Maize and Rotational Crops

[farmerjo]

Another piece that's been prepared for planting,will just need spraying prior to seeding in about a weeks time.

This piece was subsoiled to 15" deep on 30" wide spacings to suit my seeder.

[kickstart]

Hi FJ

That Mk 2 subsoiler works well ,only 15 inches deep ,it has lifted the soil well ,and opened the soil up, but 15 inches is not so deep ,could do with 20 inches ,plus ,you could increase the depth by moving the 3 point linkage mounting points from underneath the frame , on the front of the frame ,why they have the mounting points under the frame I do not know ,never seen that before I come to los, that would give you another 6 inches of depth .

One design I have seen make a long socket to mount the blade in to ,1/2 inch plate steel would do ,welded it on to the frame ,with a pin system for removing /replacing the blade that could give you about another 1 foot altogether.

With Christmas coming/ wish list ,a set of dual wheels ,or a set of flotation tyres would not go amiss, help prevent some soil compaction ,this has come up before on TV .I can remember from my farm days buying the mounting lugs, welded on to the tractor wheels .,and arms and mounts ,welded on to the duel wheel ,in a kit form ,to mount to any wheels ,I would say now not easy to find.

[farmerjo]

Hi KS

Out of the country doing visa atm.

I was pretty happy how that land came up

like you say will look for ways to increase

depth if the results are there.

My budget is blown this year so no chrissy

presents for me.

On next years wish list is to buy a second

hand harvester and convert it to a tractor

that has three point linkage and the boomspray

can be mounted on it.

I can see benefits of tracks compared to tyres

using small equipment like a 4 row seeder etc.

Especially that late july planting.

Sorry no video yet of the subsoiler in action

but i hit a couple of hard areas out the back

and it made the tractor bark a fair bit.

[kickstart]

Re Tracks, here's one I prepared earlier. I was out and found this at one of our local machinery dealers, ( not far from where you're gypsum come from) rated at 90 hp ,it has three point linkage ,which looks if it has been lifted from a Iseki tractor.

For a 90 hp ,the 3 point linkage looks very light ,I would have thought it would struggle to lift a 3 disc plough ,same I would have thought with a subsoiler

that rotavator looks about right .

As for the cost the girl I spoke to did not know the cost ,but a look at Google ,a machinery dealer in Chonburi had one ,but it was still in the UK ,750 000 Bart ,including VAT (at 20 %),this one has to be cheaper ,if not no one will buy it .

There are plenty of small crawlers about , a guy near me payed 90 000 Bart for a very second-hand 45 hp crawler ,but no 3 point linkage on . But this is the first I have ever seen in Thailand with ,rubber tracks ,and 3 point linkage.

[farmerjo]

Re Tracks, here's one I prepared earlier. I was out and found this at one of our local machinery dealers, ( not far from where you're gypsum come from) rated at 90 hp ,it has three point linkage ,which looks if it has been lifted from a Iseki tractor.

For a 90 hp ,the 3 point linkage looks very light ,I would have thought it would struggle to lift a 3 disc plough ,same I would have thought with a subsoiler

that rotavator looks about right .

As for the cost the girl I spoke to did not know the cost ,but a look at Google ,a machinery dealer in Chonburi had one ,but it was still in the UK ,750 000 Bart ,including VAT (at 20 %),this one has to be cheaper ,if not no one will buy it .

There are plenty of small crawlers about , a guy near me payed 90 000 Bart for a very second-hand 45 hp crawler ,but no 3 point linkage on . But this is the first I have ever seen in Thailand with ,rubber tracks ,and 3 point linkage.

Thats exactly what im after.

At 750000 i would be inclined to make my own a lot cheaper.

Do you have any contact details of where you took the photo KS.

I wont know unless i asked.

I think theres a company in thailand that makes them as well as harvesters but the name escapes me at the moment.

[kickstart]

Hi FJ.

Re .contact details of that crawler, I do not have them ,but when we finished making this grass silage , over next few days ,which this year seems to be going on for ever ,I will go back and get the details ,that place is not far from a steel shop ,sell a lot of ,off cuts and second hand steel ,need some angle iron to make some fencing posts for a boundary fence ,my next project.

