Chisel Plows Again

Was reading with interest the thread below about the 826 and the chisel plows and their required horsepower.

Can someone explain to me again why they are used?

A lot of my neighbors use 'em and quite frankly, given the power it takes to tug 'em, I really question the "quality of the finished product" received for the amount of fuel put in.

Are they used because they leave a great deal of trash on the surface for erosion control?

Thanks,

Allan

I like to compare this to grading a gravel road. In that case unless you cut it all loose to depth of deepest pothole, the potholes will be back in two days. Same can be said for the mold board plow versus chisel plow. Mold board is going to keep that sub soil surface smooth.

When I look at some these modern day fields and the practices being used, kind of wonder how the cutter bar copes with all this. Hay guys have gone discbine so they just cut the tops off the hummocs. Expensive way to land level, I would think. I somehow don't think combine headers will fare as well.

I've got a couple of neighbors that I watch like a hawk. The one is a big operator and I can't really equate with him nor his equipment (40' wide implements).

The other fellea kind of does it the way I do; with the older equipment. He uses a 15' Graham Homie chisel with 15" or 16” sweeps on, but he tells me that it leaves his ground "uneven" even tho he travels on the diagonal.

Just tryin’ to get a grip on this dry land stuff. Totally foreign to me.

Allan

I think you answered your own question. The idea behind their development was based on the 1930's dust storms. You want to keep the soil out of the air, and retain moisture. But, you're doing a fine job. Nothing prettier than a moldboard turned field.