Deep Plow Digs 3 1/2 Ft Deep

Deep Plow Digs 3 1/2 Ft Deep SUBSOILERS Subsoilers (58n) 20-1-39 "It works slow but does a good job," says Bill Chuckry, Winnipeg, Manitoba, who built a plow that'll work his peat soils as deep as 3 1/2 ft. Chuckry needed something that would bury the approximately 3-ft. layer of peat covering his fields and bring about 6 in. of clay to the surface. To make the deep plow, he modified a "breaking plow" that originally made a single furrow 26 in. deep and 42 in. wide. He increased the size of the moldboard and welded a 15-ft. long steel I-beam on top of the plow's main beam to keep it from twisting under the increased load. An 18-ft. wide, 40-in. dia. steel roller trails behind the plow. Chuckry uses a 400 hp Ford 9880 tractor equipped with triple 20.8 by 42 radial tires all the way around to pull the plow and roller. The inside 8 wheels are filled with fluid, and the tractor is fitted with almost 5,000 lbs. of suitcase weights on front. Fully loaded, the tractor weighs 41,500 lbs. "Bringing 6 in. of new clay up to the surface allows the soil to warm up sooner in the spring and lets us grow longer sea-son crops like wheat, flax, canola, lentils, etc., that we otherwise couldn't grow," says Chuckry. "We used it to plow over 300 acres last fall and hope to plow our entire 2,700-acre farm over the next 3 to 5 years. We go at about 5 mph and can plow about 25 to 35 acres per day. It's not a lot different than breaking new ground. The key is keeping the plow down deep enough so that it rolls all the ground over. "The steel I-beam, which weighs about 3,500 lbs., helps keep the plow in the ground. The roller knocks down the big furrow made by the giant moldboard and also helps keep the plow frame pulling straight in line. Chuckry keeps it about one fourth full of water. It weighs about 2,800 lbs. He makes a second pass later with a tandem disk. "When raised, the plow pivots on a front set of wheels and skids on a ætailbone' at back. The bottom of the moldboard drags a little on the ground. To keep it from digging into the road during transport, we have to unhook the plow from the tractor, jack up the back end, and hook it back up to the tractor so we can tow it backward." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Chuckry, Box 147, RR 5, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2C 2Z2 (ph 204 222-5865 or 204 955-7086).

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