What do you mean by a harvester ,to convert ,would that be a rice harvester ?, that would be an interesting project

You said the subsoiler hit some hard stuff ,and make the tractor bark ,at 78 hp ,4 wheel drive ,and a single leg subsoiler ,only 15 inches deep ,that must be hard , under there ,and it went through it ,,you must have got the design about right ,and it shows how badly the land needed subsoiling ,15 inch's is not that deep ,was it sugar cane traffic that made it so hard ,or just a lot of years of working the land at the same depth .

[farmerjo]

Hi FJ.

Re .contact details of that crawler, I do not have them ,but when we finished making this grass silage , over next few days ,which this year seems to be going on for ever ,I will go back and get the details ,that place is not far from a steel shop ,sell a lot of ,off cuts and second hand steel ,need some angle iron to make some fencing posts for a boundary fence ,my next project.

What do you mean by a harvester ,to convert ,would that be a rice harvester ?, that would be an interesting project

You said the subsoiler hit some hard stuff ,and make the tractor bark ,at 78 hp ,4 wheel drive ,and a single leg subsoiler ,only 15 inches deep ,that must be hard , under there ,and it went through it ,,you must have got the design about right ,and it shows how badly the land needed subsoiling ,15 inch's is not that deep ,was it sugar cane traffic that made it so hard ,or just a lot of years of working the land at the same depth .

Hi KS,

Yes a rice harvester was my idea,strip it down to the chassis and start again,finding one that worn out will probably take some finding at the right price

but its not so important at the moment as i can get by.

The land that worked the tractor extremely hard was originally about 6 rai of rice paddy turned sugar land for 4 years after that.As you say i think it

was a combination of both traffic and constent ploughing to the same depth,no structure in the topsoil.

Was a nice drive back from Nongkhai today taking a few back roads seeing whats being grown around the place.

[farmerjo]

Well the sugar has started,fires everywhere tonight.

I'm happy as there's nothing on my land for the rats to run to. yet

[thoongfoned]

Well the sugar has started,fires everywhere tonight.

I'm happy as there's nothing on my land for the rats to run to. yet

said before but will say again, love reading this thread .......... almost makes me sad that we got rid of our tractor......

no sugar fires here yet but I have heard of a local price for the sugar.......... wife has some "dealings" with a family that have a large contract to sell-buy sugar, was told the other day the farm gate price will be around 400 baht a ton! no weigh stations open yet so can not say for sure, if this is true a lot a people will be out of pocket, the crops round here are poor to say the least. sorry I know off topic......

[farmerjo]

Well the sugar has started,fires everywhere tonight.

I'm happy as there's nothing on my land for the rats to run to. yet

said before but will say again, love reading this thread .......... almost makes me sad that we got rid of our tractor......

no sugar fires here yet but I have heard of a local price for the sugar.......... wife has some "dealings" with a family that have a large contract to sell-buy sugar, was told the other day the farm gate price will be around 400 baht a ton! no weigh stations open yet so can not say for sure, if this is true a lot a people will be out of pocket, the crops round here are poor to say the least. sorry I know off topic......

No worries thoongfoned

Sometimes there's no much happening on the farms so a little friendly general chat is good.

Here the FIL is spreading gypsum on his recently finished rice harvest,then he will throw out some soya beans and i'll

harrow them in for him.

In exchange he can help me flood my field ready for sunn hemp.

