Keystone Krops

Beautiful. I’ve got a 110hp cat sitting in the barn myself. I bought this grapple the other day. So impressed with it. You can really get some big projects done with that implement.
https://www.constructionattachments...t-grapple?return=/catalog/grapple-attachments
Did you say Cat? Now I'm jealous.
That's a heck of a machine MM. I encourage you to become my neighbor so you can do work for me too....:D
Becoming one of my neighbors is your choice. Not to boast, but taking care of my neighbors first is a top priority with me. My motto is "the way to have good neighbors; make sure that each one of my neighbors owes me a favor at all times"
I like your oak savanna and your new ride.

G
An oak savanna in the east is an interesting concept that bears more studying
 
Congratulations on the CTL! You are correct on older machines holding their value and actually appreciating...my dozer is a 1998 pre tier IV and has the Cummins engine that I can find no faults with. I gave $25,000 for it and was offered $40,000 for it a few days ago. It appears our area has a shortage of this particular model that is very desirable locally. I did not sell...I have my toter 2.5 ton truck and now I have a single wheel dump truck as well...
Any equipment with a Cummins diesel is automatically worth a good bit more. One of the best engines ever built.
I can't imagine you without the case dozer. I still have images stuck in my brain from you pushing down the big oak tree :)
 
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That is a slam dunk upgrade in capability there fella! I've got my eyes on a grapple bucket this year for dirt week at my place. I've got some trail fixing to do, and i'd like to make a mountain of brush and logs up towards my camp. I've got some big garden projects coming up that are going to need some carbon.
I like making a few mountains of brush every year. The rabbit population instantly increases when I have lots of brushpiles.
 
Any equipment with a Cummins diesel is automatically worth a good bit more. One of the best engines ever built.
I can't imagine you without the case dozer. I still have images stuck in my brain from you pushing down the big oak tree :)
If you’re talking about that first video that was a long ago as a brand new operator on my own property then I understand your :) face...I work it 3-4 times a week for the past 2 years and it’s a whole different deal now...

That’s a 60’ x 220’ pad I built out of a mountainside using only the material that was already there after also clearing it of all the trees. There is a warehouse on it now...
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Another absolutely flat pad I built out of what was already in place for a big shop addition...

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An old demolition of house and 2 barns...

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And a clean up job where I was asked to come in behind not one but 2 other operators. This first picture is after both operators left...

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This is what it looked like when I left...

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If you’re talking about that first video that was a long ago as a brand new operator on my own property then I understand your :) face...I work it 3-4 times a week for the past 2 years and it’s a whole different deal now...

That’s a 60’ x 220’ pad I built out of a mountainside using only the material that was already there after also clearing it of all the trees. There is a warehouse on it now...
5be8e525c21cba446a151fe866326487.jpg



ad76c836cb597bb72e1af0b7148241c9.jpg


332ff61e8f94eb330e4ad3b3207276eb.jpg



Another absolutely flat pad I built out of what was already in place for a big shop addition...

280d086175a54eb0cd967b26fb5b2eeb.jpg


An old demolition of house and 2 barns...

320e3347397937be36f12a89b7f07c6d.jpg



e003c1e2994c334ad42f9932990b3129.jpg



cc2edcc6ff81a06fc91d0cc6f768e39b.jpg



49316c838dfb24758af6b542aeb128ed.jpg



33e780c476ad8d0668eb532ae4ea9a8c.jpg


And a clean up job where I was asked to come in behind not one but 2 other operators. This first picture is after both operators left...

d1a0da0c4e3a9cf3298fee3355b374a6.jpg


This is what it looked like when I left...

e5537e4ba28fbd2a112e2da9038998c5.jpg


ee5223bb4aca4e562f3c693b56f04fce.jpg
I wasn't making fun of the video, I enjoyed it. Big trees come out hard, especially hardwoods...
 
This is our newest addition to the family, a 9000 lb machine with 78hp, it replaces the grapple for my FIL that I just sold, which was handy for cleaning up trees and brush, but I can do that and so much more with a CTL, and we have some habitat projects that I want to get done.
One of the biggest uses for this machine is logging road repair and food plot cleanup. I have some newer models of skidloaders that we use at our construction company, but it's cost prohibitive to use a newer loader for general habitat work where the machine is parked most of the year, a new machine drops so drastically in value every year, that even if it's not being used it expensive, whereas something like this 2006 model holds most its value year after year, even if it's parked.
It's in good condition with 2000 hrs, about half wore out, and we paid about 1/4 of new price. My goal is to get a lot of my earmarked projects completed in the next several years, and then I should be able to sell it for close to what I paid for it.
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Nice but my rule is never get rid of guns, equipment, or women. One never knows when their need will resurface.
 
Riding into the sunset on 4-20-22.
This is the first time that I ever planted corn with snow on the ground (a roof edge snowdrift from an earlier storm)
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Do you get treated seed, or has your soil warmed up enough to go?


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Do you get treated seed, or has your soil warmed up enough to go?


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Our weather has really warmed up this week, average highs in the mid 60's, today it was 77, which follows our yearly weather patterns. I know my soils and keep records of planting dates, and always plant corn more by the calendar than by current temperatures. If it's unseasonably warm in early April it's still a bad idea to plant corn, because it could still freeze, and if it's unseasonably cold in mid April like this year it's not a good idea to wait, because the last week always warms up drastically.
I plant ridgetop fields in shale soils in an area that generally has dryer summers, and the main key to getting a good corn crop is to plant early and get the soil well covered and shaded before it gets dry in July, which helps the drought tolerance in a big way. We always seem to get just enough periodic thunderstorms to get a decent crop if it's put out early, but late corn plantings usually fail.
I have started buying seed from Seed Genetics Direct, a new seed company that works kind of like a buyers club, better seed for cheaper prices. It's herbicide tolerant, but I don't think that it's coated seed.
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Looking good MM. My Eliza's look very similar to yours. In fact, it looks like a bumper crop of nearly everything here this year - except for the pears in my frost pocket of course......
 
The good news is that PA is a very wet area, and, with all of the sunlight that area will turn into a jungle of oak seedlings, briars, pines, and other forbs. An oak savanna is one of my dreams, but may be unrealistic, oak savanna's are mostly located in semi-arid areas, and id be committing the first sin of habitat management: trying to create non-native habitat that usually isn't found in this area and may not be well suited for the climate. However, I have seen oak savanna's in PA, including in this county, usually on a ridge at a certain elevation in very poor soil, and that's somewhat of what I have. Maybe I should consider mowing instead of burning to get the grass started?
PA is starting to come around on fire. There is a PA fire council. I'd suggest reaching out to them, to see if there's interest in helping you burn. Somehow I got on their email list. I can't remember if it was an accident, or on purpose.

https://paprescribedfire.org/
 
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That is some rough looking topsoil you got there fella.
Take another gander at our PA dirt! This is the same field as the prior picture, but a better representation of our dirt without all the gravel washed out on top. It's nice dirt but by category it's a poor soil type for row cropping simply because it has no binder in the composition of the soil, therefore its prone to erosion, making tillage on slopes a no no. I do mostly no-till, but on the flatter fields sometimes I like to loosen it up with a chisel plow.
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That looks great! Have you been back to take a peak at your oats in clover? I wonder how that's coming along.
 
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