Water Wars

[Denny]

I purchased this piece of land a few years back it was under water due to beavers. After shooting and traping over 15 beavers and blowing the dams we went to cleaning ditches.

After years of draining and leveling we got it seeded down this spring.

The seed machine. It blows on a mixture of oats, fertilizer,and grass seeds. It did leave some pretty nice ruts I had to work out with the packer.

Had to work the ruts a few extra times to get them semi smooth. Next time I'll just have them mix it in a fertilizer spreader.

The oats are about 8 inches high right now was alot of time invested but should stay a smooth productive field for a long time. In total there's about 80 acres of hay ground on this piece which should put out about 4 to 500 bales per year.

 

[gcreekrch]

Thanks Denny, I've been wanting to see those since you mentioned them.

Now for the 20 questions......

Did you put a perimeter ditch in also? Will you irrigate by damming also?

We have to have one around the outside here or we would never get a swamp dry enough to depend on.

Farm with a rotovator or plow and disc?

How far down before you find rocks or wood?

Peat in most of this area is 2-3 inches to 4 ft thick. Then a layer of broken shale rock and then blue clay.
I put a 4-5 ft deep ditch in a few years back and pulled up some spruce logs that were buried. They were still in relatively good shape. Who knows how long they were under there as I found them at about three ft. down.

You will enjoy that field for a long time. Good work. :wink:

 

[Denny]

Basically the main ditch is a 1/2 mile long it starts in the S.E. corner about 500 ft. from the dam there's another ditch that connects and runs N.E. a 1/4 mile to the woods leaveing a road access around the end.Back to the main ditch it travels N.W. a 1/4 mile then turn's north going another 1/4 mile about 200 ft after it straighten's out we have a 6" drain tile burind 30" down running east 800' with a 4"tile running north 900'they are spaced every 100'. On the west side of the ditch 200' north of the tile we have a smaller ditch running west 600' then turning north it runs about 800'. All the willows were removed as were the rocks.I've sprayed it with round up a couple of years in a row to kill off the wire grass and get the roots rotting down most of the tillage was with a 15' chisel plow and a 36' melroe multi-weeder alot of tamarack was pulled up I tilled about 12" deep. The peat is about 36" deep on this piece and below that is a blue clay.

Most years irrigation is'nt needed but I may put in some flood gates on the south end just in case.

I've got an aerial photo of this piece of land before I bought it more water than grass.I've got an offer on another piece of ground real simular to this one hopeing to seal a deal soon.

After the ditching was done we had a Cat come in and level out all the spoil piles I can cut over the ditch edges with a sickle mower to keep the willows out. My next project is two parcels we have corn on both are loaded with rocks and with some time they will be in piles. I hope my son will enjoy the fruits of my labors when he's in charge here.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

You sure put a lot of work into that land. I hope you get a bumper crop.

 

[gcreekrch]

In my dreams there is a machine that chews up wood and makes rocks into crush in one pass. All we lack is the $5-600,000 to afford it and the D-9 or 10 that they hang them on.

Oh well....... another lifetime....

 

[Denny]

Thers some guys here that invented a self propelled rock picker they call it a Rock Combine they have two windrowers bring rocks into a reel then they get deposited into a high dump rock wagon which dumps into awaiting trucks.Was quite a write up on it in AG Week a month or so ago.It would pick everything up to basket ball size. Of course most of my rocks are Trackhoe size..

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

In my dreams there is a machine that chews up wood and makes rocks into crush in one pass. All we lack is the $5-600,000 to afford it and the D-9 or 10 that they hang them on.

Oh well....... another lifetime....

Would Dave Pratt approve? :wink:

 

[gcreekrch]

In my dreams there is a machine that chews up wood and makes rocks into crush in one pass. All we lack is the $5-600,000 to afford it and the D-9 or 10 that they hang them on.

Oh well....... another lifetime....

Would Dave Pratt approve? :wink:

Something tells me not. :lol: :lol:

 

[gcreekrch]

Thers some guys here that invented a self propelled rock picker they call it a Rock Combine they have two windrowers bring rocks into a reel then they get deposited into a high dump rock wagon which dumps into awaiting trucks.Was quite a write up on it in AG Week a month or so ago.It would pick everything up to basket ball size. Of course most of my rocks are Trackhoe size..

There are so many rocks on the Morrison Meadow place that it is cheaper to go slow and buy parts.
That doesn't mean a few of the worst ones won't get pulled every year.

 

[burnt]

Great pictures Denny. A lot of work went into that piece. I hope you get a big crop, for peats sake. :wink:

 

[Denny]

Thers some guys here that invented a self propelled rock picker they call it a Rock Combine they have two windrowers bring rocks into a reel then they get deposited into a high dump rock wagon which dumps into awaiting trucks.Was quite a write up on it in AG Week a month or so ago.It would pick everything up to basket ball size. Of course most of my rocks are Trackhoe size..

There are so many rocks on the Morrison Meadow place that it is cheaper to go slow and buy parts.
That doesn't mean a few of the worst ones won't get pulled every year.

If there like mine the best hay is among the biggest rocks.

 

[Whitewing]

That sure looks like some fertile soil. I'll bet you'll do really well with it.

As I ride around on my tractor on my place remembering what it looked like just a couple of years ago I'm reminded of the amount of work that goes into getting a piece of ground into a condition where it can be seeded and tended to thereafter...in other words, productive.

I'm sure you'll have many of those same memories as work that land each year. Thanks for sharing those pics.

 

[gcreekrch]

I showed Debbie these pictures this morning Denny. Her first comment was, "WOW, I'm jealous!"

Our best crops are where the rocks are close to the surface. Joke here is that the rocks hold the heat better. :wink:

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I showed Debbie these pictures this morning Denny. Her first comment was, "WOW, I'm jealous!"

Our best crops are where the rocks are close to the surface. Joke here is that the rocks hold the heat better. :wink:

Around here it's the rocks holding down the moisture. :wink: