Posted by paul on November 20, 2012 at 05:58:16 from (66.60.223.232):
In Reply to: Are plows obsolete? posted by Joe W. on November 19, 2012 at 19:34:50:
Plows have madea big comback here on clay, wet, cold soils of southern MN. See new ones at farm shows, and good used bring double what they did 15 years ago.
It's gonna depend on your soil and climate.
Less tillage is _great_ if you can do so. The arid ground, like in the dust bowl, shouldn't be plowed so heavily.
But not one size fits all.
'Here' in these wet, cold, clay soils, plowing works well. Our ground is froze solid 5 months over winter, and under snow. It doesn't break down, or blow, or wash away like soils to the south of us do. We typically need to get rid of excess moisture here, not try to keep spring moisture. We have frost up to 4 feet deep, we need the weak spring sun to hit black dirt and warm it up. It's become common to plant corn with frost still in the ground - if we can get the top foot of ground to warm up and dry off some, we can get an early start to corn & get higher yields, which means lower cost food for all of you.
Likewise, many insect, weed, and fungus issues are much easier to control or eliminate with heavy tillage, such as plowing. We see more and more corn borers, ear bugs, Goss' Wilt, and so forth as we do less and less tillage. The Roundup resistant weeds are much worse in the low to no tillage areas.
So, a good plow is _not_ the thing to use in arid, warm, southern climates!
But it is the best tool to use in other areas.
I hope folks don't get on some sort of bandwagon, and insist we all must comply, and pass laws that certain farm proactices are banned all across the nation, when such a thing is foolish.
We need to use the best tools for the local conditions.
In some areas, that means no plows in some areas; and lots of plowing in other areas.
I live in one of those areas where a plow, or other deep heavy fall tillage, is typically thr best option to provide good soil management and cheapest, most food supply.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - New Hitches For Your Old Tractor - by Chris Pratt. For this article, we are going to make the irrational and unlikely assumption that you purchased an older tractor that is in tip top shape and needs no immediate repairs other than an oil change and a good bath. To the newcomer planning to restore the machine, this means you have everything you need for the moment (something to sit in the shop and just look at for awhile while you read the books). To the newcomer that wants to get out and use the machine for field work, you may have already hit a major roadblock. That is the dreaded "proprietary hitch". With the exception of the
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Sell 1958 Hi-Altitude Massey Fergerson tractor, original condition. three point hitch pto engine, Runs well, photos available upon request
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
