Chiseling in the neighborhood

[flusher]

My neighbor is working on his 10 acre alfalfa field with a large chisel plow and a really neat old warhorse. It's an IH 4366 articulated 4WD tractor with about 163 drawbar hp weighing abuot 19,000 lb. These IH's were manufactured between 1973-76 by Steiger for IH (IH owned 28% of Steiger at that time).

Love that mighty diesel roar when he gets that plow working good.

 

[zionview]

They are nifty old horses. A friend picked one up a few years ago for around $5,000. It took some engine and tranny work, but it still made him some cheap horsepower.

 

[ddivinia]

Man - I bet it does not have a problem pulling that chisel...

D.

 

[Egon]

Nice pictures.


Would you know how many hours on the tractor?

 

[Charlie175]

looks dry there.

I'd love to run one of those, I assume you guys don't have rocks up there?

 

[flusher]

looks dry there.

I'd love to run one of those, I assume you guys don't have rocks up there?

No rocks, just patches of gravely loam here and there.

Very dry. Dought conditions for the last two years. The Governator made that official earlier this year.

That particular field is irrigated. You can see one of the irrigation cisterns in the foreground of the 2nd photo.

Can't grow alfalfa here in the North Sacramento Valley without irrigation. My neighbor is on the 3rd cutting in his other 20 acres of alfalfa. He'll bale it this weekend and keep it growing with the irrigation.

The bad news is that the irrigation district has started mandatory water rationing and has raised rates, which is beginning to pinch the prune plum and olive orchard farmers in my neighborhood.

 

[flusher]

Nice pictures.


Would you know how many hours on the tractor?

Don't know. I'll check. My guess is that the hourmeter stopped working a long time ago. But maybe not.

 

[flusher]

Man - I bet it does not have a problem pulling that chisel...

D.

He had that plow moving along briskly with that diesel roaring.

Another neighbor has a lime-green Steiger that closely resembles the IH 4366. He has dual wheels all around and pulls a 20-ft tandem disc like it was a toy.