooded parcel and that is all you have, you gotta cut trees and rip out stumps to get to having an open spot to do something with. Ripping out stumps means you need to have loose dirt to fill holes in and tillage is a good way to get things filled in and leveled so moving forward maybe you can do things differently.

Or in my case, I have to deal with rocks and stumps. Hmmm....sounds familiar somehow. Actually to be more accurate I should use the name boulders and stumps. My open spots were pasture but never been row cropped or tilled. At least not since the glaciers dumped stuff all over the landscape. Taking out lots of rocks and boulders means you have lot of holes to fill. Discing means you can fill and level and going forward at least you can mow or even use a 4 wheeler. 4 wheelers with sprayers do not have enough ground clearance for much of my open areas until several cycles of rock picking and land leveling. I mostly just like to mow to cut down weed competition and not spray at all until things are so full of grass and thistle it's time to push reset. At that point I get motivated to spend more time in boulder removal on small plot edges so the discing resumes every 5-6 years for more loose fill. At some point I'll stop and throw and mow is a tool to use.

Ok, enough trying to derail thread off topic, just the whole throw and mow pontification does not have universal application much as it sounds great.

 

[Dukslayr]

Blah, blah, blah. I know the intent is good but people tend to make assumptions that they know everything about the situation of others. I see the no till thing repeated over and over. I think in some situations it is a good thing vs. tillage. But very unrealistic in some types of property or maybe in certain stages of property being reworked to get to even having a field prepped in the first place.

If you take a wooded parcel and that is all you have, you gotta cut trees and rip out stumps to get to having an open spot to do something with. Ripping out stumps means you need to have loose dirt to fill holes in and tillage is a good way to get things filled in and leveled so moving forward maybe you can do things differently.

Or in my case, I have to deal with rocks and stumps. Hmmm....sounds familiar somehow. Actually to be more accurate I should use the name boulders and stumps. My open spots were pasture but never been row cropped or tilled. At least not since the glaciers dumped stuff all over the landscape. Taking out lots of rocks and boulders means you have lot of holes to fill. Discing means you can fill and level and going forward at least you can mow or even use a 4 wheeler. 4 wheelers with sprayers do not have enough ground clearance for much of my open areas until several cycles of rock picking and land leveling. I mostly just like to mow to cut down weed competition and not spray at all until things are so full of grass and thistle it's time to push reset. At that point I get motivated to spend more time in boulder removal on small plot edges so the discing resumes every 5-6 years for more loose fill. At some point I'll stop and throw and mow is a tool to use.

Ok, enough trying to derail thread off topic, just the whole throw and mow pontification does not have universal application much as it sounds great.

To your point I think there are so many variables, including the seed being planted, equipment available, slopes, soil quality, etc that probably should factor into the decision of turning soil or not. I think I probably misspoke in my original post. I hope to go minimum till in the future; I’ll probably won’t ever get to complete no till for a variety of reasons. I don’t see any way I can accomplish my personal goals this year without turning some soil and ripping some roots out of this CRP.

 

[Bill]

Not sure I can get the stand of beans and corn I am after unless I do some sort of tillage this year. After 20+ years in CRP I’m assuming getting anything 1”+ down in the ground is going to be a challenge without some disruption?

If you can rent the 606nt from NRCS it will get seed where it needs to be. Unionville has one, not sure about anywhere closer to you though.

 

[Dukslayr]

If you can rent the 606nt from NRCS it will get seed where it needs to be. Unionville has one, not sure about anywhere closer to you though.

The Bethany NRCS might...but the logistics of getting it would be a PIA. I’m still slightly on the fence of just buying my own and forgoing the planter. I keep thinking this is a “buy once, cry once situation buy I’m not fully convinced yet.

 

[swat1018]

Nice cultimulcher, great implement. I don't know anyone that's bought a real NT drill and regretted it yet. Plants about everything, clover, brassica, beans, cereal grain, sorghum, etc. I mix about 10% corn in with my beans, or sometime sorghum. I've planted straight corn with it too.

 

[yoderjac]

Blah, blah, blah. I know the intent is good but people tend to make assumptions that they know everything about the situation of others. I see the no till thing repeated over and over. I think in some situations it is a good thing vs. tillage. But very unrealistic in some types of property or maybe in certain stages of property being reworked to get to even having a field prepped in the first place.