Have a day of subsoiling land left out the back so on the tractor soon.I love my hours of time spent on the tractor,

especially when the wifes in nagging mode about house upgrades

[pigeonjake]

i must say i love reading the htread too,

and as you said farmer joe nice to have a bit of a craic with other farmers trying to make a bob or two here,

they havnt started burning the suger here yet, no stations open and i dont think the mills are open but it wont be long, to be honest my wifes uncles suger that is at the side of our land looks good again but he does spend a lot of time on it, weeding, hormones ect,

farmer joe i agree with you big time about the sub soiling here, for years it has been the same crops and the same depth so the pan wont be to far down i wouldnt of thought, then they wonder why the water just sits there for days after a good rain, i tell my wife it cant get down so sits there and most of it just runs away,

i think your land will be great after the subsoiling inprove the structure of the soil,

the soil in my veg patch is beautiful now with rototilling pig manure in over the years, its beautiful stuff, i call my manure my black gold, my wife laughs when i pick it up by the hand full and smell it, she says you smell poo,,lol i said its not poo now darling the is proper stuff to put on the garden, they just dont understand,

keep up the good work all, great reading

jake

[kickstart]

We have one sugar mill open ,about 60 km from us ,to far for our local farmers ,our local mill opens on the 12th of next month ,they say the price will be 750-800 Bart/ ton sugar content not to good .

This weigh station thing must be an Issan thing ,none round here ,central Lopburi ,farmers cut during the day ,and load ,and haul to the mill at night time ,or this year a lot will be cut and chopped by machine ,so I have been told 400- 450 Bart/ ton, machine cut/chop and haul to the mill, depending on distance.

Some say cain chopped by machine gives you a lower sugar content ,cain dry's out ,being in small pieces ,before it get processed at the mill , but of local mill has given priority at the tipping queue to chopped cane, over cane that has been burnt and cut .

,If it was 400 bar/ton a lot would just get ploughed in ,some crops near me must be on the border line of ploughing in not a good crop ,thin and not over tall ,but some farmers are a fool until there self's ,trying to grow cane on very light land ,without a good water supply .

@ FJ

Your idea of a striped out rice harvester ,to mount a sprayer on ,can not see a drill being used ,no 3 point linkage ,it would work ,low ground pressure for certain ,but a lot of work ,in the uk have seen 4 wheeled motor bikes being used 5 hp Honda engine ,to power the pump . tank mounted on the back ,row spacing should be ok ,with motor bikes ,would be low ground pressure .

.When direct drilling was popular in the uk ,4 wheeled bikes were use to apply slug pellets ,slugs being a problem in autumn sown crops.

[farmerjo]

We have one sugar mill open ,about 60 km from us ,to far for our local farmers ,our local mill opens on the 12th of next month ,they say the price will be 750-800 Bart/ ton sugar content not to good .

This weigh station thing must be an Issan thing ,none round here ,central Lopburi ,farmers cut during the day ,and load ,and haul to the mill at night time ,or this year a lot will be cut and chopped by machine ,so I have been told 400- 450 Bart/ ton, machine cut/chop and haul to the mill, depending on distance.

Some say cain chopped by machine gives you a lower sugar content ,cain dry's out ,being in small pieces ,before it get processed at the mill , but of local mill has given priority at the tipping queue to chopped cane, over cane that has been burnt and cut .

,If it was 400 bar/ton a lot would just get ploughed in ,some crops near me must be on the border line of ploughing in not a good crop ,thin and not over tall ,but some farmers are a fool until there self's ,trying to grow cane on very light land ,without a good water supply .

@ FJ

Your idea of a striped out rice harvester ,to mount a sprayer on ,can not see a drill being used ,no 3 point linkage ,it would work ,low ground pressure for certain ,but a lot of work ,in the uk have seen 4 wheeled motor bikes being used 5 hp Honda engine ,to power the pump . tank mounted on the back ,row spacing should be ok ,with motor bikes ,would be low ground pressure .

.When direct drilling was popular in the uk ,4 wheeled bikes were use to apply slug pellets ,slugs being a problem in autumn sown crops.

Hi KS,

My thinking was the broad elevator on the front has hydraulics so you would mount the seed drill in front(think a harvester comb weighs around 3-400 kilo's) and the sprayer behind.

Which for me would save a stiff neck from looking backwards all the time,a cab would have to be constructed as i'm not a fan of spraying

chemicals without protection.

The biggest problem with tracks would be the scuff marks when turning but that would be limited to the perimeter of the land.

Bring on next year.

