Abstract: In lieu of rigid bars, a tillage reel utilizes a number of elongated flexible elements such as lengths of link chain that are spaced circumferentially around the reel and extend axially thereof. The flexible elements bow outwardly by centrifugal force as the reel rolls along the ground during tillage operations to impact and fracture clods encountered at the lower front extremity of the reel. When the reel is used in connection with strip till operations, the flexible elements bow upwardly and inwardly along the lower periphery of the reel as they engage and conform to the transverse cross-section of the strip till berm, thereby avoiding destruction of the berm notwithstanding the clod-pulverizing action provided by the flexible elements.

Abstract: In lieu of rigid bars, a tillage reel utilizes a number of elongated flexible elements such as lengths of link chain that are spaced circumferentially around the reel and extend axially thereof. The flexible elements bow outwardly by centrifugal force as the reel rolls along the ground during tillage operations to impact and fracture clods encountered at the lower front extremity of the reel. When the reel is used in connection with strip till operations, the flexible elements bow upwardly and inwardly along the lower periphery of the reel as they engage and conform to the transverse cross-section of the strip till berm, thereby avoiding destruction of the berm notwithstanding the clod-pulverizing action provided by the flexible elements.

Abstract: An agricultural plough (1) including a longitudinally extending support member (2) having a forward portion to be attached to a vehicle to thereby enable the apparatus (1) to be towed by the vehicle; a generally “n” shaped frame (500) fixed to the support member (2) and including a pair of ends (505, 510) located on opposite longitudinal sides and spaced normal to the support member (2); a pair of axles (13, 14) attached to and extending laterally from the ends and providing a pair of laterally extending rotational axes, the axes being located on opposite sides of the member (2) and in a plane extending transversely normal to the member (2) and at an acute angle longitudinally so as to extend rearwardly down, the axes each being inclined by an acute angle of 6 to 12 degrees to a plane extending normal to the member (2) to diverge rearwardly; a plough disc (18, 20) supported on each axle to rotate about the rotational axes, with the discs (18, 20) and axles being configured so that the discs (18, 20) converge

Abstract: These and other objects and objectives are attained by providing an soil conditioning rotary reel for a strip-till primary tillage system, the rotary reel having a particular cross-sectional profile that forms the soil into a uniform raised berm ideally suited for planting.

Abstract: An agricultural plough has a longitudinally extending support member having a forward portion to be attached to a vehicle to thereby enable the apparatus to be towed by the vehicle. A pair of axles extend laterally from opposite longitudinal sides of the support member and provide a pair of laterally extending rotational axes. The axes are on opposite sides of the support member at acute angles longitudinally so as to extend rearwardly, the acute angles being 8 to 10 degrees to a plane extending normal to the support member to diverge rearwardly. Plough discs are supported on the axles to rotate about the rotational axes, with the discs and axles being configured so that the discs converge rearwardly and downward. The discs are displaced rearwardly from the forward portion.

Abstract: An agricultural tillage implement that employs multiple apparatus to carry out a strip-till farming operation is disclosed. A tillage shank runs a point through the compaction layer to fracture and loosen the soil, forcing it upwardly and outwardly where a pair of angled soil-gathering blades, located adjacent the shank, redirect the soil into a newly created berm. A trailing conditioning rotary reel having a particular cross-sectional profile forms the soil into a uniform raised berm ideally suited for planting.

Abstract: A novel and practical track-filling apparatus for smoothing rutted soil formed by the repeated passage of wheels. This apparatus includes a frame, a system for attaching the frame to a tractor, and a soil moving blade assembly mounted to the frame. This blade assembly has laterally disposed and spaced apart left and right blades. A system for adjusting the included blade angle between these blades is also provided. This system for adjusting includes a single blade adjusting hydraulic ram that is operatively connected to the blades via a novel yet simple and reliable linkage assembly. Additionally, systems for lifting and tilting the apparatus optimizes operation of this track-filling apparatus over irregular and differing terrain.

