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Starting Member
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Last Login: 5/11/2011 5:38:18 PM
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| Hi, I would like to start farming with about an acre of my land and I would love some advice as to which attachments would be most useful to me. I have a 34 horse Kubota with a backhoe which I have used to begin clearing the area of stumps and large rocks. My ground is very rocky and very clay and wet poorly drained soil. So my concern is that I need to improve the soil immediately by working in compost or manure. The 2 local equipment dealers are conflicted between advising toward a single bottom plow and disk harrow while the other is recommending a york rake and scarifier. So I consulted a local farmer and he recommended a rototiller for its versitility. Through researching online, in my head I was sort of thinking along the lines of a cultivator and liked the idea of the soil perfecta which i thing may handle the rocks a little better and sounds like may be better for the soil. At least it is believed in some circles. Anyway, I'm really afraid to buy something completely inappropriate for my conditions. Any input from folks with similar conditions or lots of experience would be much appreciated. Again, a lot of rocks.
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New Member
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Last Login: 1/16/2012 5:07:58 AM
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rocks are always a pain.
I've been preparing new areas of my property for gardening as well.
I use my Ford tractor and a middle buster. that digs deep busting up most roots. Criss Crossing areas with that breaks it up well. Most larger stumps will need a bulldozer or larger backhoe to get them up.
A Cultivator would be nice for smoothing it all back over, perhaps preparing to put in fertilizer and drag more topsoil and other additives into your land.
Bad news on the rocks. a wheel barrow and "old people grabbers" are your best bet. every time it rains I find new bucket fulls of rocks. I think they come out of the sky LOL.
A tiller would Mix your ground additives in better than any other implement if you are going to buy one. I don't use a tiller. I'm more the un-mechanical implements. It's like having more original tractor implements. Think of it as wood working with primitive tools versus power tools.
no matter what.. enjoy and have a good time.
http://www.hobbyfarms.com/blog/viewbio.aspx?apid=170410
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 5/18/2012 11:33:22 AM
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Well when breaking new ground you are going to want to use a plow. Then let it sit for a week or so and hit it with a tiller or harrow. When going from sod to crops you will probably have to make a number of passes with the tiller or harrow.
For mixing in materials nothing will beat a tiller. For removing rocks unless you have a lot of cash to burn wolfscout is right you will need to call friends and family and have them help hand pick the rocks and roots. Toss em in a truck or trailer and dump in the woods. If on the other hand you have cash to burn you can buy or rent a rockhound to sift through the soil and pick out the rocks.
I just cleared a bunch more forest for planting but I got lucky and my neighbor had an excavator and a bulldozer. But even with those toys we were walking the cleared area and picking rocks and roots to toss in the bucket.
Visit the Cameron Family Farm at: http://www.cameronfamilyfarm.com/
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 5/18/2012 11:24:16 AM
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For a small tractor like yours, with lots of rocks, a single bottom plow would be the way to go. You can pull a double bottom plow, but a single bottom works so much better on the rocks. That is because with one plow, it cuts into the soil, rolls around a bit more and can pop those rocks right out of the ground. You don't get that wedging action so well with a double bottom plow.
Either way, good luck with your ultimate improvement project.
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 7/20/2011 12:27:00 PM
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 8/31/2011 9:20:50 AM
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| Depends on what your objective is. In the early 80s, we bought a 25 acre parcel to be sure that it didn't grow houses. My wife keeps horses, and we decided then to grow our own hay, and become a neighborhood supplier. Our main goal was to be able to grow a quality crop that we could count on. Our "local" farmers that grew hay treated it as a background activity after corn and soybeans, and always oversold their fields. Only the customer with the biggest crew would get the hay they needed. Unless you live in an area where hay is very pricey, you won't save any money. We bought most of our equipment at farm auctions which were very commonplace in the 80s. We originally thought we could count on our neighbors with backyard horses to engage in bartering and sweat equity. But most sweat only once, and then went back to their hay dealer. Be sure you can get the manpower. It also depends a lot on where you live and the weather. You need 3 days of predicted dry, sunny weather with humidity well below 50%. Doesn't happen here in Michigan after 1988 when the summer weather patterns changed. We grow a brome grass hay, but orchard grass is very competitive.
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 5/11/2012 9:33:35 AM
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I have read that the general point where it is profitable to make your own hay is at the 200 head of cattle point. Until then, you are better off buying in hay. We switched over this year to grazing the Coastal fields and buying hay. One key to doing this is to keep a supply of hay ahead of your needs in case you run into a bad year like this one. We are setting good at this time because we have a fair amount of grazing left and 130 round bales stored for winter. Hopefully we will get some fall rains and have a decent winter pasture so we can get by with even less hay feeding.
Paul EwingShining Moon Farm - Boyd, TX http://www.ShiningMoonFarm.com
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 5/18/2012 11:24:16 AM
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Here in New England it is kind of tough to say. The last few years the big Mantra has been..."if it rusts, don't buy it", as a popular book stated and people bought into it. I am not sure that I do. I get the point of not investing in equipment that depreciates, BUT when the weather is nice you have to jump and get the crops in. The problem is, EVERYONE else has to jump too, so that great crop of hay you have growing, may be way to mature by the time a haying contractor gets to it. Let me ask people this...is there anything more frustrating then watching a crop go bad while waiting for a haying contractor else to show up?
I noticed the last few years that the types of farmers that suggested this contracted-out-way-of-farming are now mostly gone. I mean how can they farm not knowing what their feed costs will be year to year, and subject to the whim of haying contractors? How can they compete by buying inferior hay and having to feed twice as much of it for good nutrition results? How can they compare haybales in price even when haybales are so deceptive in quality, yield and density until fed out?
I think the more you do yourself on the farm, the better, and better for the bottom line. The trick I think is to make informed decisions on equipment purchases based on labor required, speed, return on investment, and feed quality.
To be honest with everyone though...and I admit that I am in a bad spot this year and am buying hay...BUT I am convinced that hay is not even the way to go. I'm convinced silage is based on the above four factors, however I am having trouble getting the nutritional value the sheep require. Last year they got nothing but grass and corn silage, BUT they suffered nutritionally because I did not get something quite right. I am still convinced that the equipment required, speed of harvesting, ease of storage and potential feed quality makes a strong case for silage...on my farm anyway...but getting the right combination of protein, energy, minerals and grains has been tricky. But that is what makes farming what it is...you keep trying different combinations until you develop a system that works for you. In this case, I am not saying that silage is THE BEST way, but I hope many people on here think outside the box and try new things. At the very least I love discussing new options such as feeding silage with people.
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 5/18/2012 11:24:16 AM
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To clarify, last year was very trying with my divorce, and then some terrible lamb percentages and losses came. Due to a pile of factors, I ended up selling most of my breeding stock ewes and retaining my ewe-lambs. This was a back-up-and-punt sort of decision. Because this winter has left me with mostly lambs, I just cannot feed silage. A lambs metabolism is too high, and the moisture content of silage being 66%, is too high for a lamb to get the nutrition it needs from silage. So its not that I can't get my hands of silage, its that because of my flock being young lambs, that I cannot feed it out, so I am forced back into hay. I am still convinced silage is the final answer for my place.
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