Recreational Tillage?

[Possum]

I hate it when farmers finish their harvest, put a few grain checks in the bank and get bored. What do they do? Hook up a disk or chisel plow and go for a ride. Just finished setting up a 1200 acre section with 10 sets mostly near field corners with culvert crossings to the adjacent fields. The bored farmer took off on a tour, not tilling entire fields, just making a pass here and there before heading to the next spot. Managed to find 6 of my sets! I lost one trap, even with a metal detector, 4 of the traps okay, one bent up a bit. Worst part is I asked if they were done working their fields. "Yep," he said. "What's left will be no-till or we'll work in the spring." He forgot to mention, "Unless I get bored...."

[blackhammer]

The weather has been so nice here I'm surprised there not planting. lol A lot of cat work,cutting down every tree they can and tiling stuff that's not even wet. This comodity price spike is causing a lot of marginal land that is good habitat for wildlife to be steamrolled.

[trappnman]

seeing the same around here

[Nick C]

Yup, today I'm going to hop in the tractor and hook up the disk, and just go cruise around the fields to turn dirt over because its fun and I don't get enough tractor time the rest of the year!

[cmr2]

Been hit already with turbo tool , bent one , lost one completely , and two ok and found

So I rest , was told where completely done again , so I reset in a green area had made a catch and had not reset it and now the bush hog didn't get used this year , the yearly hours was down (drought) so it went thru and got that reset (moved due to turbo tool)
I just bare it as they own it and only let me use it but not able to keep give ing away equipment at this rate , it's a lil high tax to grab some critters

[trappnman]

so says nick who takes the tractor to check the mail...LOL

[mjh]

lost 5 bridger 3s over the weekend to plow happy farmers!!

[trappnman]

what really happens of course, is that with crops caughht up, and no snow and workable ground, farmers are doing things on their "when I get time list"

One factor I like abotu staying only a week at locations, is that 99 out of a 100, I can trust what they say they are going to do for that week.

but even then, several years ago I was stnding AT THE FIELD with the farmer at dusk, and set up- and next day all plowed- so asking doesn't always help, but it does help

I find too, on big farms, that the chain of command is multiple, and while one guy doesn't plan on field work, the others do.

[Nick C]

Dec 3, 2012 10:52:45 GMT -6 trappnman said:

so says nick who takes the tractor to check the mail...LOL

No No No

Get in the truck, open the garage door, back down the lane to the road, check mail box, and drive back up in the garage.

what really happens of course, is that with crops caughht up, and no snow and workable ground, farmers are doing things on their "when I get time list"

Exactly.

And tilling fencelines, terraces, and other areas where there is weed pressure is what we've done this year, that we haven't been able to do in a long time. And places in the field where there is a lot of compaction, tore that up too.

[Jarhead620]

Record corn and soybean prices has put land into production around here that hasn't seen a row crop in years, if ever.

Larry

[bblwi]

What many of you are calling recreational tillage is SOP in my area with very heavy clay soils with limited organic matter and much of the soil getting 6-16K of liquid manure every year and the requirements by many land and water offices is that manure must be incorporated into the soil.

Bryce

[Possum]

I trap dairy and pig farms where manure injectors are a factor, but I keep an eye out for them and understand. Some guys always work their corn ground, not beans. Others work everything. Some go zero till. And some just get bored and go drive around their domain looking for dirt hole sets to till.

[trappnman]

Nick- you answered one question I always had- why did farmers work odd patches just here and there- and I'm quessing its those areas are compacted more so than rest of field?

I don't mind the injection with the bulk tanks- but that pump/hose system really screws me up at times- those hoses run litterally miles and miles under roads and across fields- and everyone is like a concrete wall as far as access- I've been told by many farmers NOT to drive over it when full, and while I might be able to, I'm not- so have had it where I've been blocked from getting where I need to go, and have to use shanks mare to get there

more and more beans are not only getting injected with liquid manure, but are being bailed before that- never used ot see bean duff baled. Injecting with Nitrious isn't too bad- they don't go very deep and one can still drive on the fields

That is one very good advantage to only staying a week- in additon to having a handle of the weather- and thats that for a week, he wil ltell me his scedule, and more times than not, I can trust it and work around him

[bobafett]

If there working spots here and there it might be rough spots that washed during the summer