Disc Harrow Disc Size for John Deere 950?

[Olympus]

Hey gents, I need some advice. I just had two acres of woods cleared for food plots, two separate sites that are 1 acre each. The excavator guy did a good job of getting all the big chunks of roots and rocks out, but there are still some smaller roots sticking up and some smaller rocks, so I don't think it would be a good idea to start using my tiller yet. So I'm looking at buying a used disc harrow strictly for food plot tilling. I'm concerned that my little LS J2023 won't have enough traction to pull a decent sized disc, so I'm thinking about borrowing my father in law's John Deere 950 2WD. It's 31 or 32HP and has front weights, so it should be well over 3000lbs plus it has ag tires instead of the R4s that my LS has. So I'm trying to decide what the biggest disc that the 950 could pull. I've seen some YouTube videos of tractors that are smaller than the 950 pulling a 6.5" disc without any problem, so I'm thinking that a 7.5" disc should not be a problem. But I wanted to get some thoughts from the experts here. We're talking a 950, although 2WD, it's a gear tranny, heavy tractor with ag tires, so it get pretty good traction to pull. My sites are on top of a ridge, so there won't be any problems with muddy or low spots so there's not much potential for getting stuck. So what say you all?

My overall plan would be to use the disc harrow and buy a used landscape rake for the first few years in order to get a good amount of the rocks and root chunks removed and then maybe it would be in a good enough condition to use a tiller lightly instead of the disc.

 

[jeff9366]

You can probably pull a Disc Harrow with 20" diameter pans behind the Deere 950. Keep in mind draft force resisting the tractor and Disc Harrow width are variable, depending on gang angle adjustment. In all ground contact work weight per unit of width is key. Pan diameter determines your weight per unit of width with Three Point Hitch mounted Tandem Disc Harrows.

Pan spacing is usually 7" or 9". As you have rocks, go with 9" pan spacing.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ing-three-point-hitch-mounted.html?highlight=


I would consider a Field Cultivator as well. I use both in food plots. Sometimes one; sometimes the other.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/339095-dirt-dog-all-purpose-plow.html?highlight=
VIDEO: How to Use a Ripper / Field Cultivator - Gardening Series - YouTube

I plant both Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter food plots. Walmart sells Spring/Summer seed cheap. I buy Fall/ Winter seed from Hancock Seed in Dade, Florida, not far away. I mow the end of season crop short, then turn it under as green manure with the Disc Harrow. Food Plots improve in productivity each year.

For the LS J2023 consider a Ratchet Rake.

 

[Olympus]

Ford?

And I'm also asking about width of the implement.

 

[jeff9366]

Keep in mind draft force resisting the tractor and Disc Harrow width are variable, depending on gang angle adjustment.

The more aggressively the gang angles are set/swept back, the narrower the operating width of the Disc Harrow. For smoothing, the gang angles are set less aggressively/flat and the Disc tills wider.

If you buy a Tandem Disc Harrow with 20" diameter pans with an operating width much wider than the two-wheel drive Deere, you will bog down with gang angles set aggressively. The first pass is easy. You bog on the second pass.

 

[Olympus]

You're not really telling me anything I don't already know. I'm looking at angle iron discs so the gangs are not adjustable. And I can reduce draft force by not going as deep.

So again, any ideas about width?

 

[jeff9366]

Angle iron Discs usually have small, THIN pans, 16" or 18". Most angle iron frame Discs have 7" pan spacing. Operating width between pans is reduced by whatever gang angle is set as default. Pans spacing is 7" only when gang angle is "0". You may jam rocks between the pans. Angle Iron Disc Harrows are kitchen garden implements.

Open the LINK on Disc Harrow adjustment.

My experience in Missouri is wide but shallow. I saw a lot of clay during my travels there.

I suggest a Field Cultivator over an angle iron frame Disc. Effective Field Cultivators are cheaper than effective Disc Harrows.

 

[Olympus]

Well thanks for the recommendation. I'm still interested in hearing more about discs though.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I wouldn't go any bigger than a 6' disc with a 30 hp 2 wheel drive tractor, I have a Farmtrac 360 4x4 which is about a 36 hp tractor and I pull a 6' bush hog brand disc, when it is adjusted to cut fairly aggressively it is all it wants, soil type angle of cut do play a big part in how well the tractor can handle the disc. Good luck. Charlie.

 

[52wej]

Olympus, as others have mentioned the soil type is important. If you are looking at a 3pt hitch disc a 6 foot disc will work. But for newly cleared ground, it would be good to have a shank tiller that will cut deeper than a disc. Be aware you will be picking up a lot of rocks and roots for several years especially after you run the shank tiller. Another option is to purchase a small six foot offset design disc. That cuts a lot deeper than the 3 pt hitch discs. With your 950 and 2WD the offset disc can cut deep enough to cause the tractor to spin. I have used both for nearly 50 years and can tell you the offset design will work the soil up better. The 3 pt hitch discs are more for smoothing the soil after it has been tilled deeply.

Also not having 4 WD is limiting. I have pulled a 6ft Dearing offset disc with a JD 750 in 4WD and gotten the same disc stuck using a Ford 3000 diesel 2WD tractor.

