How much Hp to pull a protill ?

[danny W1M]

Amazed at the job pro-tills have been doing while driving around.

How much horse power to pull a 33' or 40'? Seems they recommend speeds faster than 10 mph.

What is the downside or limitations, from those that operate one(besides the price)?

Is there a better way to mulch and chop up cattails(besides burning, either standing or swathed)?

[furrowtickler]

I would say at least 15hp per foot

[farmaholic]

Danny, a guy beside us on a half section protilled a lot of spots last fall and seeded flax into it this spring...you could basically follow the lines of where he went and the patches he did...flax didn't come up very well in those spots and ended up reseeding the whole half section....they blamed it on wire worms...I can't say, I never went to look.

[Braveheart]

Probably need as much horsepower to sc**** the topsoil out of the ditch after using a Protill.

[farmaholic]

I wonder if some people near Regina learned that lesson last year? Along with what completely burning all the residue off the land can do....

[danny W1M]

Brave, isn't that why you buy them equipped with the rubber packers rather than the open baskets? Should be a difference between the two regarding the final result, no?

furrow, your talking 500hp for the small 33' one, if 15hp/ft are required. Maybe that's why there are so many other vert till models out there, not all farms have 500-600hp.

[danny W1M]

farma, I think many farms will learn or remember more clearly the 80's, from the trouble too much tillage caused some this spring. Only has to be really dry in the top 6", before your putting your land at risk.

re the flax, did they have the packers or baskets?

[sumdumguy]

Danny, a guy beside us on a half section protilled a lot of spots last fall and seeded flax into it this spring...you could basically follow the lines of where he went and the patches he did...flax didn't come up very well in those spots and ended up reseeding the whole half section....they blamed it on wire worms...I can't say, I never went to look.

I hear you Farma. A farmer south of here deep-tilled his entire farm a few years ago. For years, the crops emerged poorly and it took a few years to recuperate. I thought it was due to the fact that it was deep gumbo and the lumps took time to melt and the seed bed firm up.

[sumdumguy]

[QUOTE=farmaholic;356411]I wonder if some people near Regina learned that lesson last year? Along with what completely burning all the residue off the land can do

One of those guys who burnt her black didn't fill a semi of lentils on a square section. But neither did his neighbour who didn't burn black, just poor emergence with NO rain.

[farmaholic]

farma, I think many farms will learn or remember more clearly the 80's, from the trouble too much tillage caused some this spring. Only has to be really dry in the top 6", before your putting your land at risk.

re the flax, did they have the packers or baskets?

Can't say for sure Danny.

[furrowtickler]

Yup , not for everyone, or every area .
We went with the Gates coulter harrow . Needed to replace the heavy harrows and were not interested in a pro till or the joker . We just use the ole Allis tandem disc in heavy sloughs then level everything with the coulter harrow after . Seems to work for our area . Dry up the low areas and seal up the other 90% .
Again , every farm and every area is different.

[MBgrower]

fad machines, useless in the mud. cant replace a good deep tiller, and heavy harrow

[fjlip]

fad machines, useless in the mud. cant replace a good deep tiller, and heavy harrow

Disks of any kind PACK wet soils, actually kills your soil, makes a compaction layer under the depth you go.
I remember tandem disks and discers...even a heavy harrow PACKS wet soil, had a wreck after a downpour one spring. WET- dry opposite problems, both makes these machines questionable.

[Guest]

I know for a fact thats lots of guys lost yield big time in canola by packing the ground with these machines and also by the false sense of security that land was ready to seed The proof is everywhere you look here in the swamp this year. And it doesnt matter what make they were pulling . Burning also cost yield big time because the land dried out so bad once the rains stopped. Best results for this year was a cultivator with knives followed by a medium harrow

[MBgrower]

following heavy rain storms you can clearly see what fields are protilled / vt'd. those fields are full of standing water, so it seems these machines do create a hard pan, compaction layer