[Tim Harrigan]

Good stuff, Geoff. Thanks.

[Tim Harrigan]

http://www.berrybrookoxsupply.com/products.html

[Tim Harrigan]

This is so sad but it shows how adaptable she really is. As she begins to rely even more on you and her mate this could be somewhat of a watershed event in bringing you to an even deeper understanding of the connection you have and what their capabilities really are. Might turn out to be your favorite. I know with my cattle I have been amazed at how well they could communicate and synchronize their movement without my intervention when they were inclined to do so, and in ways that had to transcend sight. I really hope this can turn into a happier story.

[Tim Harrigan]

Looks good, too bad the ground is frozen. I think one thing you might want to see if you can find is some low-profile but wider semi-pneumatic tires for the front. They would help with the stability and would not cut in so much in soft ground. It will be interesting to see how well you can control tillage depth with those chisels.

[Tim Harrigan]

Thanks, guys, for this great thread. A lot of great suggestions here for some of the things that make felling and skidding such an interesting challenge, particularly when working with draft animals. I have to say I am usually like George when pulling down a hung tree, I tend to long chain it. I just picture it scooting out when it comes free and taking out my guys. I am not sure if one ever actually has scooted on me, but when they crash to the ground and shake the earth I don’t want the press my luck too far. And I think I can do a lot more with wedges with a little more thought and planning. I have been a little too fast to hand one off to a loader tractor when I’ve buried a butt, but I think I will stick with it a little longer and try some of the techniques you guys bring to the job.

I am going to re-read these posts a few more time and see if I can up my game. This is DAP at it’s best. Where else could you find a group of pros willing to share their knowledge and experience like this? Wow! This site rocks.

[Tim Harrigan]

The fact that there was no discussion or opposition indicates that don’t see it as a threat in any way. They are probably aware of the Amish and other similar groups and for most of them it is probably irrelevant. The connection could still be helpful though because FB will likely be very vocal in opposition to things like NAIS and other crosscutting issues that affect small farms.

[Tim Harrigan]

@clayfoot-sandyman 22720 wrote:

…the bows seem to ‘wrap’ more than the ones I’ve seen from the US which are more U shaped….. Ed

Nice pics, Ed. I have seen those oval shaped bows but they are not commonly used, probably a little harder to make. Howie could probably comment on them, maybe someone still makes and sells them.

[Tim Harrigan]

How about a horse anchor?;)

[Tim Harrigan]

Andy, I have been interested in a problem many of our farmers have been commenting on in recent years related to delayed breakdown and degradation of corn residue from some of the high yielding varieties that are in use today. Some wonder if the problem is related to these genetically stacked varieties. I think it is mostly a problem for no-till growers where crop residue is not adequately rotted down in the spring and it interferes with planting the subsequent crop. Here is a link to an interesting article I found:

http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/abstract/88/9/1704

In case the link does not work, here are the last two sentences of the abstract:

Chemical analysis confirmed that the lignin content of all hybrids of Bt corn, whether grown in a plant growth room or in the field, was significantly higher (33–97% higher) than that of their respective non-Bt isolines. As lignin is a major structural component of plant cells, modifications in lignin content may have ecological implications.

Now I am not smart enough to know what all the ecological implications are, but I know that if I try to feed Will and Abe forage with 99% more lignin I will have to feed a lot more forage and I will have a lot more manure than I do now because lignin is mostly undigestable fiber. Can these traits leak to other crops?

What I find most disturbing about this is in discussing this with some of our other researchers they tell me that the seed companies will not provide seed or it seems cooperate in research where public disclosure is required. If you look on the seed bags they note that the seed can not be used for research. WTF…? And good luck trying to find out the non-stacked isoline for comparative work. Does that seem like they have the public good in mind? Makes me think they know something they do not want us to know.

The difference now compared to the past is how fast the genetic changes occur, how big the changes are and how much seed can hit the ground in a short period of time because of the marketing and distribution power of these companies. This, and their overwhelming interest in keeping scientific information about these plants asymmetrical look a lot like big red flags to me. They want to not only control the seed source and distribution, but what we know about it as well. Are you comfortable with that?

I have had many discussions over the years with our more traditional plant breeders about things like developing varieties with more site specific vigor, for instance cold hardiness etc. They always said there was only so much room to add new traits and to add you had to remove something as well and that usually meant a yield decline. The no free lunch thing. So I can’t help wondering what is being lost in creating these high-rise stacks. Well, it seems like our traditional public research infrastructure has been largely (deliberately) left out so I guess we will just have to wait and see. I am sure we can trust them to do the right thing. :rolleyes:

[Tim Harrigan]

Ixy, I believe the NA style neck yoke was strongly influenced by the English neck yokes. Both had dropped hitch points. I am sure there were plenty of regional differences due to load and use but there are probably more similarities than differences. Do you have any information or references on the English neck yoke?