It it were me and I had limited options I would get a 7 or 9 shank tiller and a 6 ft 3pt disc. That will enable you to work the ground up to sufficiently deep. Willie Jones

 

[Olympus]

I have a tiller already. Hesitant to use it for the first few times until I get some of the bigger root chunks and rocks picked up.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my post, I wouldn't even consider a disc that you couldn't adjust the angle of the gangs to be able to cut aggressively, there is a big difference in scratching the soil and cutting the soil and most of the non-adjustable disc that I have seen do not cut aggressive enough.

 

[jeff9366]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my post, I wouldn't consider a disc that you couldn't adjust the angle of the gangs to be able to cut aggressively, there is a big difference in scratching the soil and cutting the soil and most of the non-adjustable disc that I have seen do not cut aggressive enough.

I agree with you.

I believe the thin pan, angle iron frame Disc the OP is considering will ineffectually roll over the surface, collecting a few rocks and chunks of wood between the pans in the process.

 

[Tigershark]

I have a 7.5 ft old MF disc from the 50s or 60s. It weighs around 700 lbs and has adjustable angles. 40hp 4x4 and it can stop my tractor flat out if I am trying to go too deep. I would look for something smaller than 6 ft personally. Under certain conditions and soil types it will be a hard pull on a smaller tractor. There are days I wish I had 60-70hp for what I am trying to do

 

[52wej]

I have a tiller already. Hesitant to use it for the first few times until I get some of the bigger root chunks and rocks picked up.

I assume you are talking about a PTO powered tiller, and if so, you are wise to not use it initially. WHat I am discussing is seen in the following you tube clip. Ferguson 9BO 9 Shank Tiller - YouTube That is the best thing for pulling up the rocks and roots initially before you disc or do anything else. if you use that tiller multiple times you will get most of your rocks and roots to the surface where they can be removed. Its spring loaded tines work great and protect from breakage if a large root or rock is encountered. Then you can use a disc to level the soil. You really won't be able use the PTO tiller for a couple of years because the winter freezing and thawing will "grow" a new crop of rocks each year. Here in Virginia I have a garden in a field that has been worked for > 80 years and I still pull up rocks that give my PTO tiller heartburn. W Jones

 

[chriswheeler]

I had one of those 5' box tube disc that was very easy to pull behind my 950 in 2wd. That said, I couldn't get it to take much of a bite in the ground no matter how aggressive I set the disc rows. This old hay field out here in Nevada is almost like concrete sometimes. I added about 500 lbs. to the top and still would only bite couple of inches down. I didn't have rocks or roots, so I hooked up my little potato plow blade and sank it full depth into the ground and ripped it all. Came back with a Howard 5' tiller went to full depth in most places first pass. 3 pass it was smooth and workable, very fine soil. Moral of the story, thinking it will depend on what type of soil you have. In my case, a small disc proved almost useless, wasn't a matter of what the tractor would pull. I think a 2wd 950 with good rear tires should pull a 6' with ease, but it still comes back to your soil and how deep you can sink it in ??
Chris

 

[Olympus]

Here are a couple pictures of my cleared food plots so you can get a better idea of what I'm working with.



And then what about this piece of equipment? Would it be better than a disc?

 

[super55]

Thats pretty sandy soil from what I can gather from the pics. So you shouldn't have too much issue.

I do all my discing with an old Oliver Super55 34 hp and about the same size/weight of an 8n. I got one of those economy grade 18" 6.5' disc from TSC and it handles it no problem on the most aggressive setting. It is light so I had to add 400# of weight to it to help it dig. My soil has very little clay in it so it is pretty easy to cut into and work.

Your 950 while having less hp than my Oliver probably has a better torque curve than my old gasser but Im guessing my tractor beats you on weight. If anything I think you might loose traction before you loose power to pull a 6.5' disc still downsize to a 5'.

Run that plot a few times with a disc and then go over it with a chain harrow and you will have a bed good enough for seeding.

 

[Keith_B]

I have a 7.5 ft old MF disc from the 50s or 60s. It weighs around 700 lbs and has adjustable angles. 40hp 4x4 and it can stop my tractor flat out if I am trying to go too deep. I would look for something smaller than 6 ft personally. Under certain conditions and soil types it will be a hard pull on a smaller tractor. There are days I wish I had 60-70hp for what I am trying to do

That JD 950 would struggle with a MF disc, those bad boys are heavy and can cut aggressively.

If I were the OP I'd get a rock rake and then use the tiller after getting the roots and rocks out.

 

[Olympus]

That JD 950 would struggle with a MF disc, those bad boys are heavy and can cut aggressively.

If I were the OP I'd get a rock rake and then use the tiller after getting the roots and rocks out.

That would definitely be cheaper. What about roots that are buried deeper than the rock rake can get, but the tiller could still hit?

 

[airbiscuit]

If your food plots are only 1 acre, width doesn't really matter. Better to be narrower and heavier than wider and lighter. If you really wand to chew things up, I would go old school and use a Bog Disc.