I agree tiller on tractor is nice but for breaking new ground u need a good piece equipment for first time. After that simple disc or tiller will tear up ground fine
I will add a tiller at some point. I really like them for incorporating (tilling in) clover when I convert small plots from clover to brassicas (turnips, etc.) when the clover starts to thin out. Thanks for the input. Have a great day.
Grapple for the front of my tractor has been a game changer! Especially with new plots and when brush hogging trails if there is a tree down. Just need a third function kit!
I would need to add the third hydraulic. Wildlife Farming offers a good grapple they wanted me to test, but I didn't have the third hydraulic on my loader so I had to turn it down.
Thanks Phil, but I love that tractor. It is small but has a good bit of power for its size. I think if I put fluid in the back tires, it would go almost anywhere a four wheeler would go.
Hey Bill, thanks for posting some more great content. I'm just now getting into large scale plots (my brother and I purchased a 154 acre farm last November). If I go the fertilizer cart direction, how capable are these of being pulled on sloped fields? Are the CGs such that if the tractor won't tip, neither will the cart?
Drew, thanks for the comment. I would say the CG of the cart is at least a foot or two (maybe more) higher than the tractor. My bigger tractor (the JD 5085) has fluid in the tires so it will stay on some pretty steep slopes. I think it would be a mistake to assume that the cart will go wherever the tractor will go. I have never tried the cart on a steep slope, but I would be very careful there. Good luck.
Bill, you covered the farm basics pretty good. I think having a cultipacker is mandatory unless you have a no till drill. Especially for clover and brassica. I have also found a sling blade type tool great for clearing out grass and weeds in front of your camera set ups.. Quiet and effective.
Good input. I have never owned a cultipacker. I always waited for the rain to pound the seed in. That worked fine on small seeds in tilled soils with good rains, but I think if the rain comes in one hit and then nothing, the packed seedbed would do much better (retain the moisture better around the seed for complete germination).
Thanks for the breakdown on your equipment Bill. I still do things more old fashion. I have a disc and sprayer for my 4 wheeler, a similar hand seed spreader to yours and a homemade drag. I do around 2 acres with the biggest one being about 1 acre. I really enjoy doing this type of work and learning from other people on different ways to do this type of work. I need to make time to get the woods setup better for the deer. Thanks again Bill for all your videos.
I got a flail mower for the very reason of being able to maneuver through wooded areas. I also have a no till. The number of weeds I have to put up with has dropped off almost completely. I also save about half my time over tilling. Now just spray, wait two weeks, spray again, and no till the same day. I have done this the last two years and haven't had to do any further work to keep my plots weed free. I also have fewer drought issues and birds picking my seed out.
Yes, the no-till system is way better for all those reasons. I almost completely stopped using my tiller on the old farm except when tilling clover into the ground to use as "green manure" for the summer planting of brassicas. That rotation system works really well on small plots. Have a great day.
Be careful without weights on the front Bill, or in general ! Tractors hurt a lot of people every year , especially since it isn’t particularly flat there !! That being said , you need a 5 ft -6ft tiller !!!!! Good luck this season, we will be watching!
Thanks Justin. I agree, all this stuff is dangerous. I grew up on a farm and I remember a number of kids in my high school class that were maimed from farm accidents! It was amazing how quickly it can happen if you aren't careful. Have a great day.
Good lineup, Bill. Couple things I recommend would be some drip torches & a chain drag. If at all possible I would try to get an enclosed tractor or utv to use for spraying to avoid drift but I understand that requires money!
I do have a drip torch, but forgot to put it out. I am new to the fire stuff so I will probably have a long list of burning gear once I get more experience there. I have owned cab tractors before and I always beat the crap out of the cabs on low branches. This time I decided to go open station. Have a great day.
That is really smart. If you dig down a bit, you can easily cut the tree off below the level where most equipment will hit it and just farm right over the top. I did that for many years. Sometimes I would come back later with a skid loader and stump bucket and pop those stumps out.
I think they work and make sense for the guys that are using that method of plotting. I do agree with it in principle when planting a rotation between stemmy blends and soybeans. Maybe I need to play with it, but I do like planting corn in a number of plots and there is good rotation with corn using the roller crimper. Also, like broadcasting or drilling brassicas into beans (rather than something like fall rye). Again, there is not good rotation there for the roller crimper. It has an application, but a fairly narrow one to my thinking.