Abstract: An agricultural tillage implement is disclosed employing a series of apparatus to perform one-pass primary tillage. A coulter is the first apparatus that works the field. These coulters cut, size and part the residue without mixing it into the seedbed. Next, a tillage shank runs a point through the compaction layer to fracture and loosen the soil, providing proper soil aggregate size and air pore space relationship throughout the shank tillage profile. Next is a pair of soil-gathering blades that capture and gather the loose soil and residue together and to create a berm of a mixture of soil and residue. The last apparatus to work the field is a rotary reel that conditions the strip of soil to give ideal seed-to-soil contact and uniform berm size.

Abstract: These and other objects and objectives are attained by providing an soil conditioning rotary reel for a strip-till primary tillage system, the rotary reel having a particular cross-sectional profile that forms the soil into a uniform raised berm ideally suited for planting.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for covering landfill includes a deployer suspended below the bucket of a loader. A roll of film is disposed on the deployer and uncoiled to deploy a film covering on the landfill surface as the loader driven across the surface. Periodically, the bucket, containing a ballast material, is manipulated, allowing ballast material to be disposed on the film to hold the deployed film in place. In a preferred embodiment, the deployer includes a mandrel mounted between two flanges for supporting a roll of film. The deployer is preferably attached to the bucket by chains or wire rope in such a manner so as to allow full operation of bucket while the deployer is attached. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a sprayer to apply a fluid.

Abstract: A process for and a machine which builds levees in gumbo with moldboards which have knives welded to a blade which makes strips and then lumps of a sheet of gumbo. The machine is attached to a tractor by a three point hitch. The moldboards are adjusted by plates and discs which are connected by bolts in various holes in the plates and discs. A push board is attached to the rear of the machine for repairing damaged levees.

Abstract: A soil tiller assembly for plowing multiple independent rows of soil includes a frame and attached thereto a coulter, a pair of tiller discs, a pair of secondary coulters, and a tilling assembly including a tiller wheel. The perimeter of the tiller wheel has a plurality of blades attached thereto, and the blades are rotated in the direction opposite each of the other blades described above. The soil tiller assembly is used to build up separate rows of plowed soil, which will prevent overtilling of the soil. Furthermore, the preferred method of operation allows the operator to build multiple rows of soil, delay contact of the soil for several months, and then plant seed in the rows of soil, such that the soil will receive required nutrients during the period of delay while further limiting erosion.

Abstract: A disc opener for no till or minimum till seeding and/or fertilizing operations, the opener having a frame adapted to move in a forward direction of travel, an opening disc for forming a furrow in soil when moved in the forward direction, the disc being rotatably mounted to the frame and inclined in the direction of travel to provide a leading and a trailing surface, means for dispensing seed and/or fertilizer into the furrow, a soil retaining wheel mounted to the frame and set to run along an undisturbed soil surface behind the trailing edge of the leading surface of the opening disc in substantially the same direction as the direction of travel, such that in use the soil retaining wheel replaces soil from the furrow formed by the opening disc and also controls the depth of the furrow.

Abstract: A bedding plow suited for forestry planting operations includes a plow frame that is attached to a tractor or other tow vehicle. The frame holds a pair of trailing disk assemblies that are arranged along opposite longitudinal sides of the bed being plowed. A center-cut disk assembly is mounted pivotably to the frame between and forwardly of the trailing disk assemblies. A resilient biasing assembly such as a hydraulic or pneumatic relief mechanism interconnects an arm of the center-cut disk assembly and the frame. The resilient biasing device urges the center-cut disk assembly to engage the ground under normal circumstances and permits the disk assembly to retract upwardly and ride over obstructions that are encountered while the plow cultivates the bed.

Abstract: An apparatus 30 has an elongate body 32 and spaced booms extending downstream from the body 32 for operation on a field having a plurality of rows having mounds 4 to 12 and furrows 14 to 22. Blades 34 and 36 for moving about 50 mm of material 24 and a thin layer of soil inwardly from the mounds 4 to 10 are fixed to respective shank supports 38 and 40 which are joined to the body 32. Blades 42 and 44 for moving the soil outwardly from respective mounds 4,6,8 and 10 are also fixed to the supports 38 and 40. The blades 42 and 44 are positioned about 50 mm lower than the blades 34 and 36. The apparatus 30 has two sets of blades 34 and 36 and two sets of blades 42 and 44 positioned next to each other. Fixed to short booms are listers 46 for moving the material 24 in furrows 16 and 20 onto mounds 4 to 10. Fixed to long booms are listers 48 for reforming the mounds 4 to 10 by moving soil over the material on the mounds 4 to 10 and shaping the mounds at the same time.

