Ground Drags for leveling pastures, etc.

[Kramer]

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???

 

[jersey lilly]

We have the hog problem too, I'm just west of huntsville so our area is similar to yours. We use a big bridge Timber cross tie, with a chain hooked about 2 feet from each end, then put the v of the chain onto the tractor where the bale fork (back) is hooked on. It's the easiest method we've found for dragging the pastures after the hogs have been in there. They are tearin it up real regular right now. It aint a small cross tie like you'd use for fence post, but one that came out of a trussle bridge along the RR. And I agree, you can buy alotta fuel for $800

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Have you tried arranging a bunch of old truck tires bolted or tied together in the form of a triangle (or rectangle) and then pulling that over the pastures, like a lot of folks do to bust up turd piles? Or possibly drag 16' cattle panels with a heavy angle iron frame?

 

[warpaint]

I have seen a neighbor of mine use a piece of heavy duty chain link fence, cross ties and concrete block for a drag. Seems to work fairly well and didn't cost near 800.

Necessity is the mother of creation.

 

[cypressfarms]

I use a 16' long "wire panel" (which is thick wire welded to form a panel about 5' by 16'), and drag it with my mule. I hook one end up, and go to town. My girls really love to do it. After having 16' of those wire rectangles go over something, it's usually done for. The faster you pull it, the better job it seems to do; just make sure you have gloves on when you unhook it! The panel cost about $20 at the local feed mill.

 

[Dusty Britches]

My partents use a mattress spring, wieghted with big rocks or concrete blocks.

I have an old 12 foot, 10 inch iron pipe I was thinking about using to smooth out after disking and then afte I put Jiggs out.

 

[OklaBrangusBreeder]

I use a piece of Railroad track, about 12' wide....

 

[johndeerefarmer]

I use a piece of Railroad track, about 12' wide....

Me too......

Only problem that I have is that the constant jerking of the railroad track tends to break the stranded cable that I use to pull it. I may have to use log chains instead

 

[Beefy]

i would guess that an I beam would collect too much dirt and you'd be better off with something flatter on the front side. on our leveling harrow we use a bridge railing with the flatter side towards the tractor.

we also use a different type bridge railing for a ground drag when dragging pastures in the winter. use to use a section of chain length fence attached to a piece of heavy wood.

 

[Ranchcop]

I use the semi truck tires only a lil differently. I took a 3 inch pipe 10 feet long and on the front side welded to bolts which I attached chains to hook to the tractor. On the back side I welded 5 bolts equally spaced. I attached chains to these bolts then attached the semi truck tires to the chains. This covers around 12 feet per pass. In the high spots the dirt collects in the tires then drops in the low spots.
Good luck,
Brad

 

[skip]

I chain a 10' I-beam behind my disc and disc and level at the same time. The I-beam helps the disc work deeper and levels the turned ground as it goes.

 

[Texan]

I use the truck tires like AZ mentioned to drag turds and gopher mounds. The best/easiest/cheapest thing I've found for leveling up the hog damage this time of year is to feed first cutting hay in those areas, moving the rings until you cover all of it. As long as it's relatively dry, the cows will tromp it level, the litter will cover the bare ground, and the ryegrass or other seed from your first cutting hay will have a good seedbed to germinate in. Free seedbed prep is the only thing a hog is good for.

 

[~Tomboy~]

We just bought a small 6X8 multi-use harrow at Tractor Supply, cost a little less than $400.00. They also have a 8X8, you can use it 3 ways, for light, or deep penetration, or as a drag mat.
Haven't used it yet. The company that make it also sells one for a 3-point lift.
I can see already though with out the 3-point for lift, moving the harrow from place to place could be a problem.

 

[J-CCCC]

My drag consists of a found piece of 3" metal pipe attached to the tractor with chain from the pipe ends. That pipe is attached with a section of heavy duty chainlink fence to a 4" PVC pipe filled with wet concrete and capped. The original intent was to level manure piles and gopher hills. Works great for that but isn't good at filling hog digs. Have a narrow 3 point scraper blade I tried for filling hog digs but it requires more than one pass . The #@*hogs won't line them !

Jay

 

[sidney411]

We use the semi truck or dump truck tires attached together with cable and cable clamps. 5 across the back, then 4, then 3, then 2, attach the chains to these 2 so that it will pull straighter then if you attach 1 in the front. You can also drag a railroad beam in front or behind. The dump truck truck tires are heavier then the regular semi tires too.

 

[Just_a_girl]

We have the hog problem too, I'm just west of huntsville so our area is similar to yours. We use a big bridge Timber cross tie, with a chain hooked about 2 feet from each end, then put the v of the chain onto the tractor where the bale fork (back) is hooked on. It's the easiest method we've found for dragging the pastures after the hogs have been in there. They are tearin it up real regular right now. It aint a small cross tie like you'd use for fence post, but one that came out of a trussle bridge along the RR. And I agree, you can buy alotta fuel for $800

A piece of railroad track is what is used here, hooked up just like jersey lilly described it above. Have a much smaller version that gets hooked up to my daughter's 4-wheeler. Both work great....

 

[Caustic Burno]

 

[backhoeboogie]

CB, this handles my light work, after the hogs do my plowing.

 

[Caustic Burno]

CB, this handles my light work, after the hogs do my plowing.

Great tool, I thought my hogs were bad haven't needed the dozer yet. I made mine if the tractor can run over it it will pull up. It's havoc on brush and Chinese tallows use it for pasture aereration and leveling .

 

[backhoeboogie]

That looks like it would pull up some brush roots too. You could always chain something like my 10 inch channel or railroad iron on the back of it as well, since it is heavy enough built.