My equipment list is similar, but smaller. My largest plot is 2.5 acres. I don't have a seed drill, but I do have a 2-row no till planter, which I use for corn and soybeans a bit, but mostly milo. I also have a 6 foot drag harrow, which I use for lightly covering broadcast seedings such as clover, brassicas, oats, rye and blends. Also have a 5 foot tiller, a 3-point disc, a 5 foot brush hog to use on a 28 horse compact diesel tractor. I own a bigger tractor, but it doesn't get involved in food plots. Previously used it for moving large hay bales before I wised up and got rid of my cattle. 😊
That is a good system. It is really anyone needs and if you can find most of it used at auctions or online, you can put that together pretty cheap. Thanks for the input.
Hi Bill, I don’t have a drill but I do have an old two row corn planter with a dry fertilizer containers, I like planting corn at my place, gives the deer fall food and cover. My seed spreader is mounted on the front of my ATV and that’s way better then the back, I actually watch the seed/fertilizer being broadcast and can tell instantly if the seed stops or for a partial plug. Almost never use my bag spreader anymore, the ATV is faster by a mile. A couple of comments mentioned a cultipacker, I have an 8 footer and pull it with my ATV, more maneuverable than with a tractor. A food plotter I know calls a cultipacker a gift from God, gotta have one if you have a tiller! Enjoy your podcasts. Ken
Thanks Ken. That is a really good system. I love the creative ways food plot growers find of getting seeding into the ground and growing well. Keep up the great work. By the way, I like corn too, though it is more expensive. Deer love it in the fall and winter and you can sneak through it to get to and from your stands. Good input.
Our 3 point spreader holds 1000 pounds we buy fertilizer pre mixed in half ton bulk bags. Makes it easy if you have another loader to lift it up pull the shoot empties the bag fills the spreader and off you go.
When spreading seed with a bag spreader, i like to run a cultipacker over the field/plot. When I didn't own a cultipacker, i drove over the seed with lawn tractor. It is a better way to get the soil to seed contact for germination. Thanks for great content, keep it coming.
Thanks Shannon. That is great advice. Only time it doesn't work is when you are spreading into an existing plot (such as soybeans). I do that often, spreading brassicas or winter rye into soybean plots. Have a great day.
Forks are a must and I use a cultipacker before I seed and after I seed, seems to work for my food plots. I also have a 6’ brush hog and a 6’ rotary tiller. I also just bought my first cab tractor with AC and Heat a John Deere 4044R with a loader. Your video was very interesting on what other people use for habitat management. It all boils down seed to soil contact and rain! Great video!!!
Especially the part about rain. You can have all the best stuff and if the weather doesn't cooperate you still get nothing. Very dry at the farm right now.
I just purchased a ventrac 4520z . Building equipment inventory around the 3 pt and front mount pto. It’s only 33 horse but can go almost anywhere, and it’s footprint on the dirt is very light
Bill, I currently only have a go pro, my food plot is 20 yds from my stand, can I get okay footage using this? I'm planning on getting a better camera in the future.
If you can't afford or justify a big sprayer, look at the FlowZone 4 gallon battery powered backpack sprayer (around $330). I've been really happy with mine. You can cover a LOT more ground in less time with less work. The battery life is surprisingly good; I've gone through 8 full tanks in a morning and the battery still had at least a third charge.
Bill, what make is your spreader that fits on the back of the 4wheeler, and are they still available? I think you said it has 100lbs. capacity. I can't seem to find one. One thing I find really beneficial is a cultipacker. Thanks, Bob
Bob, yes a cultipacker is a great addition. Moultrie makes that spreader. Here is the link to buy direct from them: www.moultriefeeders.com/moultrie-atv-spreader-manual-feed-gate
production ag uses booms, boom less has to much wind drift and to much chemical gets on the operator. earth way makes a hand seeder that has a hard plastic seed tub .not too much more $$$$ and it does not wear out.
Agree regarding the boomed vs boomless. The thing that always wears out for me on the bag spreaders is the gear drive. I suppose running urea through it occasionally doesn't help, though I do wash it off well every time I use it for fertilizer.
When you shop for a new rear mower I might suggest trying out a flail mower with the capability of setting it to multiple offset positions. I bought mine for vineyard cleanup, but it quickly became a land management tool that gets used a lot. Kay’s down a fine layer of evenly spread mulch, is easier to make tight corners than a long bush hog, terminates things like cereal rye quite nicely in the spring. See if you can demo one, or come get mine for a week before you buy a bush hog.
That is great advice Kevin. Can you cut down small trees with a flail mower? I cut off a lot of saplings along the trails up to about 2 inches in diameter. Have a great day.
