Plow vs Disc

Draagyn · Jul 10, 2014

I need to re-establish my hay field. I have a JD 3020 gas with synchro range and wondering if I should pull discs or a plow. And what size of each would fit my tractor good without working it to the max.

How do finishing discs work as breaking discs? I don't see many breaking discs in my area...
I plan to re seed with my fertilizer broadcast spreader, what will I need to go along with it? Harrows? Finish disc?

Main problem with my field is weeds and dead spots from a freeze thaw freeze that happened last winter

kioskcarp · Jul 10, 2014

I hit fields like that with a chisel plow. Then a disk pulling a large drag to finish the ground. seems to break the compaction up and give seed room for deeper roots.

Deerherd · Jul 10, 2014

I would spray with Round-up or equivalent, plow, disc then drag. Broadcast your seed then cultipack for the best results. Good soil contact helps greatly with germination.

I also like the chisel plow and a rough estimate is 10 hp per tine. Fracturing the soil is a great way to promote deep root growth. I have an 88 hp tractor and my seven tine chisel plow can be a load.

Minimum I would spray, disc, drag, seed and drag again if you are light on equipment and/or cash. (Who isn't?)

Good luck!

Verticaltrx · Jul 10, 2014

We used to renovate our hay ground as follows:

Plow about 8" deep
Disc
Disc again pulling spike tooth harrow
Seed with Brillion cultipacker seeder

We have a 2550 Deere (65 hp) which is very similar in size to your 3020. A 16" three bottom plow is what we use and its a nice match for the tractor. We pull a 12' tandem disc and a 15' spike tooth harrow. The Brillion cultipacker seeder is a 12' working width. If you want to kill the stand with herbicide (we never did) you could get by with just discing, although you'd probably want an offset disc instead of a tandem disc for heavy tillage like that. I've never used an offset disc, someone else could better give you a size recommendation, but you'll probably only be able to pull a 7-8' offset disc (they pull much harder than a tandem disc.) Hope some of this info helps.

jeff9366 · Jul 11, 2014

Did you have livestock in the pasture, so the ground is really hard?

If so, either a Chisel Plow or a Moldboard Plow should be your first step.

A Chisel Plow may allow you to keep the grass roots you have now.

A Disc Harrow, whether offset or 3-Pt. tandem, will not work the ground deep enough.

A soil test is essential. Adding nutrients, including micro-nutrients, will make your pasture more productive for years at a small cost.

Investigate latest pasture grass. New varieties are much more productive than older varieties, but most improved varieties require some fertilization.

VERTICALTRX has the work order right:

Plow in Fall. Let sit over Winter.

Disc in Spring. Fertilize according to soil test. Disc again.

Drag

Sow

Firm soil and seeds together with a Cultipacker.

redman135 · Jul 11, 2014

Do you need to cultivate to level the paddock? If not would a contractor with a direct drill be an option?
Why did the grass die in that area, is it water logged, causing the freezeing? If so then you may need to look at drainage first.

flusher · Jul 11, 2014

What kind of hay--grass, grain, alfalfa?

How thick is your good topsoil? That will tell you whether to use a moldboard plow, chisel plow or do primary tillage with an offset disc. Around here the topsoil is thin (4-5 inches) so grass and grain hayfields are prepared with an offset disc/spike harrow combination.

Alfalfa is a different story. Below the topsoil is hardpan that has to be fractured so the alfalfa can root properly (it's a perennial). That means ripping the soil to a depth of 24-36 inches using Cats with single or double shank subsoilers.

Verticaltrx · Jul 12, 2014

jeff9366 said:
VERTICALTRX has the work order right:

Plow in Fall. Let sit over Winter.

Disc in Spring. Fertilize according to soil test. Disc again.

Drag

Sow

Firm soil and seeds together with a Cultipacker.

In the mid-Atlantic region we always did our reseeding in the fall, around September. We also would do the whole process in a matter of a couple days. Never fall plow and leave the soil 'open' over the winter, this is a good way to loose all your topsoil to erosion. That was common practice 60yrs ago but most farmers have wised up since then, or gone no-till.

Speaking of no-till we also used to do quite a bit of that. We were basically just over-seeding and never killed off the stand first, but if you get everything just right it will take well and really thicken up the stand. We used a Lilliston 9670 no-till sod drill, I think it has about a 7-8' working width. The one we use is a little heavier than most, and a different animal all together than a drill like you'd drill beans or small grains with. Around here the local Soils Conservation office will often rent drills for over seeding pastures, I would guess there is something similar in Canada.

Texasmark · Jul 12, 2014

I agree with the chisel (2") or something like a Hay King brand pasture renovator first, then a disc harrow or disc offset (better yet), and then a spring fingered harrow.

I have Houston Black Clay and even annually worked, in the fall, when it's hot and dry, it's rock hard. For the chisel I have a 7 shank drag type Haeme (Graham-Haeme Plow Co. Amarillo, TX.). Best working "rock" buster I ever used, with 2" chisels. I run it slow with 57 pto hp. Considering I take it slow to give the shanks time to work properly, I run it in the lower 1/3 of my shifting range so it probably equates to 10 hp/shank that a person would be working in midrange gearing.

Also, after all these years I bought a cultipactor a couple of years ago and the hay crop I got this year was partly due to compression of the soil after planting for proper soil-seed contact as Mr. Verticaltrx said. I had germination start in 4 days. I just keep learning. Every year for me is another experience.

HTH,
Mark