Abstract: A terracing plow for providing a shallow water terrace system for wetlands remediation. The preferred, embodiment of the present invention comprises a terracing plow having a frame having front and rear ends and first and second sides, the rear end having a generally medially situated, angled chute member having first and second scalloped coulter blades situated at the first and second sides of the frame, adjacent to the opening of the chute member. The coulter blades are situated on the frame at an angle in relative alignment with the adjacent chute wall. The preferred system of the present invention contemplates pulling the terracing plow via linkage to the front end of the frame through a shallow wetlands, in order to facilitate borrowing of the earth from the marsh bottom and building up same via the chute member, forming a terrace for the planting of marsh grass or the like thereon.

Abstract: The present invention provides a shankless strip tillage tool for no-till preparation of surface soil for the planting of seeds. The strip tillage apparatus has a frame for mounting the apparatus to a tool bar mounted on a draft vehicle. The frame has a pivotally mounted tandem walking beam with a pair of angled coulters rotably mounted on the walking beam for displacing soil. The angled coulters displace soil as they are pulled through the soil by the draft vehicle and urges the soil toward the center of the strip to accomplish the no-till preparation.

Abstract: An adjustable ridger for a cultivator includes an elongated ridger frame adapted to mount to the sweep member of the cultivator. The frame has a top bracket with an elongated slot extending therethrough. The slot has a width and a longitudinal axis. A plurality of setting holes in the top bracket are spaced apart along the longitudinal axis of the slot, each setting hole having a diameter greater than the width of the slot. A bottom bracket is spaced apart from the top bracket on the frame and has a guide hole therein. An elongated pull pin, having a stepped outer diameter with first and second diameter portions, is insertable through the slot in the top bracket and into the guide hole in the bottom bracket to act as a hinge pin. The second diameter portion is larger than the first diameter portion and yet smaller than the diameter of the setting holes. At least one wing pivotally mounts on the pull pin between the top and bottom brackets.

Abstract: A tool forms and shapes raised beds efficiently by forming and shaping a mound between the tractor tires and forming half mounds to the left and right of the tractor on one pass. The tool includes forward and rear disks mounted at different angles, so that one disk throws dirt to one side and the other disk throws dirt to the other side.

Abstract: The present invention entails an agricultural implement for forming planting rows with a minimum of tillage. The implement of the present invention is designed to form a multiplicity of rows and accordingly includes a series of side-by-side row units. Each row unit includes a front colter, a ripper which follows the colter, a rotor tiller assembly disposed behind the ripper, a pair of laterally spaced soil confining panels extending between the ripper and the rotor tiller assembly, and a final following soil packer. Once the agricultural implement has traversed a certain area of the land, there is formed a multiplicity of planting rows with the area between the formed planting rows being untilled.

Abstract: This is a machine for forming V-ditches for the irrigation of soil. The machine consists of a central frame with a two wheel carriage and plows of subassemblies. Each plow consists of a right subassembly and a left subassembly universally connected to the right and left sides respectively of the central frame. Each plow forms an acute horizontal angle with the central frame. The acute angle is fixed by the use of chains, having one part adjacent to an end attached to the central frame and another part of the chain adjacent to the opposite end, attached to the extended end of the subassembly. Each subassembly contains concavo-convex rotatable discs mounted parallel to each other on a common axle. The discs are assembled so that the concave side of the discs penetrate the soil when the machine is moved forward by a suitable draft device.