That John Deere is 85 hp. The small Massey is 38 hp. I have used the 8 foot drill on smaller tractors down to 65 hp but it gets a little sketchy because the tractor isn't quite heavy enough to handle it. That would be bad on these hills.
I got a kick out of the affordability comment he had because a lot of the stuff is not cheap but clearly lots of people can when you have to wait the better part of a year for a no-til drill after ordering.
Yes, it is amazing how many people buy this stuff, and most buy bigger and better than mine. I didn't comment about my "new" tractor for this very reason. I had to buy a tractor beg enough to carry that drill. But, it will hold its value very well, I am sure.
@@bill-winke When you're talking to guys with great plains drills they paid $16k for 5 years ago that are now worth well over $20k used and same deal with tractors.. it makes a guy a little more comfortable with the expense!
@@brodychapman8348 Yes, I just bought a bigger tractor but wasn't excited about the price, but it does make me feel better to know that with the few hours I put on it, It will be worth at least the same in ten years.
I agree tiller on tractor is nice but for breaking new ground u need a good piece equipment for first time. After that simple disc or tiller will tear up ground fine
I will add a tiller at some point. I really like them for incorporating (tilling in) clover when I convert small plots from clover to brassicas (turnips, etc.) when the clover starts to thin out. Thanks for the input. Have a great day.
Did You forget to mention the John Deere tractor. ? Good informative video !
I did forget to mention it. I bought that a couple months ago from a neighbor. It is an 85 hp model.
Grapple for the front of my tractor has been a game changer! Especially with new plots and when brush hogging trails if there is a tree down. Just need a third function kit!
I would need to add the third hydraulic. Wildlife Farming offers a good grapple they wanted me to test, but I didn't have the third hydraulic on my loader so I had to turn it down.
If you ever want to get sell the Massey Ferguson 230 I’d be interested. I’ve been looking for one. Great videos
Thanks Phil, but I love that tractor. It is small but has a good bit of power for its size. I think if I put fluid in the back tires, it would go almost anywhere a four wheeler would go.
Hey Bill, thanks for posting some more great content. I'm just now getting into large scale plots (my brother and I purchased a 154 acre farm last November). If I go the fertilizer cart direction, how capable are these of being pulled on sloped fields? Are the CGs such that if the tractor won't tip, neither will the cart?
Drew, thanks for the comment. I would say the CG of the cart is at least a foot or two (maybe more) higher than the tractor. My bigger tractor (the JD 5085) has fluid in the tires so it will stay on some pretty steep slopes. I think it would be a mistake to assume that the cart will go wherever the tractor will go. I have never tried the cart on a steep slope, but I would be very careful there. Good luck.
Bill, you covered the farm basics pretty good. I think having a cultipacker is mandatory unless you have a no till drill. Especially for clover and brassica. I have also found a sling blade type tool great for clearing out grass and weeds in front of your camera set ups.. Quiet and effective.
Good input. I have never owned a cultipacker. I always waited for the rain to pound the seed in. That worked fine on small seeds in tilled soils with good rains, but I think if the rain comes in one hit and then nothing, the packed seedbed would do much better (retain the moisture better around the seed for complete germination).
Thanks for the breakdown on your equipment Bill. I still do things more old fashion. I have a disc and sprayer for my 4 wheeler, a similar hand seed spreader to yours and a homemade drag. I do around 2 acres with the biggest one being about 1 acre. I really enjoy doing this type of work and learning from other people on different ways to do this type of work. I need to make time to get the woods setup better for the deer. Thanks again Bill for all your videos.
Thanks for the input Art. That system sounds great for your projects. Have a great day.
I got a flail mower for the very reason of being able to maneuver through wooded areas.
I also have a no till. The number of weeds I have to put up with has dropped off almost completely. I also save about half my time over tilling. Now just spray, wait two weeks, spray again, and no till the same day. I have done this the last two years and haven't had to do any further work to keep my plots weed free. I also have fewer drought issues and birds picking my seed out.
Yes, the no-till system is way better for all those reasons. I almost completely stopped using my tiller on the old farm except when tilling clover into the ground to use as "green manure" for the summer planting of brassicas. That rotation system works really well on small plots. Have a great day.
Be careful without weights on the front Bill, or in general ! Tractors hurt a lot of people every year , especially since it isn’t particularly flat there !!
That being said , you need a 5 ft -6ft tiller !!!!! Good luck this season, we will be watching!
Thanks Justin. I agree, all this stuff is dangerous. I grew up on a farm and I remember a number of kids in my high school class that were maimed from farm accidents! It was amazing how quickly it can happen if you aren't careful. Have a great day.
