What plow for JD 5525?

exiled cheesehead · Sep 6, 2010

I have a JD 5525 4WD tractor with loader and liquid filled R1 tires. It weighs around 9,200 lbs and is rated at 91 engine hp. I need to plow red clay soil (with a couple inches of top soil) with rocks mixed in. In addition, the land is well sodded over and there are roots from small woody vegetation and some trees mixed in. I have an old 8 foot heavy duty JD bog disk that i have used in the past on the property and it has worked fine. However, when I tried the disk on the new field described above, the sod didn't bust up much due to the mass of roots in the ground. I went over the area 5 times with the disk and wasn't satisfied with the results. So, I need to change my tactics. I will add that this is a pasture renovation and the size of the field is about 5 acres. I expect to have similiar projects in the future on other parts of the property, so I want to buy a quality piece of equipment that will hold up well over the years.

Here are my questions:

1. What type of plow should I buy? Moldboard or Chisel?

2. Should the plow be a 3 pt (cat 2) attachment or pull behind?

3. What size plow can my tractor handle in these soil conditions?

Thanks for the advice.

HCJtractor · Sep 6, 2010

I use mine for similar situation when my disc just doesn't sink in. I restored an old three bottom Ford 101 plow with shear pin trip protection. Pull it with a 70 hp Kubota (4 WD, loaded rears) It pulls easily. I would think you could go with a four bottom or even five, but whatever you get, make sure the trip protection works well, as I often hang up on rocks or large roots and break a pin. THe shear pins are easy to fix, only takes a couple of seconds. SPring reset trip would be nice to have, but the shear pin system is easy and simple. I don't know anything about chisel plows.

I plowed our food plots yesterday. It really rips through the tough sod in one pass whereas the disc would not have even penetrated as it was really dry and hard.