If you take a wooded parcel and that is all you have, you gotta cut trees and rip out stumps to get to having an open spot to do something with. Ripping out stumps means you need to have loose dirt to fill holes in and tillage is a good way to get things filled in and leveled so moving forward maybe you can do things differently.

Or in my case, I have to deal with rocks and stumps. Hmmm....sounds familiar somehow. Actually to be more accurate I should use the name boulders and stumps. My open spots were pasture but never been row cropped or tilled. At least not since the glaciers dumped stuff all over the landscape. Taking out lots of rocks and boulders means you have lot of holes to fill. Discing means you can fill and level and going forward at least you can mow or even use a 4 wheeler. 4 wheelers with sprayers do not have enough ground clearance for much of my open areas until several cycles of rock picking and land leveling. I mostly just like to mow to cut down weed competition and not spray at all until things are so full of grass and thistle it's time to push reset. At that point I get motivated to spend more time in boulder removal on small plot edges so the discing resumes every 5-6 years for more loose fill. At some point I'll stop and throw and mow is a tool to use.

Ok, enough trying to derail thread off topic, just the whole throw and mow pontification does not have universal application much as it sounds great.

You are way off base. No one is trying to push any one-size-fits all here. There are trade-offs with every choice we make in habitat management. No-till requires herbicides, and they have downsides. Weeds can be controlled mechanically with a 2-bottom plow and no herbicides, but that has big downsides two. Some soil types are so fertile they can take abuse for generations (and have in some cases) and still be productive with high inputs. Not everyone can afford a no-till drill for food plots which eliminates large seeded row crops like beans and corn....

What you are missing is discussions on other threads with the OP and no-till. I realize it seems off-topic in the context of this thread, but in context with the several other threads, the discussion is germane (Unless I have my posters confused which is quite possible at my age...).

Thanks,

Jack

 

[JFK52]

How wide is the cultipacker or cultimulcher? I see it as somewhere in the 12 to 14 foot range. It sure does look heavy. Does the hydraulic cylinder on the top raise and lower it for transportation? It would be great for large fields but I do not see it as practical for any smaller food plots or even getting around on a farm with smaller width road systems. What size HP tractor do you think is needed just to pull that beast?
Before I bought my 8 foot cultipacker last summer I toyed around with the idea of buying a wider cultipacker and turning it into two separate smaller units. I just could not justify the effort needed for such an endeavor and the fact that selling the second unit I made to recoup my money in the conversion of the larger unit into two smaller ones might take some time to happen.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Yoder
Fair enough. Your post above lists some compelling reasons among others that no till is not the panacea of all things land management. The frequency it gets brought up on this forum could convey otherwise.

 

[Dukslayr]

How wide is the cultipacker or cultimulcher? I see it as somewhere in the 12 to 14 foot range. It sure does look heavy. Does the hydraulic cylinder on the top raise and lower it for transportation? It would be great for large fields but I do not see it as practical for any smaller food plots or even getting around on a farm with smaller width road systems. What size HP tractor do you think is needed just to pull that beast?
Before I bought my 8 foot cultipacker last summer I toyed around with the idea of buying a wider cultipacker and turning it into two separate smaller units. I just could not justify the effort needed for such an endeavor and the fact that selling the second unit I made to recoup my money in the conversion of the larger unit into two smaller ones might take some time to happen.

It’s 12’ I believe and yes it weighs a ton (literally and figuratively most likely, ha). There is no hydraulic unit on it right now but I would like to get it outfitted with one. Alone with fixing up some of this other old equipment I’m planning to fix the culti mulcher up too and have a hydraulic lift added. The previous owner used it as is and just pulled it out to the plots. My plots are all very easy to access, but having a smaller 8’ 3 pt would be handy for a couple of them. I don’t know what size tractor would be needed to pull it but I don’t think it would require too much. I’ve got a 75 hp tractor, which is more than enough. The 38 hp Kubota I had would have pulled it just fine I think...not a lot of resistance just pulling it over the surface.

 

[yoderjac]

Yoder
Fair enough. Your post above lists some compelling reasons among others that no till is not the panacea of all things land management. The frequency it gets brought up on this forum could convey otherwise.

