Ground Drags for leveling pastures, etc.

[Kramer]

Wow, never expected to get so many responses to my inquiry. Sure appears a number of us share a fairly common problem. Just wanted to say, "thank you", to each of you for your responses. You have given me a lot of ideas to work through and I certainly appreciate each of you taking time to share your experience and knowledge.

Regards,
Kramer

 

[dun]

The pasture dragging is a perfect example of different areas and different methods. Friend of ours decided to lightly drag one pasture/hay field just to smooth it out a bit. She has had 3 high school kids owrking weekends for the last month picking up rocks from it now. It's rougher now then when she started because of the pockets that only had a little bit of rock showing that kicked out a head sized rock.

dun

 

[houstoncutter]

20' heavy wall 3" pipe withh a ship anchor chain looped of the back , making a big u shape, if the pastures are a little damper, just the anchor chain

 

[frenchie]

We just use old diamond harrows with truck tires on them to level things out..if its real bad we flip them over and weight them.

 

[MandTconstruct]

I took a piece of I beam and put some steel in the one side to close up the web of the beam, welded it in place and it works well. It is heavy though and doesn't like to turn on a dime.

 

[sillco]

Question, regarding "ground drags". I am interested in getting a ground drag for leveling my pastures (both hay production and general grazing pastures). Wanting to level off ant hills, crayfish mounds, and just general rough ground. Plus, I have a typical East Texas problem, feral hogs!!! The feral hogs pass through my creek bottom pastures two or three times per year (generally spring, fall and again in the winter when the ground is damp). As anyone with simliar problems know, the hogs can really destroy some good pasture almost overnight when there is a herd of them. When spraying and/or shredding the unlevel ground just beats you and your equipment to death. I have tried to disc the areas torn up by the hogs, but the results require going back over with a box scraper to finish the leveling. A lot of work (time and fuel). So, for all the reasons mentioned above, I have decided to get a "ground drag". Heard a lot of good things about them from several farmers/ranchers in my area. There are at least two local farm equipment fabrication shops and when I checked on their prices, I was a little shocked ($$$). I looked at a 20 foot drag made with split pipe (I think it was either 10 or 12 inch pipe) and the cost was $800. I realize there is a lot of fab work to split the pipe, then weld 4 inch pipes to the two pieces of split pipe to form the drag. However, I can buy a lot of fuel with $800. Smaller drags of the same fabrication are high as well. I have some I-beam material and have thought about making a drag with it (6, or 8 inch I-beams), could get 10 inch I-beam material as well. I found nobody that manufactures ground drags utilizing I-beams, but have not got much reasoning as to why not. Just say "they do not work so good". I figure others have gone through the same thoughts, and wonder if, I can avoid reinventing the wheel, so to speak. Anyone got any experience, thoughts, ideas???

I have a tire drag that works very good. I is made with a 20 ft long 3 - 5/8" pipe with four rows of truck (18 wheeler) tires across the length of pipe. The entire group is held together with chain pieces bolted around the tires and onto the pipe. The drag doesnot dig into the ground when you go over rised in through dips. Works well for me and was far cheaper than $800.