Abstract: The mixing head comprises a pair of opposed, spaced apart, generally vertical discs that are generally aligned with the direction of travel, although they are slightly angled so as to be wider apart at their front ends than at their rear ends. The discs are rotatably mounted to a free floating frame. Each disc has a plurality of radially extending, elongated, broad, rigid, chisel-like teeth which extend from the disc central portion out beyond its circumferential rim. The discs are driven to rotate against the direction of travel. When rotating, the disc and teeth formations operate to cut down into the coil and excavate it in portions carried by the teeth. The portions are moved inwardly by the angled formations and then thrown and dropped to the rear. The furrow formed has a flat-topped ridge overtopped with a loose mix of excavated soil and humus. The furrow is a good growing site for implanted seedlings.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for producing ridges on snow covered fields are described. A row of snow is severed from the snow cover and elevated to provide a trench in the snow cover. The row is then deflected to one side of the trench and deposited on the undisturbed snow covering beside the trench. This produces a wind barrier on the snow covered field, reducing wind erosion of the snow cover. In preferred embodiments, two spaced trenches are cut and the rows of snow removed from them are placed on the undisturbed ridge of snow between them. In the apparatus, the rows of snow are severed, elevated and deposited by a support plate carried on two runners. The support plate floats on the undisturbed center ridge of snow. The two rows are deflected to side by side positions for deposit on top of the undisturbed center ridge by a pair of adjustable deflector plates. The two runners are supported on adjustable skis so that depth control is possible.

Abstract: A bedding plow providing a plurality of disks as plowing members each independently supported by a rearwardly located bearing supported by a trailing arm, which is supported, in turn, by a pivotal connection perpendicular to a fore to aft alignment of the plow. There is further disclosed for each independently supported disk, a gas-filled shock absorber and the top of the plow has a planar horizontal surface intended to allow the plow to slide without damage if it is caused to be overturned while in use.

Abstract: A minimum tillage implement attaches to the tool bar of a planter device to allow topping of the rows, tilling of the rows, planting and chemical application to be accomplished in a single pass over the rows of a field. The minimum tillage implement comprises a shaper for topping the rows of the field, and a reel for tilling the planting area of the row. Adjacent the top of the shaper is a substantially horizontal, forwardly-projecting lip portion which serves to prevent dirt from going over the top of the shaper. The reel follows the shaper and has a number of blades spaced substantially evenly about a shaft, and has tabs interposed between adjacent blades. The tabs allow the reel to roll as smoothly as if it had twice as many blades, without the clogging that might occur with a reel having so many blades.

Abstract: Agricultural tilling implements are described. In some embodiments the implements are adapted for deep tilling of soil between growing row crops, in which embodiments a horizontal shield member is detachably secured to a depending shank. The front edge of the shield is sloped upwardly. The shield prevents soil from being thrown upwardly and onto the top of growing row crops during tilling between the rows. The shield also guides loosened soil around the base of growing crops in the rows. In one embodiment the implement includes downwardly depending plate members beneath the shield to urge soil outwardly from the shank to the row crops to form a hill in each row without covering the crops. In another embodiment a V-shaped ditcher is disposed beneath the shield for forming a trench or ditch between adjacent rows of crops. Both embodiments include adjustable wing members or deflectors at the trailing edge of each plate member to control the amount of loosened soil which is urged outwardly to the row crops.

Abstract: A tilling apparatus for preparing a ridge and furrowed field between cropping. The apparatus comprises a frame adapted to be engaged with and drawn by the three point linkage of a conventional tractor. Rotating hoeing blades which are spaced apart to coincide with ridges in the field are mounted to the frame and driven from the power take-off of the tractor in a sense opposing the drawing direction. The axis of rotation of the hoeing blades is normal to the drawing direction a plurality of L-shaped blades spaced around and direction radially outwardly from a hub. Soil displaced from the ridges into the furrows is used to reform the peaks of the ridges by listers mounted with the frame aft of the hoeing blades and spaced apart to coincide with a furrow separating adjacent ridges. Each lister comprises a corn point oriented in the drawing direction and a pair of plough discs mounted for rotation aft of the corn point.

