# Looking at moldboard plows



## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

I am looking at getting a moldboard plow. I had an old JD 1350_1450 4 bottom. It was trip standard and had a twisted bottom so after not using it for years I unloaded it. I have enough rocks in my area I will be getting one with spring reset standards. I also have more power now than when I picked up that old plow. I rented a JD 2800 series plow last fall. Seemed to pull easy, the main reason I didn't opt to buy that particular one was that the first bottom was tweaked. When in tough clay it wouldn't stay locked in and found welds after inspecting closer. I guess I was looking at 5 bottom plows because with the 7110 case pulling it that would be a good fit. I would like to go with either a Deere or a white plow. I have spotted a 2700 series Deere on tractorhouse. I would appreciate any input I can get from you guys. I know that this may not be a typical piece of equipment to be discussed on here but I figured it couldn't hurt. I just don't want to buy something that turns out to be a junker by design. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Chris


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

I am not a plow expert by any means. I hardly use my moldboard anymore prefer the offset instead, with being said I used to have a 4 bottom JD plow don't remember the model. I sold it and got a JD 3 bottom flip plow. You talking about sweet!! I would never go back to a semi mount again. If I were to look for a plow today it would either be a flip or more than likely a switch plow. They are so much more efficient.


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

Never thought about those, I'll have to look at that a bit.

I forgot to mention earlier that. I am going to use this in sod mainly. I know the one I got rid of did alright in corn ground but was a joke in tough sod. We also utilize a bedded pack barn for our dairy and the manure coverage we put down can be rather thick.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

I have a 5+1 2500 so not a whole lot different than what you're looking at. Only bought it ($1200 including 12 new JD shares) because an organic farm was going to pay me to plow some ground. They backed out but I used it to do 15 acres for myself of ground that was too rutted and ridged to continue no-tilling. It worked well once I got it properly set. (Duh!) The Whites (and Olivers and Fords) are going to be more desirable and more expensive but the Deere will work.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

If using it in sod make sure you have coulters in front of each plow to cut the sod and make sure there set at the correct dept.


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## lidaacres (Oct 11, 2014)

We have 3 Ford Plows. White made them as well as Oliver I believe. We also have a JD 2600. I don't really think you can go wrong either way. We do a fair amount of plowing every year, and both do a great job. If anything the JD might be a bit more over complex with some of it's features.


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

My plow has set for years. Why own one at all?


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I may have plowed a grand total of 150 acres my whole life.

Still have the old Oliver 6 bottom hydraulic reset, for some obscene reason Dad bought a 7 bottom on land hitch, spring reset IH, have never used it. Maybe he wants to practice his torch skills and cut it up for scrap someday.


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## rockyridgefarm (Feb 17, 2015)

Consider an IH 710 or 720 as well. They are very good plows and are very common. I had a John Deere 145 5-16 and bought a 720 5-18 at a sale. I swear that 720 pulled easier than the 145 even with 2 extra inches on each bottom. It also did a beautiful job plowing. I could pull it with a 4430, but the 4840 did better on it.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

I don't recommend dmi plows. Unless of course your plowing under rocks and boulders. They are built like brick sh**houses but pull like your dragging a skyscraper behind you. I have run a John Deere 2700, but my favorite was a landside 710 international. The international was better in sod than any other plow I've ever used!


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

I know my neighbor went from a 145 to a 2800 JD and said it pulled so much easier he gained 2 gears. I will give those IH plows a look, a local dealer has in the neighborhood of 30 of them on the back row of his lot with varying sizes and options.

Another reason I'm looking at getting a moldboard plow is that we're working on transitioning our dairy to organic and well...


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

IH 720 with auto resets was the plow everyone ran here,even the guys with green blood.Also the.IH 735 is adjustable width 14-22".

MF 880 was a easier pulling plow but didn't have the clearance the IH did.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

We have been no-till for just shy of 30 years. Prior to that we did a lot of plowing. Our favorite plow was an IH 700 automatic.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Having owned/plowed with a JD F145(4x16's) & a MF 6x14) semi-integral I'd recommend the MF as it pulled easier than the JD.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

In the upper Midwest the IH 720 has ruled for 40 years. Available in auto reset or toggle trip. There are still thousands of acres getting turned every fall by these things. Doesn't matter what tractor brand you have, if you are serious about plowing the IH 720 - 735 series is the old standard.


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm going to look at the IH plows when I get to actually lot looking and shopping. I'll let you know what I end up with.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Kvenerland is the king of plows in our area for the folks who still plow. I've got a little 3 bottom variwidth one. AB85, I think it will go 16 to 22" or something like that.


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## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

I have done a fair amount of plowing and these guys are all right in my opinion, IH is the only way to go. We had a 5 bottom JD but it has never moved in the last 20 years off the rock wall due to the over complicated hydraulic reset it has, but the 7 bottom IH Spring Reset...sweet. Really sweet and here in Maine we hit a lot of ledge rock (hence said rock wall).

They claim moldboard plows are starting to making a comeback again, but you guys would know more about that then I would. Here we cannot do no-till so while we do minimum till instead, but crop rotate between corn and hay fields a lot; about every 7 years so we moldboard plow a lot.

Personally, I think moldboard plowing is about the best task on the farm. I guess its because the faster you can go, the better job that is done. I guess there is just something about watching sod flop off the moldboard.

When we were kids we hayed this really steep farm ground with an old 120 hp Massey Ferguson tractor that scared the crap out of all of us. We grazed cows in that field and were afraid a tire would spin out on a turd and the tractor, baler and hay wagon would go backwards down over the hill.

Two years ago I ripped that field open going up hill with that 7 bottom IH plow with a Ford 8830 tractor. You have to see how steep that field is to appreciate it, but everyone was impressed. It had ledge rock all over the hill so I was forever working the levers to lift or drop the front in time to the tail wheel to rip the soil off the rock. Then when we were done we used the disc to toss the dirt up on the ledge and cover it. Only 100 acres, but it was a lot of fun just from the challenge of it.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

I have 4 bottom JD 2000. Have always heard other brands pull easier than JD but this is the one I grew up with and have never used a different brand. They work good and worked even better and pulled a lot easier when I went through them one winter and matched them up to the tractor I was using. They were way off and I'm not sure they were ever properly set when new when dad bought them. Even found the tail wheel was miss assembled at the factory. The only complaint I have about them is the amount of hydraulic oil it dumps on the ground when resetting tail wheel. I believe any plow will suit you well if they are properly set and maintained.


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

Our JD2800 4 bottom works but seems to pull hard. 4440 in front is at 4-5 mph tops. Red clay and healthy hp so no saying there's got to be something wrong. We have a case and allis plow too. The case was acquired to accommodate corn stalks. The allis was to try something different plus it was cheap. Deere has parts available don't know about the others.
There will always be a plow in the arsonal, just hoping it doesn't get used too much.


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

Huh, not a fan of the jd this spring. It is rough on what was sod.

Had some done with the case 4 bottom, that covered much better. Pleasurable on the first pass.


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

I found a white 588 6 bottom plow. No noticeable cracks or welds. It has the dish coulters and looks sharp other than it needs some wear parts. 
I thank all you guys for the advice. I'll post some pics after I get it home


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## Wethay (Jul 17, 2015)

Good luck with your plow.


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