Question for the Experts

[Critter]

Although I don't post much in this forum, I do try and follow what some of you more experienced "growers" are trying to explain to those of us without green thumbs.
With a-lot of luck, and some persistence, I've managed to find my own little chunk of land this past year and am in need of deciding what to do with the tillable portion of it. I've got around 10-15 acres of cropground to play around with, all which will either be planted in food plots or bedding area.(switchgrass) Here's my questions.
1) I own a MF 50 which I think is around a 35 HP tractor. What implements/attachments would best suit me for that size of a tractor. I was looking for a tiller, but would a small disk and a harrow work just as well? How big of a disk can a 35 HP tractor pull?
2) I talked to the local FSA office about getting some of the ground in CRP. They weren't really all that receptable when I told them I wanted to put it in Switchgrass, and to be honest it sounds like more of a pain in the butt than anything else. Am I better off just leaving it out, and doing whatever I want with it? I doubt the income from it would amount to all that much anyway.
3) Right now the ground is in corn stubble (chopped last year for silage). Am I better off waiting until the fall to plant the clover plots, or is it something I should try and get in this spring. I hate to have the ground just sitting there doing nothing. I know I have to get some soil samples and send them in, do I need to wait until spring, or can I dig into the frost and send it in now?
Thanks in advance for the answers, I'm sure I'll have plenty of bonehead questions in the future for you guys.
CRITR

 

[JNRBRONC]

How much are you willing to spend?

How thick are the deer in the area?

Is it right next to cover?

Sounds like fairly decent ground since it was corn last year.....

 

[vman]

is it by the road? If so you better have a poacher screen

 

[Windwalker]

If its choppped not combined corn it will not take much tillage. I would do switch grass around the edges and roundup corn in the center. I'm sure some local farmer will have a partial bag left they would let ya have.I would stay out of the crp 10 acres just isn't worth the 70 bucks more or less per acre.

 

[dbltree]

If it's being farmed now, you may want to consider having them keep farming it...or someone at least.

Have them plant it to corn only stipulate that it not be harvested until late and or/leave your "share" standing. (Don't let them chop it!)

Rather then accept cash rent you could ask them to leave the "rent value" standing.

You might consider clover in a back portion near where you might be hunting...or if the farmer puts up hay...put it into alfalfa and let him do all the work for you.

Just some options to think about.

Sounds like we need to go for a hike when you get time

Now if you just like "playing in the dirt" like some of us...then I have all kinds of ideas!!

:grin

 

[turkeyriver]

Remember if you put it in CRP, only a small portion, maybe an acre on a ten acre field, can be food plots. If the farmer lives close by, he may be willing to split the field into alfalfa and corn. As a farmer, I know what a hassle it is to drive machinery very far for small acreages. Of course, lowering the rental rate will make a big difference in what you can talk him into. Doing it yourself would be way more fun! 35hp doesn't pull a very big disk, maybe 8-footer. With the corn stubble chopped off, this first year would be a breeze. Little or no tillage needed if you frost seed or can get a drill.

 

[bjkpharmd]

Look at the overall plan- you said 10-15 acres of field but are there places for additional plots, roads, clearings, etc. What surrounds you and how much cover do you have?

 

[Ghost]

Let the ground thaw enough to get a soil sample. Apply the recommended amount of lime to get your PH as close to 7 as you can. They can spread the lime with a big truck while the ground is frozen. Then go in the at the end of February and frost seed it in clover. It will work great since the field is already clean from the chopped corn. The rest of the ground next to you will be beans this year. Have the farmer plant a portion of your tillable while he is in there anyway. Then don't have them harvest your share of the beans. You will have an early season clover plot that they will hammer as soon as the beans yellow in September. Then you will have standing beans to hunt over late season.

You can follow this plan and all you need is a hand held seeder for the clover. The elevator can also mix the lime with fertilizer and spread it all at the same time. No tillage needed on your part. I would recommend that you go heavy on the clover seed since you are frost seeding. Something like 10 pounds per acre. Get out your checkbook Buddy!

 

[turkeyriver]

I would recommend doing the lime spreading by itself and then mixing the clover seed with the fertilizer and spreading it on a frozen morning in March. It would be hard to mix lime since it is spread by the ton per acre and fertilizer by the pound per acre.

 

[Ghost]

[ QUOTE ]
I would recommend doing the lime spreading by itself and then mixing the clover seed with the fertilizer and spreading it on a frozen morning in March. It would be hard to mix lime since it is spread by the ton per acre and fertilizer by the pound per acre.

[/ QUOTE ]

That would work as well...but a ton is 2000 pounds.

I was refering to pelletized lime.....

 

[Critter]

Great ideas guys. Basically you're telling me to leave my tractor at home.

Pharmer,
There are some other areas to consider for smaller plots, but until I can hunt it for a couple years I'm only going to focus on the already tillable ground. I can see some potential for a couple satellite plots, and some TSI in the future, but nothing this year.
What kind of cost am I looking at per acre to establish clover, compared to alfalfa, corn, or beans?

 

[bjkpharmd]

I'd be willing to bet that if it was recently cropped that the pH is at least acceptable for clover. Frost seeding clover I always go a little heavy- maybe 8-10 lbs per acre at $3 or so a pound. This will be more than beans or corn for seed costs for the first year but it evens out when you plant them every year. You can get some seed from PF or NWTF chapters so don't overlook that source. A local farmer doing it on shares will always be your cheapest route. Alfalfa seed is higher and there is more to management to it if you want to keep it in good shape.