Govt Stimulation burning a hole in my pocket.

[farmerjan]

Yes, a discbine is a wicked machine for mowing.... the pluses are speed, and picking up "downed crops" thick hay and things that have been "bent over" due to wind or other problems.... you can mow twice as fast with a discbine as with a haybine. A haybine will get all clogged up in thick stuff....ground speed is much slower...You can more easily fix some teeth/blades on a haybine.... have done MANY.... and if you don't keep the blades in there, then it will clog even worse. With the thickness of crops nowadays, improved varieties that get planted closer, and increased fertilizer for thicker stands, the haybine is a bit slower....but much safer for the operator.

Lime is essential for the health of the land. Acid soil will not support optimal crops. Lime will improve the PH of the soil...uptake of the nutrients.... more weeds grow in more acid soil.... Most of your hay crops will do better with more neutral soil.... and the nutrients that feed the crops will be more available in more neutral PH soil. There is no fertilizer that will do it's job if the soil PH is too low or even too high. You are throwing away your money on fertilizer if you don't have your PH near neutral because it will get bound up and get wasted.

 

[farmerjan]

We do soil samples just about every year. We not only lime crop fields, and hay fields, but also pastures that we own. Lime takes a good year to get down to where it breaks down and does the most good. Do not put all the lime on the ground that it may call for, all at once. Split it into a couple of applications....fall will get it into the ground over the course of the winter with snow fall or even rain unless it is flooding... it will mellow the ground better that way. If it calls for alot of lime, do it 1/2 this year, then 1/2 next year. Lime is not cheap....and there is 2 kinds of lime, calcium and dolomite... You need to know what is available and what the land needs. SOIL SAMPLES are essential.

Get the extension service to help you with reading the soil samples.... listen to what they say.... get more opinions... then MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION. If you ask several people, you will get some general consensus.... that is the way to go.

 

[CrealCritter]

We do soil samples just about every year. We not only lime crop fields, and hay fields, but also pastures that we own. Lime takes a good year to get down to where it breaks down and does the most good. Do not put all the lime on the ground that it may call for, all at once. Split it into a couple of applications....fall will get it into the ground over the course of the winter with snow fall or even rain unless it is flooding... it will mellow the ground better that way. If it calls for alot of lime, do it 1/2 this year, then 1/2 next year. Lime is not cheap....and there is 2 kinds of lime, calcium and dolomite... You need to know what is available and what the land needs. SOIL SAMPLES are essential.

Get the extension service to help you with reading the soil samples.... listen to what they say.... get more opinions... then MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION. If you ask several people, you will get some general consensus.... that is the way to go.

Thanks for like the years experience in a few sentences. I have so much to learn.

 

[CrealCritter]

Going to look at a old Bushhog brand 6' Bushhog (rotary cutter) that needs some welding on the top. It comes with a new never installed gearbox also. My neighbor across the road said he would weld it for me if I buy it. He also has a landscaping blade forsale. I'm not so much interested in the blade but maybe IDK... I could use it to scrape the gravel driveways, which there are several here.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Your CFO will soon realize that the tractor was only an initial purchase. The attachments will keep coming.

We bought a tractor with a front end loader and a backhoe attachment. We got a pretty good deal from a dealer because it was an older model, the only one on the lot and the next years model was significantly different. One of the pluses was it had a cab, which was important because the reason we were getting a tractor was for snow removal.
Next we bought a back blade to help with snow removal. Then we moved to Wisconsin and had to get a double bottom plow to break open some fields. Then a disk for smoothing it back out for planting.
We purchased a small LS tractor with front-end loader, mower deck and backhoe attachment. This is for me to use in the garden. We bought a snowblower for it first thing. Then in spring we bought a roto-tiller. Wonderful purchase, love it! Then we bought a fencing attachment for the big tractor and put up a 6' fence around the garden and orchard area. We will probably be fencing in an acre area for free-ranging chickens next summer.

 

[CrealCritter]

Your CFO will soon realize that the tractor was only an initial purchase. The attachments will keep coming.

We bought a tractor with a front end loader and a backhoe attachment. We got a pretty good deal from a dealer because it was an older model, the only one on the lot and the next years model was significantly different. One of the pluses was it had a cab, which was important because the reason we were getting a tractor was for snow removal.
Next we bought a back blade to help with snow removal. Then we moved to Wisconsin and had to get a double bottom plow to break open some fields. Then a disk for smoothing it back out for planting.
We purchased a small LS tractor with front-end loader, mower deck and backhoe attachment. This is for me to use in the garden. We bought a snowblower for it first thing. Then in spring we bought a roto-tiller. Wonderful purchase, love it! Then we bought a fencing attachment for the big tractor and put up a 6' fence around the garden and orchard area. We will probably be fencing in an acre area for free-ranging chickens next summer.

I've already informed the CFO about implements / attachments

 

[wyoDreamer]

I forgot about the 3-point cement mixer that DH was looking at. And he needs a box-blade. (Not sure why he NEEDS it so bad, but I stopped asking long ago.)

 

[baymule]

I have a disc for my tractor that I use to break up the garden. Sometimes Neighbor Robert brings his tiller over and we use it.

 

[CrealCritter]

I have a disc for my tractor that I use to break up the garden. Sometimes Neighbor Robert brings his tiller over and we use it.

After looking at several used 6' bush hogs (pull type rotary cutter) I decided I'm just going to go buy a new one tomorrow morning that's proudly made in the USA.

Some people just can't or won't take care of their equipment. It's a simple matter of blowing off the top of the bush hog after use and oiling the top and sides before storing it. and oh yeah you have to service the gear box once a year. Grass and weeds are like acid to metal. Next thing you know you got rust and holes in the top and bad gear box.

I looked at several used ones around the area. I've opened the gear box on many of them, all the ones I inspected look like the gear oil was never changed. Some had burnt oil, a couple had no oil at all and please... you tell me you just used it

 

[CrealCritter]

Kicked it into high gear today. I'm amazed how much i got done with my son's help. Screwed down loose aluminum metal roofing on the barn. Took down the dead overhead service enterance, pulled up two telephone poles. Gave the D19 a once over with a fine tooth comb, the old girl is field ready now. Adjusted the brakes, fabricated a new part for the power director clutch (it stays locked in nuteral now). Went though all the hoses and fittings, even blew out the air filter. The old girl is so easy to work on and everything is SAE and actually makes sense. +1 for old American Iron.