[thoongfoned]

We have one sugar mill open ,about 60 km from us ,to far for our local farmers ,our local mill opens on the 12th of next month ,they say the price will be 750-800 Bart/ ton sugar content not to good .

This weigh station thing must be an Issan thing ,none round here ,central Lopburi ,farmers cut during the day ,and load ,and haul to the mill at night time ,or this year a lot will be cut and chopped by machine ,so I have been told 400- 450 Bart/ ton, machine cut/chop and haul to the mill, depending on distance.

Some say cain chopped by machine gives you a lower sugar content ,cain dry's out ,being in small pieces ,before it get processed at the mill , but of local mill has given priority at the tipping queue to chopped cane, over cane that has been burnt and cut .

,If it was 400 bar/ton a lot would just get ploughed in ,some crops near me must be on the border line of ploughing in not a good crop ,thin and not over tall ,but some farmers are a fool until there self's ,trying to grow cane on very light land ,without a good water supply .

@ FJ

Your idea of a striped out rice harvester ,to mount a sprayer on ,can not see a drill being used ,no 3 point linkage ,it would work ,low ground pressure for certain ,but a lot of work ,in the uk have seen 4 wheeled motor bikes being used 5 hp Honda engine ,to power the pump . tank mounted on the back ,row spacing should be ok ,with motor bikes ,would be low ground pressure .

.When direct drilling was popular in the uk ,4 wheeled bikes were use to apply slug pellets ,slugs being a problem in autumn sown crops.

yep that's what the wife has been told, 800 baht at the mill, this family has a contract.......

weigh stations have taken off here (udon thani province rural....) most villages will have one or so, the main one up the road 4 km away has to 2 "platforms" to load the trucks with macros, very busy last year.

[wayned]

The corn harvest is in full gear. Broke a primary counter-shaft belt on the 6620 the day before yesterday. I actually found a replacement locally to the tune of 9400 baht. Available the US for 1800 - 3600 baht plus shipping but couldn't wait.

The sugar mill was supposed to open today, don't know if it did but the migrant camps are still empty. I guess that it will start after the holidays next week, so no black clouds yet.

[farmerjo]

The corn harvest is in full gear. Broke a primary counter-shaft belt on the 6620 the day before yesterday. I actually found a replacement locally to the tune of 9400 baht. Available the US for 1800 - 3600 baht plus shipping but couldn't wait.

The sugar mill was supposed to open today, don't know if it did but the migrant camps are still empty. I guess that it will start after the holidays next week, so no black clouds yet.

Is that the variable speed belt Wayned.?

You do have a lot of moving parts on those beasts.

Besides the variable speed belt are they all a,b,c,d section vee belts or you have flat belts as well.

[slapout]

John Deere uses both V belts for some parts and flat belts for other parts. The reels on headers are V belt driven as I remember but some belts are flat which may be due to requirement of variable or constant speed of the part being driven.

[wayned]

I've counted 31 belts on the beast without counting the belts on the engine. As far as I can see they are all "V" belts. The multi sectioned belts are wrapped and banded as the flat side runs on idler arms in many applications. The belt that broke was the separator drive belt that drives the primary counter shaft. It is a three sectioned belt, 92 inches in circumference.

[farmerjo]

I've counted 31 belts on the beast without counting the belts on the engine. As far as I can see they are all "V" belts. The multi sectioned belts are wrapped and banded as the flat side runs on idler arms in many applications. The belt that broke was the separator drive belt that drives the primary counter shaft. It is a three sectioned belt, 92 inches in circumference.

And chains and sprockets.

You were lucky to find a belt,you don't want to be held up in the middle of harvest.

I guess that's the one disadvantage of importing equipment until you can establish reliable sources in country for parts.