Good lineup, Bill. Couple things I recommend would be some drip torches & a chain drag. If at all possible I would try to get an enclosed tractor or utv to use for spraying to avoid drift but I understand that requires money!
I do have a drip torch, but forgot to put it out. I am new to the fire stuff so I will probably have a long list of burning gear once I get more experience there. I have owned cab tractors before and I always beat the crap out of the cabs on low branches. This time I decided to go open station. Have a great day.
Thank Bill....I use a Sawzall with really long pruning blades to cut smaller tress flush or below ground level then treat with chemical
That is really smart. If you dig down a bit, you can easily cut the tree off below the level where most equipment will hit it and just farm right over the top. I did that for many years. Sometimes I would come back later with a skid loader and stump bucket and pop those stumps out.
Have you ever considered one of those roller crimpers? What are your thoughts on those?
I think they work and make sense for the guys that are using that method of plotting. I do agree with it in principle when planting a rotation between stemmy blends and soybeans. Maybe I need to play with it, but I do like planting corn in a number of plots and there is good rotation with corn using the roller crimper. Also, like broadcasting or drilling brassicas into beans (rather than something like fall rye). Again, there is not good rotation there for the roller crimper. It has an application, but a fairly narrow one to my thinking.
I use ibc totes and a 12volt transfer pump to haul water for spraying to a farm I hunt that doesn’t have a well anymore.
Great system. I know guys that use those transfer pumps to pull water from creeks when spraying in remote areas. Good input.
My equipment list is similar, but smaller. My largest plot is 2.5 acres. I don't have a seed drill, but I do have a 2-row no till planter, which I use for corn and soybeans a bit, but mostly milo. I also have a 6 foot drag harrow, which I use for lightly covering broadcast seedings such as clover, brassicas, oats, rye and blends. Also have a 5 foot tiller, a 3-point disc, a 5 foot brush hog to use on a 28 horse compact diesel tractor. I own a bigger tractor, but it doesn't get involved in food plots. Previously used it for moving large hay bales before I wised up and got rid of my cattle. 😊
That is a good system. It is really anyone needs and if you can find most of it used at auctions or online, you can put that together pretty cheap. Thanks for the input.
Great video. I just picked up my first tractor. In my county in Arkansas the conservation department, rent sprayers, rollers, and no till drill.
Renting is way better than buying as long as the equipment is available when you need it. That is the only downside.
Hi Bill,
I don’t have a drill but I do have an old two row corn planter with a dry fertilizer containers, I like planting corn at my place, gives the deer fall food and cover. My seed spreader is mounted on the front of my ATV and that’s way better then the back, I actually watch the seed/fertilizer being broadcast and can tell instantly if the seed stops or for a partial plug. Almost never use my bag spreader anymore, the ATV is faster by a mile. A couple of comments mentioned a cultipacker, I have an 8 footer and pull it with my ATV, more maneuverable than with a tractor. A food plotter I know calls a cultipacker a gift from God, gotta have one if you have a tiller! Enjoy your podcasts.
Ken
Thanks Ken. That is a really good system. I love the creative ways food plot growers find of getting seeding into the ground and growing well. Keep up the great work. By the way, I like corn too, though it is more expensive. Deer love it in the fall and winter and you can sneak through it to get to and from your stands. Good input.
Our 3 point spreader holds 1000 pounds we buy fertilizer pre mixed in half ton bulk bags. Makes it easy if you have another loader to lift it up pull the shoot empties the bag fills the spreader and off you go.
That is a really efficient system. I suppose if you don't have the second loader you can shovel the fertilizer into the spreader. Good input. Thanks.
That’s all you need. Great job on accumulating your equipment.
Thanks for the support. I appreciate it.
When spreading seed with a bag spreader, i like to run a cultipacker over the field/plot. When I didn't own a cultipacker, i drove over the seed with lawn tractor. It is a better way to get the soil to seed contact for germination. Thanks for great content, keep it coming.
Thanks Shannon. That is great advice. Only time it doesn't work is when you are spreading into an existing plot (such as soybeans). I do that often, spreading brassicas or winter rye into soybean plots. Have a great day.
Can do many acres with a good box frame disc, cone spreader and brillion cultipacker! 🤠
Yes, you can plant just about anything save for maybe beans and corn. Thanks for the input.
Definitely recommend a tiller I have a 4ft one I use on a 2305 John Deere and it's worth every penny.
