Baler twine and manure spreader beater bars

I was plowing this spring on land new to me. Being 60 years of age I cant believe what I plowed up. I though once only corn stover and small bushes pluged small clearance plows. (Farmall SA) I was wrong, baler twine can do it. You see guys loading round bales twine end comes loose and trails behind, tractor breaks off 30 feet. I have been in several tilled fields this spring farmed by big equipment and guys with even bigger plans. Their land looks like a sanitary LAND FILL site. Mike, this type of farming is going on all around you, and wind can move this stuff. Governments even subsidise this type of farming.

I "import" horse manure from a friend that has a horse but no place to dispose of the exhaust. After the first couple of loads, I asked her nicely to be careful about dumping the twine into the load as it was a pain to untangle from the spreader.

I'm with the other folks, a utility knife on a SHUT DOWN spreader. I'm big on shortcuts and doing things the easy way, but I'd NEVER work on rotating equipment. And, being a volunteer firefighter, I certainly don't recommend the propane torch method.

We try to keep the stings down to only a few, This doesn't work well if you do all of you hauling in a single period of time. We cut them when they are dry.

Wheels

About your first Paragraph SAFTY FIRST, that sounds like an accident , Please don't ever work (mainteinance) a peice of equipment when it is running.

I would cut them off. After I hose the spreader off the spreader after I'm done using it for the season. Greese and cover with used motor oil. Fix any thing that looks out of working order and put away, in a dry place ready to go for spring. If you do put it a way not clean ( we all do that ) they will dry and can be cut off easy enough at spring time. Remember try not to run them if too cold, below 32 chains get brittel and can snap. Also if a freeze is coming make sure she is not loaded.

Just my opinion but why use fire for that , may make a bigger fire ( all fires start small), and cause more of a mess.

Be safe and God Bless!!

Teddy ( Punchie )

Our manure storage had to be empty by end of Nov. and on wet seasons that often required waiting for frost, and yes on ocasion manure was spread at - 10 to -20, didn't like but it had to be done. It was either put it on frozen ground in Dec and have a blanket of snow cover it, or wait for snow cover and put it on top of snow, that I didn't like. For my operation manure was best spread onto corn stubble or stover and idealy plowed or disked in fall. If that didn't happen because of weather stover held it good over winter and manure was effective in breaking down stover.