How to layout a field for plowing

Welcome everyone. I created this video to help people learn how to layout a field for moldboard plowing.

[bakangrantika]

Well explained...its like you simplified simplicity even further.

[robertpayne]

We were located in Northeast Arkansas upper Mississippi Valley Delta at the time it was mostly Cotton, Soybeans, and Rice, winter wheat. Now its mostly Corn, soybeans, and rice.
Its runs from heavy clay to sandy loam and sandy soils a hundred years ago it was mostly hard wood timber most tracts of land fall into a natural 2 to upwards of 4 percent natural grade and were surveyed out in either 40, 80, or 160 acre parcels. Mostly they are square or what we call long 40s, 80's and most 160s are square. There are some fields that have been changed by either drainage district ditches/canals or other man-made features
They are the reason why most people parked and scrapped their moldboard plows and went to disc and field cultivators. Moldboard plowing was just too slow 🐌. We were one of the last farms to moldboard plow but, alas we quit voluntarily in 1986.
My IHC 720 6-16 onland plow left after our sale in March 1987 I now regret that decision I'm 66 years old now. I sold my 80 acre farm and house 2 years ago...

[natedole]

this is just fantastic information. thank you for making this!

[turker]

Thank you for detailed video. Good job 👏 👍 👌

[erickeffa]

Your videos are very educative thank you so much

[wayneriedlinger]

We always started a field by starting plowing the first round away from the fence line then second round plowed the other direction and threw the dirt back towards the already plowed ground. then started laying out lands. our fields were anything but square and quite hilly.

[joescheller]

Going around the field I'd by far the fastest efficient way to plow. Done it for years. Reverse plow the next time you plow. You pick up on corners then plow them out last or a disk or chisel plow will leave you without any dead furrows

[RustyCarnahan]

With a set of semi-integral plows, I prefer the "plowing around" method. The beauty of semi mount plows is that a good operator can make a dead furrow so smooth that its unrecognizable.

[cody]

I occasionally cross plow after flattening.
I put as many woodchips and leaves as i have time to put in until i can't pick-up a handful of soil that doesn't have woodchips and leaf rubble.
And the turning plow finds tons of worms.
4" of mulch put out with a blower really cuts down on weeds.
I rarely have to add chicken coop cleanings so as to make the corn plant a dark rich green, ie sweeter corn.

[MagellaDoiron]

thank you for your amazing video! when you're plowing out or in, and your playing the headland, how do you drive your machine to the beginning opening to plow in the same direction. do you drive around the edge of your plowed field?

[markalu]

Have you ever used a Tumble bug Plow. I would suggest you use one. no dead furrow.

[tomcochrane]

And if your field is very wide like more than 100 metres then make two crowns as if it’s two separate fields . Because you will spend a long time driving around the headlands when the distance is long . And if it’s a large field you’ll make lots more starts and finishes.

[lovetofly]

What I did on one of our 160s last time was find the center of the field and do a reverse of plowing out and make a short pass plowing inward until you get a square thats even on all sides and then start going round and round. Im telling you it was the fastest and most enjoyable plowing because you never lift out, you just plow. But I liked to pull out just past the corner and go back and double up on the corners now and then to keep them kinda square so you dont have huge triangles left in the four corners when you get close to done.

[dj-nrnm]

Hi Joe, I'm a new subscriber. I really enjoyed this video. I'm looking forward to trying this pattern in the field. Can you offer some advice on discing and cultivating? I have a small (tiny) tractor but it does the job. Do you go across the ploughed ridges with the disc or can you go in line with them? Then do you go across with the cultivator after that?

[dougwambold]

Where are you folks out of ? It looks like youhave a diverse amount of crops, do you harvest mostly vegetables or berries? I would like to hear more about your crops and the rewards and troubles you face with them. I really like your channel, I like your knowledge and analytical explanations of things. Very informative.

[robertpayne]

Years ago my cousins used moldboard plows to built terraces on the contours of their fields

[paulbrough]

In both cases you are placing a furrow on unploughed land. Especially when ploughing in you need to turn the centre run over first then turn it back again. Likewise when ploughing out, you turn the furrow in but then turn the same furrow back out again. Generally you don't cut those initial furrows as deep.

[robertpayne]

Plowing was always slow usally
Most people quit because it takes more time most want to go wide and fast disc and field cultivators I have hit old stumps and roots with breaking plows.

[tomcochrane]

When you meet in the middle you make a hint that’s what it’s called . The next time you plough the field you start in the middle of the field where the hint was from the year before and make what’s called a crown and that fills the soil back into the hint and makes it level again. Then you ploughs to each hedge

[shivangijaggi]

Hey Joe! Thanks for the informative video! I am conducting research on field patterns and was wondering if you can recommend any plows that don't leave back or dead furrows in the soil (or aren't directional, so to speak). I was wondering if chisel plows would fit this description? Can you recommend any other plows?