[wayned]

Yep I was lucky! It seems to be a common belt used in the other model combines. This morning the "Thai Thing" happened. We loaded the 6620 on a low boy in order to take it to Uthai Thani Province about 120 kilometers away. We were going out to highway 11 the "normal" way and when the truck got to the main road, low and behold, the temple was in the process of erecting one of those large concrete arches over the road to mark the entrance to the temple. Guess what the low boy loaded with the combine wouldn't fit under the arch, so it was back up turn around and go out another way. A containerized truck would have a chance getting under it. So the people from the temple built the arch without consulting anybody. I'm sure that some of the Thais involved knew all about it but when asked it was just all smiles! The Thai way!!!

[farmerjo]

Yep I was lucky! It seems to be a common belt used in the other model combines. This morning the "Thai Thing" happened. We loaded the 6620 on a low boy in order to take it to Uthai Thani Province about 120 kilometers away. We were going out to highway 11 the "normal" way and when the truck got to the main road, low and behold, the temple was in the process of erecting one of those large concrete arches over the road to mark the entrance to the temple. Guess what the low boy loaded with the combine wouldn't fit under the arch, so it was back up turn around and go out another way. A containerized truck would have a chance getting under it. So the people from the temple built the arch without consulting anybody. I'm sure that some of the Thais involved knew all about it but when asked it was just all smiles! The Thai way!!!

Fun and games mate.

Pretty sure maximum height is 5.5 metres but would of thought you would be under that.(or close)

Remember years ago when my ford 6610 turned up on the back of a 10 wheel truck he had ripped down 3 power lines

on the way getting here but not his fault as they weren't high enough.

Do you need an escort,flashing lights,signs,permits etc with the lowboy? or TIT

[farmerjo]

Re Tracks, here's one I prepared earlier. I was out and found this at one of our local machinery dealers, ( not far from where you're gypsum come from) rated at 90 hp ,it has three point linkage ,which looks if it has been lifted from a Iseki tractor.

For a 90 hp ,the 3 point linkage looks very light ,I would have thought it would struggle to lift a 3 disc plough ,same I would have thought with a subsoiler

that rotavator looks about right .

As for the cost the girl I spoke to did not know the cost ,but a look at Google ,a machinery dealer in Chonburi had one ,but it was still in the UK ,750 000 Bart ,including VAT (at 20 %),this one has to be cheaper ,if not no one will buy it .

There are plenty of small crawlers about , a guy near me payed 90 000 Bart for a very second-hand 45 hp crawler ,but no 3 point linkage on . But this is the first I have ever seen in Thailand with ,rubber tracks ,and 3 point linkage.

Hi KS

This is as close as i've seen here in thailand on the net and no idea of price,not an enclosed cab like in your picture.

http://www.thaicombine.com/th/kc-01

Little overkill if i read right at 195HP.

[farmerjo]

Anybody got any experience with mixing seed.

My smallest plate seeder is made for soya beans but i want to plant some sunn hemp as a trial.

You can see in the picture the sunn hemp seeds are quite smaller and my rate would be to high.

I don;t mind mixing the two as the sunn hemp should outgrow the beans.

Any suggestions of mixing ratio,1-1 , 2-1 , 3-1

[pigeonjake]

could you not make a plate farmerjoe,?

just a thought,

[farmerjo]

could you not make a plate farmerjoe,?

just a thought,

Hi Jake,

I could,there would be 4 to make.

But wanted to get them in in next couple of days so out of time.

And its just a trial so not to concerned,the seed has not been graded to size.

[kickstart]

Hi FJ

I have seen plates with different size hole sizes ,right down to drilling grass seed and sesame seed ,contact the place where you brought the drill , they might have some ,or they should be able make some ,I will also try and find out for you .

I am certain I have seen blank plates for seed drills ,you drill the holes yourself.

Or do it the Thai way, put some tape over say every third or fourth hole of the plate, that would slow down the seed rate ,I know you might get small bunches growing ,but as it is for green manure , should be ok .

I will agree that track thing is a bit over the top .it can do 6-7 km/hr ,seems on a rice field ,can do 5 -10 rie /hr, using , using 2.5 - 3 lt/Hr of fuel , not to bad , for that size engine ,put a twin leg subsoiler on it ,or a big chisel plough ,that would do the land some good .

[farmerjo]

Good idea KS,

Will drill new holes inbetween holes and tape over the old ones.

