Pioneer Footlift Sulky Plow

[threehhorse]

I am thinking about buying a pioneer footlift plow with a kverneland 12″ bottom. Has anyone have experience with this or opinion about it. Info would br appreciated.

[dominiquer60]

KV bottoms are wonderful for plowing sod, but are not the best for old corn ground. Short answer, but that is what I have experienced in the past.

[Rivendell Farm]

I’ve had one of Pioneer’s footlift plows for several years and have found it to be of excellent quality. Mine has a 16″ Oliver bottom which is OK, but I plow mostly sod. I wish I’d spent the extra money for the KV bottom every time I look over a plowed field and see the grass that isn’t quite covered. Before I got it, I had the original Pioneer sulky plow without the footlift, or a tongue. I think having a tongue that steers the plow is more important than the method of lifting it out of the ground. Bob

[near horse]

Erika – why is the KV bottom not so good on corn ground?

[dominiquer60]

The long KV moldboard will turn a nice sod furrow brown side up, but without the root structure of sod, old corn soil will crumble before it reaches the end of the moldboard and does not to a good job covering the trash. If covering the trash is your goal you may not be entirely happy with it. My experience is with a 3 bottom tractor plow, I have seen the Pioneer foot lift with KV demonstrated, it is slick. Perhaps the pioneer plow is more adjustable that the tractor and can do a better job with corn??

[near horse]

Thanks Erika. I just heard that White Horse is going to offering their sulky plow with a KV “style” bottom. I think it is also available as a retro-fit for existing WH sulkies. Heard it from Ivan Yoder in Iowa – a dealer of Pioneer, WH and I & J equipment.

[NB axemen]

White horse sulkys already come with a KV bottom as I got one here, I have a 14″ KV bottom 3 wheeled sulky, I have the 3 horse evener, but when the ground is not full of roots, 2 horses can pull it pretty easily.
It also has a pole that I find gives you more control.

[Tim Harrigan]

@dominiquer60 40262 wrote:

…that the tractor and can do a better job with corn??

Not sure if the power source makes much difference. I think a stubble bottom plow is just shorter, higher and with more curvature to get a little more soil action. A little crop residue on the surface does not hurt unless you are in a plowing match.

[dominiquer60]

Tim,

I didn’t mean to imply that the power source might make a difference, rather that I am open to the idea that a single bottom horse drawn plow may have a higher level of adjustment than a multi-bottom tractor plow. The shape has everything to do with it, but with more adjustment, you may be able to tweak a KV a little more in corn ground than we were able to with a 3 bottom.

I also didn’t mean to imply that covering trash should be everybody’s goal, in the case of our 3 bottom KV with the tractor we were trying to cover trash so we were not happy with the results. We were not in a plowing contest we were simply trying to cover the corn stalks so that they were less of a problem cultivating tender crops. If it were a small grain stubble it wouldn’t be such a problem, but those corn stalks get clogged in the tines and will drag, pulling small vegetable plants out of the ground in a blink of an eye.

[j.l.holt]

I read on another site one time about a guy who claimed to use a piece of no.9 wire on a plow. Fastoned to the frame it would trail past the end of the mould board. Some how the wire would get covered and pull the tops of what ever clear over. Ever hear or try something like this ?
I have used a half of a leaf spring to make my mould board longer. Bolted it to the end by way of a couple holes that were there.

[near horse]

Sorry NB axemen – my understanding is that WH was “adding” a KV to their sulky as an option but I probably didn’t get the story right. At the time we were discussing retrofitting plows w/ KV bottoms (or that style). I do know he mentioned the bottom WH was using/going to use was quite a lot more affordable than actual KV’s.

[Simple Living]

I have seen books that showed using a wire or a chain to help pull under tall weeds and stalks. This is one I just found online with some other pointers for proper plow set up and use. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5882/m1/12/

Gordon

[dominiquer60]

Gordon,

Good find! From back when the USDA gave farmers information that they could use 🙂

I have no personal experience with the chain, but I have heard that it works rather well for plowing down tall crops like grass, grain or weeds. I have a suspicion that it may help some in corn ground, but that without the length of trash needed for the chain to be most effective it still may not cover the trash as well as some may like. Just a guess though, I would love to hear from someone who has tried using a chain in old corn ground.

[Simple Living]

Erika, My grandfather used horses up into the 1950’s for farming and my mom remembers him using just the #9 wire to pull under the trash. It was wired fast at the hitch point for the double tree, then ran back around the upright shaft of the coulter or jointer, then down into the furrow. This piece was 8-10ft long and if you can picture where it goes it would fold over the tall trash and pull it down into the furrow under the soil. The wire would wear to a very sharp point from running under the turned soil and had to be replaced on a regular basis. As for the chain, I have seen pictures/drawings of this but she doesn’t remember him ever using it. What I wouldn’t give to spend some time picking his brain for info. I like to think he watches over me and guides me everytime I am out working with the horses.

Gordon

[j.l.holt]

@dominiquer60 40319 wrote:

Gordon,

Good find! From back when the USDA gave farmers information that they could use 🙂

I have no personal experience with the chain, but I have heard that it works rather well for plowing down tall crops like grass, grain or weeds. I have a suspicion that it may help some in corn ground, but that without the length of trash needed for the chain to be most effective it still may not cover the trash as well as some may like. Just a guess though, I would love to hear from someone who has tried using a chain in old corn ground.

The idea is for the chain or wire to be long enough to hook on the double tree in front and the back to be plowed under in the furrow. That way the angle works like a snow plow,forceing trash over and down. and it does not get out from under untill it is to the end, and by then it has been plowed under. I think the chain was used when the wire thing was not as common as it is now. But the chain sure would pull hard.

[Author]

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