Yes, I definitely need to add a tiller to my gear list. Maybe next year. Can only add so much at a time! Have a great day.
Forks are a must and I use a cultipacker before I seed and after I seed, seems to work for my food plots. I also have a 6’ brush hog and a 6’ rotary tiller. I also just bought my first cab tractor with AC and Heat a John Deere 4044R with a loader. Your video was very interesting on what other people use for habitat management. It all boils down seed to soil contact and rain! Great video!!!
Especially the part about rain. You can have all the best stuff and if the weather doesn't cooperate you still get nothing. Very dry at the farm right now.
I just purchased a ventrac 4520z .
Building equipment inventory around the 3 pt and front mount pto. It’s only 33 horse but can go almost anywhere, and it’s footprint on the dirt is very light
I have a neighbor who is a city arborist for his day job and he has one of those. I have not seen it, but he raves about it.
You have a nice arsenal sir!!
Thanks for the support. Much appreciated.
Bill, I currently only have a go pro, my food plot is 20 yds from my stand, can I get okay footage using this? I'm planning on getting a better camera in the future.
@@HicksNSticks That will be too far for a GoPro, unfortunately. Your phone will actually do better than a GoPro at that distance.
If you can't afford or justify a big sprayer, look at the FlowZone 4 gallon battery powered backpack sprayer (around $330). I've been really happy with mine. You can cover a LOT more ground in less time with less work. The battery life is surprisingly good; I've gone through 8 full tanks in a morning and the battery still had at least a third charge.
I will take a look at those. Thanks for the comment and suggestion.
Bill, what make is your spreader that fits on the back of the 4wheeler, and are they still available? I think you said it has 100lbs. capacity. I can't seem to find one. One thing I find really beneficial is a cultipacker. Thanks, Bob
Bob, yes a cultipacker is a great addition. Moultrie makes that spreader. Here is the link to buy direct from them: www.moultriefeeders.com/moultrie-atv-spreader-manual-feed-gate
@@bill-winke Thanks...keep up the good work. Bob
I remember working in hay one summer as a teen. I would come in and be wore out man. He would always say I was as useless as a 5ft bushhog. 😂
Makes me feel a bit self conscious about my bush hog now! I do need a bigger one, though. Have a great day.
production ag uses booms, boom less has to much wind drift and to much chemical gets on the operator. earth way makes a hand seeder that has a hard plastic seed tub .not too much more $$$$ and it does not wear out.
Agree regarding the boomed vs boomless. The thing that always wears out for me on the bag spreaders is the gear drive. I suppose running urea through it occasionally doesn't help, though I do wash it off well every time I use it for fertilizer.
@@bill-winke do you lube them with diesel after you wash them?
@@lisaannaallen6283 No, but that does make sense. I just wash them and put them away.
Big boy toys…👊🏻🏹
The fun kind!
When you shop for a new rear mower I might suggest trying out a flail mower with the capability of setting it to multiple offset positions. I bought mine for vineyard cleanup, but it quickly became a land management tool that gets used a lot. Kay’s down a fine layer of evenly spread mulch, is easier to make tight corners than a long bush hog, terminates things like cereal rye quite nicely in the spring. See if you can demo one, or come get mine for a week before you buy a bush hog.
That is great advice Kevin. Can you cut down small trees with a flail mower? I cut off a lot of saplings along the trails up to about 2 inches in diameter. Have a great day.
@@bill-winke mine handles about an inch or so. I have a smaller one on a 30hp tractor.
What size is your tractor?
That John Deere is 85 hp. The small Massey is 38 hp. I have used the 8 foot drill on smaller tractors down to 65 hp but it gets a little sketchy because the tractor isn't quite heavy enough to handle it. That would be bad on these hills.
Who do you even realize who can afford this stuff........ !!!!!! NO ONE !!!!!
I got a kick out of the affordability comment he had because a lot of the stuff is not cheap but clearly lots of people can when you have to wait the better part of a year for a no-til drill after ordering.
Yes, it is amazing how many people buy this stuff, and most buy bigger and better than mine. I didn't comment about my "new" tractor for this very reason. I had to buy a tractor beg enough to carry that drill. But, it will hold its value very well, I am sure.
@@bill-winke When you're talking to guys with great plains drills they paid $16k for 5 years ago that are now worth well over $20k used and same deal with tractors.. it makes a guy a little more comfortable with the expense!
@@brodychapman8348 Yes, I just bought a bigger tractor but wasn't excited about the price, but it does make me feel better to know that with the few hours I put on it, It will be worth at least the same in ten years.