[farmerjo]

A day full of drama,i had two of those longtail pipes joined to make one 12 metres long(6" barrel and pto shaft welded on end)

Its been sitting for probably 6 months or more not tested.

Put in in the drink for its maiden voyage,hooked up the pto and it locked up after about 5 turns,pulled it out of the water and took the strainer of inlet.

As i undid the bolts it was springing out,thinking that's ok the guy must of made the shaft to long and it grabbed underload.

Put it back in the nam without strainer as i had now mounted a 200 litre drum on the end so no crap off the bottom would effect it,still nothing.

Bit of tyre kicking and pulled it out again to find the impellor missing It was turning the wrong way

Found the impellor,strainer back on and back in the water,up to the shed to put a frame with a pulley on the back of tractor with some v-belts and back to nam.Plumbed it up with the tractor facing the opposite direction and Bingo.

Something so simple but so hard,if i ever meet the engineer i'll kick him in the balls.All is well now

p/s there was no direction sticker as the fabricator had removed it.( and the sad part is its a perfect setup on the pto,no belts)

Will post some pictures when its in operation.

[kickstart]

Visited the shop that sells blank plates for seed drills ,they still have them ,with the square mounting hole and chamfered edge ,sold by weight ,1 disc 38 Bart .

Then went to agriculture engineers that make seed drills ,asked about making plates for sowing mung beans ,(realized I did not know the Thai for sun hemp) ,mungbean and sun hemp seed are about the same size ,he said how many holes in the plate ,I said ,the size of a mung bean seed ,all the way round ,he said again how many holes ,then the penny dropped if you just drill lots of small holes in a plate ,,you go up and down the field 2-3 times you will use up all the seed ,to higher seed rate ,he then found a plate with small holes in .he said ,these holes are ,in Thai " Song- hoon" ,which is about 1/4 inch, and 22 holes in all ,1/4 may be a bit big ,but I think would do the job .

I suppose the only way to check the seed rate, measure 1 rie, weigh some seed and see how far it goes ,would be better to have to many holes in a plate ,and use some tape to cover some holes if seed rate a bit high ,a bit Heath Robinson, but it should work .

Re, that crawler tractor ,the price is 400 000 Bart ,about the same price as a Ford 6610 the guy said it has a bit more than 1000 hours on it ,not a lot ,could be useful, but if it needed repairing spare parts could be a headache.

.

[farmerjo]

Visited the shop that sells blank plates for seed drills ,they still have them ,with the square mounting hole and chamfered edge ,sold by weight ,1 disc 38 Bart .

Then went to agriculture engineers that make seed drills ,asked about making plates for sowing mung beans ,(realized I did not know the Thai for sun hemp) ,mungbean and sun hemp seed are about the same size ,he said how many holes in the plate ,I said ,the size of a mung bean seed ,all the way round ,he said again how many holes ,then the penny dropped if you just drill lots of small holes in a plate ,,you go up and down the field 2-3 times you will use up all the seed ,to higher seed rate ,he then found a plate with small holes in .he said ,these holes are ,in Thai " Song- hoon" ,which is about 1/4 inch, and 22 holes in all ,1/4 may be a bit big ,but I think would do the job .

I suppose the only way to check the seed rate, measure 1 rie, weigh some seed and see how far it goes ,would be better to have to many holes in a plate ,and use some tape to cover some holes if seed rate a bit high ,a bit Heath Robinson, but it should work .

Re, that crawler tractor ,the price is 400 000 Bart ,about the same price as a Ford 6610 the guy said it has a bit more than 1000 hours on it ,not a lot ,could be useful, but if it needed repairing spare parts could be a headache.

.

Hi KS,

Thanks for finding out about the plates and crawler.

King's birthday and Fathers day so sneaking in and out of the shed while spending time with the family.

Didn't manage to find any what i call hundred mile an hour tape and other brands only stick to the roll,nothing else so picked up some

epoxy metal.

Holes are drilled at 1/4" as suggested and these plates have 24 holes.