Paddle Plow Digs Up Fields Like a Shovel

Paddle Plow Digs Up Fields Like a Shovel TILLAGE EUIPMENT Subsoilers (55) 12-1-24 You've never seen anything like this giant "paddle plow" that digs down to 3 ft. with big shovel-like shanks at a rate of 140 rpm. The four big 6-in. wide shovels - on a9 ft. wide machine - attach to an offset rotating shaft. They dig into the soil in the opposite direction of travel. As each shovel comes up out of the ground it moves forward toward the tractor and then as it goes down into the ground, it moves back away from the tractor, lifting dirt up and out. "Because the digging motion of the shanks is in the direction of travel, this machine requires much less power to operate than other deep digging machines," says manufacturer F. Peter Reis, noting that the 9-ft. wide machine requires just a 100 hp. tractor with a 1,000 rpm pto. The shanks dig fast at speeds up to 140 rpm's. Although they can be set to work to any level, maximum depth is 3 ft. Each shovel is spring-loaded to bounce over rocks. Dry fertilizer can be applied. Fertilizer is dropped into the ground behind each shank. The machine sells for $21,000. The company is looking for a U.S. distributor. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, F. Peter Reis, Odenwald Welke, Rittersbach, D-6957 Elztal, West Germany (ph 062933 73 218).

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