[Hidden Pond Farms]

Good evening all. Newbie here. My 2nd post ever…
I am looking at a new set of disc harrows. Right now I have a small 4 ft set from an older Ford tractor … yes, it’s actually a Ford that belonged to my dad… I need to disc around 24 acres in prep for sprigging hay… I have a 4044R with a FEL. Question is, do you think the 4044 would handle a 8 ft set or should I stick with 6 ft? I must admit, I’m not much of a farmer. My dad was, but I didn’t get much of those genes passed down.
I’m trying to plant hay on a portion of my granddad’s farm I inherited. It’s been in our family for at least 5 generations… want to try and continue just a little of his legacy….

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

[Dirty Harry]

According to TractorData your rig is rated at 43hp. Your 4044R should be able to pull an 8ft disc without any issues, dependant somewhat on your soil type; (sandy/silty vs. thick muck/heavy clay

 

[ddinham]

I have an 8ft tandem disk for my 4066R and it handles it fine. Traction is more of a problem than HP.

Dave

 

[workinonit]

It all depends on how heavy the disk is. I have an 8 or 9 footer that a 4044 wouldn't even lift off the ground.

 

[Treefarmer]

Good evening all. Newbie here. My 2nd post ever…
I am looking at a new set of disc harrows. Right now I have a small 4 ft set from an older Ford tractor … yes, it’s actually a Ford that belonged to my dad… I need to disc around 24 acres in prep for sprigging hay… I have a 4044R with a FEL. Question is, do you think the 4044 would handle a 8 ft set or should I stick with 6 ft? I must admit, I’m not much of a farmer. My dad was, but I didn’t get much of those genes passed down.
I’m trying to plant hay on a portion of my granddad’s farm I inherited. It’s been in our family for at least 5 generations… want to try and continue just a little of his legacy….

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Congratulations on trying to restore the land. Personally, if you have a neighbor with a larger disk who can do the job for you I'd go that way. You'll get a better seedbed and of course it's a lot quicker to use a 20 or 24' disk and an 8'.

As far as whether you can pull an 8' it depends on what the soil type and condition. Running a disc over unplowed soil isn't as hard as pulling it through puffy soil left behind a dozer but you might only scratch the unplowed soil a couple of inches with the 8' disc where your neighbor might go down 4" and do a better job of cutting turf, roots etc. The larger discs will also have larger diameter blades which do a better job.

An 8' disc is pretty much on the edge of when I'd consider a pull type vs. 3ph. It's a little less maneuverable but follows the ground side to side a bit better. Either way, you'll want one wide enough to go outside the tractor wheel tracks. As mentioned above, traction becomes more of an issue than hp.

 

[quackaddict]

I think a 7-8' set would be fine on that machine.

 

[hosspuller]

Traction is key to pulling. Do you have loaded tires ? Hitch capacity is another limit, 2500 pounds 24 inches beyond the arms. so figure a bit less. Horsepower merely means how fast you can pull the load. The old 16 Hp steam tractors can out pull the high Hp modern tractor.. Sheer weight means traction

 

[mo1]

Good evening all. Newbie here. My 2nd post ever…
I am looking at a new set of disc harrows. Right now I have a small 4 ft set from an older Ford tractor … yes, it’s actually a Ford that belonged to my dad… I need to disc around 24 acres in prep for sprigging hay… I have a 4044R with a FEL. Question is, do you think the 4044 would handle a 8 ft set or should I stick with 6 ft? I must admit, I’m not much of a farmer. My dad was, but I didn’t get much of those genes passed down.
I’m trying to plant hay on a portion of my granddad’s farm I inherited. It’s been in our family for at least 5 generations… want to try and continue just a little of his legacy….

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

It depends on your soil, how deep you try to disc, and how well your tractor pulls. I wouldn't try an 8' 3 point disc as it is going to be too heavy for your 3 point. If your soil is heavy clay and you are trying to disc after plowing, use the 6' unit. If all you want to do is scratch dry dirt an inch or two deep, an 8' drawn unit may work. We ran a 12' unit on an 80 HP tractor and sometimes it was all the tractor would want.

 

[Gunny Hank]

I have the dry sand/rocky soil, and the 6' tandem with 200lbs concrete ballast needs 4wd to pull with the 3032E. Disc has 16" wheels. I just cut down weeds/dry grass for fire mitigation, not farming. The 3032E pulls it over dry dirt in 4wd Lo with no problem. Never use the axle lock, either. But it can spin out in 2wd. For soft soil I would remove the 200lb concrete ballast box on it.

 

[PJR832]

There are 8' pull type discs that are rated for as low as 35 HP. Again, traction is going to go first. But, if you are looking to reestablish a hay field are you simply discing up a field that is hay now? Traction won't be as much of an issue if you're discing ground that has not been turned over with a plow of some type.