Dan in North Houston
Member
Here?s the problem, I need a plow. I have hay fields, but here in Texas, we have a big problem with feral hogs. It?s common to go out and find patches of ground tore up, sometimes small areas of maybe 100 sq. feet up to a half acre. Currently I have a 8? tandem 3 pt. disc, and I disc it up multiple times, reseed with Bahia grass, then roll it with a cultipacker. This usually does a good job, but sometimes it is so tore up that it needs a little more cultivation than what the tandem disc can provide. If I don?t get it smoothed out, my custom hay cutter just by-passes the area, and I don?t blame him a bit. I?ve had years where I?ve lost 5% of my potential hay crop due to the hog damage.
Soil is slightly sandy loam in Grimes County, Texas. There is a rock ledge that traverses the whole place, where there are large rocks just under the surface that can catch and shear the pins on the shanks of my pasture renovator. The rock ledge goes across the whole place, but is relatively narrow and is not really a problem for the other 95% of the acreage. Fortunately, the rock ledge is not under the main pasture area. I grew up around a moldboard plow, but I?m not interested in one for this situation.
I?m looking at a 5? 3 pt. offset disc (not sure if it is a category 1 or 2, and not sure of the size of the discs) and a 7 shank chisel trailer plow. I?m leaning towards the chisel plow, as I can easily control the depth, and I assume that if I encounter a rock, it won?t be a problem. Since I?m just working small areas, I won?t be going fast, and the trailer plow will be easy to hitch up.
On the other hands, I know that the rocks won?t be a problem for the disc, and it is a little cheaper. But if it is not compatible with my quick hitch, it?s more of a pain to hook up. At certain times of the year, I may have some remediation to do every weekend.
I have a JD 4020, so I have enough tractor for either. Would welcome any advice or comments.
Soil is slightly sandy loam in Grimes County, Texas. There is a rock ledge that traverses the whole place, where there are large rocks just under the surface that can catch and shear the pins on the shanks of my pasture renovator. The rock ledge goes across the whole place, but is relatively narrow and is not really a problem for the other 95% of the acreage. Fortunately, the rock ledge is not under the main pasture area. I grew up around a moldboard plow, but I?m not interested in one for this situation.
I?m looking at a 5? 3 pt. offset disc (not sure if it is a category 1 or 2, and not sure of the size of the discs) and a 7 shank chisel trailer plow. I?m leaning towards the chisel plow, as I can easily control the depth, and I assume that if I encounter a rock, it won?t be a problem. Since I?m just working small areas, I won?t be going fast, and the trailer plow will be easy to hitch up.
On the other hands, I know that the rocks won?t be a problem for the disc, and it is a little cheaper. But if it is not compatible with my quick hitch, it?s more of a pain to hook up. At certain times of the year, I may have some remediation to do every weekend.
I have a JD 4020, so I have enough tractor for either. Would welcome any advice or comments.