Abstract: This invention is directed to an improved method and apparatus for building ridges and borders on agricultural fields which are suitable for the containment of irrigation water in such fields. The apparatus comprises means to cultivate at least a pair of trenches, means to remove dirt from the cultivated trenches and deposit dirt removed from the trenches onto the ground between the trenches and means to compress and shape the deposited dirt into a ridge or border.

Abstract: A disk grading terrace plow comprising a plurality of disk units mounted below an angled beam frame which is towed at an angle of 40 to 45 degrees to the direction of tow via a tractor connected to an elevated hitch beam mounted to the said angle beam frame in a lateral position which balances draft torques. Alignment of the said disk units, each comprising a disk blade, shank and attachment structure, along the angled beam frame is such that dirt is excavated from a furrow and discharged both vertically and laterally in front of the next sequential rearward disk. The excavated dirt then continues to shift from disk-to-disk in a compound grading manner until all the dirt is shifted around the rearmost disk blade. The depth of cut for the disk grading terrace plow is controlled by adjusting hydraulic cylinders connected to a front and rear gauge wheel, respectively.

Abstract: A tractor-drawn levee plow having a telescoping frame pivotally supporting a pair of harrow-gangs arranged to move soil laterally toward each other to a center-line to form the levee, the frame also pivotally supporting a pair of hydraulic cylinders powered by the tractor and connected in fluid-power series, one each of which is pivotally connected to the outer end portion of one of the gangs and each of which is utilized in practicing a new method involving forcibly holding the outer portion of its gang in elevated and/or depressed relation to its inner end portion while in ground-engaging position to thereby most effectively and efficiently construct a levee.

Abstract: A combination listing and bed shaping apparatus for use with a self-propelled vehicle having a three-point hitch. A tool bar assembly is provided which is secured to the three-point hitch so that tool bar assembly extends in a generally horizontal direction perpendicular to the path of travel of the self-propelled vehicle. Listing apparatus is carried by said tool bar assembly for forming furrows and raised beds. An additional tool bar is secured to the tool bar assembly permitting pivotal movement of said additional tool bar along about an axis parallel to the tool bar assembly. Bed shaping apparatus is carried by additional tool bar. An actuator is connected between the tool bar assembly and the additional tool bar for raising and lowering said additional tool bar with respect to said tool bar means.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for planting seeds in a field. An anti-cohesion liquid chemical is injected at 30 to 50 p.s.i. into a narrow ribbon of soil, no more than two inches wide and two inches deep. Immediately thereafter, the soil ribbon is vigorously agitated at 900 to 2000 r.p.m. to insure coating of all of the soil particles with the chemical to a depth below that at which the seed is to be planted. The seeds are then placed at precise locations within and covered by the treated soil, and the soil over them is firmed.

Abstract: A mulcher having a roll of film, a ridger for making a planting ridge to be covered by the film, means for keeping the film taut over the ridge while soil is placed on the film edges, and the film roll is rollably supported to insure dispensing of the film from a fixed position throughout the mulching.

Abstract: A towed levee forming apparatus and method of using for forming a dike or levee which is particularly suited for use with agriculture operations. The apparatus includes a plurality of laterally spaced digger means for forming corresponding ditches in the ground surface and having a helical auger means transporting the earth removed from the ditches to a predetermined location on the apparatus. The removed earth is then deposited at the predetermined location on the earth surface and worked to form a levee of desired cross-section. The levee formation is preferably accomplished in a single pass of the apparatus.

Abstract: A cultivator has soil working blade members mounted on a horizontal shaft which is driven to rotate the members forwardly through the soil in the normal direction of travel. A baffle comprised of screen segments are mounted on the cultivator frame to partially surround the blade members. The screen segments are biased about respective pivots and a rod grating is connected to the baffle to extend downardly immediately to the rear of the blade members. The rear screen segment has V-shaped guides to ridge the soil. A hopper communicates with dosing outlets, each outlet being a nozzle device that extends between a pair of guides. Each nozzle device is pivotable to either one of two positions for planting tubers deep or shallow. A pair of rear wheels is connected to the rear of the frame and the wheels are drivenly connected to dosing conveyors leading to the outlets. An adjusting device is associated with each wheel to raise and lower the soil working blade members.