[Tim Harrigan]

The field cultivator shanks I used were 2 inch and ran about 4 inches deep. The sweeps will add some draft, probably 10% or so. So it seems like 3 shanks at 4 inches will be a good load. The coulters will add draft as well but help clear residue, particularly something like corn. It will take some weight to keep the tool in the ground, there might be some issues with tracking and stability. Soil moisture will be important. Good luck.

A point of interest, the average travel speed for this field cultivator was 1.25 mph, 1.25 for the sulky plow, and 1 mph for the walking plow. So they were putting out about 3 hp. Less than my chainsaw.

[Tim Harrigan]

Tillage tools like a chisel plow shatter the soil at about a 30 to 45 degree angle from the point up to the surface when they are operated at critical depth, usually 8 inches or so. The spacing between shank is such that the entire profile is shattered. If you run them at four you will not get adequate shattering, mostly cutting some trenches. You will still have to disk, although the disk will get better penetration.

In the attached pdf is a frequency graph for an 8 ft, 16-shank field cultivator with the back 5 shanks out of the ground, so 11 shanks. The first pass was in consolidated soil, the second pass was draft in the same soil as the first pass, so tilled and loosened soil. Tillage depth was about 4 inches. The median pulling force on the first pass was 959 lbf, average was 928 lbf, range was 228 to 1343 lbf. So the average pull per shank was about 84 lbf. Second pass average was 662 lbf, about 60 lbf per shank. This is probably a decent estimate for your conditions, this ground was plowed in the fall and this was in the spring. So I guess your horse could pull maybe 4 or 5 shanks at 4 inches, so maybe a tool 32 to 40 inches wide. That would be quite a load.

The practical problem with tillage shanks is that they are fixed upright and they tend to push residue and plug rather than cut it and clear it. You really need both a wide spacing between shanks and cutting tools that roll to size and clear the residue. A sweep plow might be a possiblity but it would probably take a fair amount of weight to keep it in the ground.

[Tim Harrigan]

The other day I heard on good authority that about 85% of the corn grain grown in MI is GMO. Today I read in the NYT that about 95% of the sugar beets grown in the US are roundup ready. My worry is we don’t have perfect information. Nature does. The landscape is littered with craters from unintended consequences. If we are not right about this GMO stuff it is going to be pretty tough to back out of it.

[Tim Harrigan]

Looking good with that North American style neck yoke! I like those Pinzgauer cattle. 😀

[Tim Harrigan]

It seems like every so often something will happen either with you or your team to focus your attention and get your mind right. It helps to get a little distance and time for reflection but when you are in the middle of it, it sure is sobering and humbling. Last Saturday I was out cutting and skidding with Will and Abe. I had been skidding and shaking out logs and firewood out in a small landing so there was a lot of wood on the ground and Will and Abe were stepping over a lot of logs just maneuvering around. When heading home I loaded my saw, cant hook :(, chains and stuff on my stoneboat and left room for standing on the edge up in front. We went a ways down the skid path before turning out into the clearing and I was looking around thinking how great it was being out on a great day working with the boys.

There was a couple of crooked 6 inch logs at the tree line that I should have hauled out farther out of the way but didn’t get to it. I was riding the boat not paying as close attention as I should have been. I guess Abe was used to climbing over logs because instead of going around the end of those logs he just stepped over. I noticed the boat coming up on the log and didn’t think much of it, figured I’d just ride it out, I’ve done it a hundred times. This time though there was not much room on the boat to move my feet and when the front came up I stepped off with one foot on the right. My right foot got hung on the off side of the log we were sliding over. I kept my balance but the sled was still moving, right foot hung, rest of me leaving on the boat, now doing splits of the worst kind, never done that before.

This is one of those things that seems like slow motion, but once set in motion you can’t do anything about it. So I guess my left foot got dragged off the boat and I hit the ground. Will and Abe stopped but it was pretty much over by then. First thing I thought was I hope I have my cell phone, I was thinking my hip or pelvis was broke and I did not want to have them haul me in on the stoneboat. Turned out OK, everything still worked, slowly, not much spring in my step still. I couldn’t help thinking how much worse it could have been. Larry, the surreal thing you mentioned, I know exactly what you are talking about.

There is some danger in what we do, and we know that. But I like to think I have common sense and good judgement. Events like this that show us otherwise are troubling and humbling. I am recalibrating my sense of agility and I will try to be a little smarter down the road. I think my last agility calibration was about 30 years ago. A little snow today, ground will be frozen soon. Good time to cut and skid.:D

[Author]

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