While riding around the county today looking for old equipment sitting around I noticed something. Most everywhere that had been plowed there was no headland furrow. I know these places had been plowed with a moldboard plow. I still plow the headlands out,I guess because that's the way I was taught but it's seems very few people do anymore. Was that just a thing people did years ago to make the plowing jobs look better or what? Did that die along with people taking pride in their plowing?
- Thread starter Jason S.
- Start date
Bryce Frazier
Well-known Member
Perhaps, it was because the field didn't really have borders? Such as Trees, fence, or what ever, so rather than needing the room of unploughed ground to turn around at the end, and then plowing the head lands when done, they just plow to the edge, flip a biscuit, and boogie on down the field!
Not sure, but I will always plow my head lands (just because it looks good) and if I have a kid, she/he'd best be a dooin it too! Bryce
Not sure, but I will always plow my head lands (just because it looks good) and if I have a kid, she/he'd best be a dooin it too! Bryce
ShadetreeRet
Well-known Member
I haven't plowed anything larger than a half acre garden in years, but when turning around, I don't always raise the plow at the same exact spot, so when finished, it looks pretty ragged. Therefore, I plow the ends, or headlands, just to make everything even and look better. We did that when I was growing up, even plowing with a horse.
Where I am we plow until it freezes and after. With all the traffic the headlands freeze deeper and are too tough to low in fall some years as the frost comes.
I find myself using the chisel plow for headlands in spring more and more, one less furrow to bounce through on each end.
Paul
I find myself using the chisel plow for headlands in spring more and more, one less furrow to bounce through on each end.
Paul
buzzinduzzin
Member
- Location
- se illinois
two way plow?
gtractorfan
Well-known Member
Around here it's the opposite. The headlands get plowed (chisel plowed) where there's the most compaction, the rest of the fields not plowed. You said "no headland furrow" meaning the headlands aren't plowed? With a moldboard there'd have to be a furrow, albeit maybe shallow. I used to raise the back of the plow to make furrows less severe.
Bruce from Can.
Well-known Member
- Location
- Woodville, Ontario, Canada
I still use the plough on 100-150 acres each year, and always plough out the head lands. The soil would be hard to plant into if not ploughed, using conventional seeding equipment.
RandyB(MI)
Well-known Member
most around our area (cent. MI)still do and usually a little deeper as that is where most of the hard pack happens. With the plows they're using it's usually only 2 or 3 passes anyway. Speaking of old farmer pride, our old neighbor (back in '60,s) had one particular 40 acre field that he plowed "around" , until he ended up in the center and when done he stepped off his "dead furrow" from ends and sides and recorded it. Next time that field needed plowed he went out in the center and just reversed the same only this time plowing in. No wasted time and no dead furrows across the field to work in. Looked like a pan of fresh baked cake when done. First time I saw him do it he was plowing "in" and I thought he must be a genius to make that come out right like that. Then I was told how he did it. Used a 4020 and 4/16,s. Never seen it since.
BushogPapa
Well-known Member
Took me a while to figure out just what you were referring to..!
We always called the 1st round down and back (where the soil is thrown together) the "Head-Land" and the "ENDS" were the ENDS of the field..!!
Sure, we plowed them off..one year "OUT" and the next, "IN"..
Funny how terms are different in different areas..
Ron.
sideconsole4020guy
Member
We always called the first pass the strike out. The last furrows were dead furrows and the ends are the headlands
That"s what made me notice the fields was they were really ragged looking on the ends. Some furrows were probably 5-10ft longer than some others. You could see where they just got to the end of the field and picked the plow up and turned around and set the plow back down and plowed the next furrow. Most of the fields I saw they left a good 30ft on the ends and all you saw was weeds and big clods of dirt where it fell off the plow. Maybe I was just raised up different I suppose. We always plowed all of a field including the head land or ends or whichever terminology it is in your area. Papaw was a firm believer in plowing,planting,mowing or whatever every inch you could and that"s the way I"ve adopted. Although I did hate corn picking time. The corn fields were always fenced off to help keep the cows out of it and he always planted right up to the fence or tree line. The problem was we had a pull type new idea picker so the first several rounds of the field was picked by hand so we could get the tractor and picker in. He would never leave a space around the sides so we could just drive in and pick.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
We don't plow the "headlands" in tobacco fields because we need the ends and sides of the fields to turn the machines in. If we plow to the fence we will destroy the plants on the ends anyway.
BushogPapa
Well-known Member
That could be where we got the term to "Strike a Land"...
Areas were much further apart (comparatively) than they are today..
We do things a bit different here in the British Isles. Doing winter crop we plough the middles of the felds. Then seed with a one-pass power harrow and air seeder combination in the same field at the same time. When the centre of the field is all seeded, the plough returns to plough the rigs/ headlands then the seeder follows direct behind the plough. Springtime ploughing, we plough the whole field and wait for drying before drilling. I like to harrow the rig first to fill in that furrow so as I am not hopping over it on every pass up and down the field!
We call the first furrows, in conventional ploughing, the 'back' or in England they call it the 'crown' furrows.....the last furrows of every bout are called the 'hint' or just the 'finish' ......Most ploughing is done with reversible (roll-over) ploughs nowadays..............Sam
We call the first furrows, in conventional ploughing, the 'back' or in England they call it the 'crown' furrows.....the last furrows of every bout are called the 'hint' or just the 'finish' ......Most ploughing is done with reversible (roll-over) ploughs nowadays..............Sam
That is the way we used to do it too. Headlands, dead furrows and endings. I remember dad saying plow them in this year and next year plow them out. I used to fill the dead furrows level enough that you almost couldn't tell they were there. I would shift up a gear or two, set the plow shallow on the back and deep in the front, made a round that way and if needed 1 more round adjusting the plow accordingly. My cousins just plow "close" and then run the disc ripper over it a couple times so there is no dead furrow. They have been using that on the endings more as well rather than plowing them. It is funny if you talk to an older gentleman he can tell you the "art" or technical part of plowing but Im sure for me and the majority of people it was just turning dirt over lol. Plowing has become a lost art.
J.Wondergem
Well-known Member
- Location
- Rockford, Mi.
Dad just called them "Back Furrows" and "Dead Furrows" and "The Ends". A neighbor told him to plow off the ends first, one time. He said never again. Too much compaction and a ruff ride turning around.
jwal10
Member
- Location
- Western Oregon
We plowed around the fields, picking up at the corners. When done we plowed out the corners. One year we plowed out, corners in, the next year we started in the field about 100' plowing out as normal. We plowed the corners out and the 100' strip around the outside of the field in, turning and backing up to plow the corners as we went. This was large fields planted to wheat. We used a 4240 JD and a 1350/1450 5x18" JD semimount plow. Everyone talked about how flat the fields were when I was done. Here we have many odd shaped fields, not long straight runs....James
BushogPapa
Well-known Member
I viewed some pictures of a Plowing Competition in Ireland a week or so ago and you would not believe the PERFECT job they were doing.
Every furrow was exactly the same and every one started and stopped exactly at the same distance from the plot ends..
Horses, groups of Fords together competing, many different classes.
Very impressive work..
Ron.
IMO and in my area, HP replaced good plowing about 40 years back. The BTO's "plow" their land and leave it looking like a bomb range. Then they spend days leveling it all out and trying to chop up the sod. Then they spray it and spray it and spray it and compact it right down to rock. Then they grow corn on it for years through inputs. Seems a very, very expensive way to do things to me.
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