There is nothing that fits every condition (except maybe prayer). However, even a very large chunk of commercial farming today has been convinced, rightly so, that no-till operations provide them a good return on investment while improving soil health. Much of what we do in food plotting originated from traditional put and take farming techniques. It turns out that in general, wildlife management goals are significantly more aligned with no-till sustainable operations than commercial farming. Generally we don't harvest, so our output is much less. The only "harvest" we generally do in wildlife planting is the light browsing done by deer, and it is largely offset by what they deposit. It turns out that many of the crops that are considered soil builders or cover crops to farmers, are great deer food and many of them surface broadcast very well. "Weeds" for farmers are anything that distracts from the yield of their cash crop. Those same plants are often (but not always) as good or better deer food than the crop we plant.

Minimizing and eliminating tillage is one component of a broader more sustainable, lower input, better nutrient cycling approach that is a very good general fit for wildlife management and food plots. While every situation is unique and it may not fit all situations, there is good reason it is discussed on these forums so much (and a lot by me). I would even say that it is so well aligned with general wildlife management the we should all consider it and watch the "Ray the Soil guy" videos. That doesn't mean everyone should deploy it. We all have specific situations that could make it a poor fit. Folks who till are not evil or foolish folks, but folks who till, without thinking about the pros and cons, are doing themselves a disservice.

Further, I would contend that No-till/Min-till is where most new food plotters should start. Deep tillage is something that can be done in hours but the effects can take decades to mitigate depending on the soil. It is one of the lowest cost methods of food plotting. Tools used for no-till/min-till are also useful tools for folks who till, so the investment is not wasted. When you start, like I did, with a 2-bottom plow, not only is it taking me many years to mitigate the damage I caused, my equipment investment sits and rusts now. If folks find they have some of the issues we discussed in the previous posts and no-till/min-till is not working out, then perhaps there are reasons tillage is needed.

Just as an example, of where I still use deep tillage is when I reclaim a logging deck as a food plot. I have heavy clay soil. Nothing, not even weeds will generally grow in the deck if the topsoil (what little I have) has been removed when clearing and the clay has been compacted by heavy logging equipment. In this case, I use a single shank sub-soiler to relieve the compaction before beginning a no-till/min-till program.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Rlsbowhunt]

Looks like you scored some nice old iron. The implement in the 1st picture looks like a 9 tine chisel plow. We always figured 10 hp per tine, but you can set them shallower by adjusting the gauge wheels.

 

[j-bird]

Looks like you have some interesting stuff. You need to invest in a torch, welder and a tetanus shot! You have some good stuff to work with...you just have to determine if it's worth your time and effort to repair this stuff for use....or if your better off just scrapping it and getting something new. I would be concerned about bad bearing, hoses, seals and how "locked up" everything is. It also looks like most of this stuff was for a decent sized machine, with rear hydraulics as well. For plotting, have the right sized tool for the job is important. I wouldn't gt all hung up on no-till either. It's nice, but it's expensive. I plant corn and beans by using a rototiller and before that used a plow and discs, because I had them. I can't justify a drill for planting just a couple acres twice a year.

 

[Dukslayr]

Looks like you have some interesting stuff. You need to invest in a torch, welder and a tetanus shot! You have some good stuff to work with...you just have to determine if it's worth your time and effort to repair this stuff for use....or if your better off just scrapping it and getting something new. I would be concerned about bad bearing, hoses, seals and how "locked up" everything is. It also looks like most of this stuff was for a decent sized machine, with rear hydraulics as well. For plotting, have the right sized tool for the job is important. I wouldn't gt all hung up on no-till either. It's nice, but it's expensive. I plant corn and beans by using a rototiller and before that used a plow and discs, because I had them. I can't justify a drill for planting just a couple acres twice a year.

I don’t have the skill or time to repair most of this stuff. I would love to do that someday down the road when I am retired, but I don’t have the time to fool with it right now. I’ll keep the chisel, a disc or two and the culti mulcher but the rest of it will need to be rehomed. I just got a 75 hp tractor and have very good access to all my plots so I am hoping to be able to use most of the implements I want to keep. I may have to find someone locally (who has more time and experience than I) to come out and help me repair the ones I intend to keep, though!

 

[4wanderingeyes]

If you arent planning on farming, and are just planning on have a couple acres of food plots, I would have an auction, or just advertise them and sell them, then get smaller equipment that better suits you.