Rice is a tough act to follow, especially when it\u2019s rice following rice on Duane Gaither\u2019s blue gumbo near Hoxie, Ark.<\/p>\n
Gaither\u2019s Clover Bend Farms includes 2,700 acres of continuous rice. It\u2019s a crop that demands a good, even seedbed and there was a time when achieving that meant trip after trip with discs, field cultivators and floats.<\/p>\n
For the past five years, though, Gaither has essentially replaced all that iron with one tool \u2014 the Kelly Diamond Harrow.<\/p>\n
If it weren\u2019t for the Kellys, I wouldn\u2019t be following rice with rice,\u201d says Gaither who now has three 45-ft. Kellys. \u201cIt\u2019s a hard crop to follow because of the thick root mass and the tremendous amount of straw you have to deal with. This is a very versatile tool,
\nthough. I got rid of all my discs and all my field cultivators and we don\u2019t mess with the floats anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting a good residue burn is essential, Gaither explains. After harvest, three trips over the ground with a Kelly Diamond Harrow readies the ground for burning. The Kelly works shallow, fluffing the residue to the surface and leaving the soil where it belongs. One of Gaither\u2019s Kellys is equipped with a prickle chain \u2014 welded chain with four high-grade steel spikes welded through each link. The chains fill furrows, level ridges and lift the residue to the surface.<\/p>\n
The result is a clean, consistent burn. Then, two or three post-burn trips with the Kelly put fields in drill-ready condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can get in there when the ground is too wet for a disc or field cultivator,\u201d Gaither notes. \u201cWe can have ground worked and drilled before we could even get in there with anything else. You can pull it fast and it leaves the ground in good shape. For us, it\u2019s the ideal field tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although creating a good seedbed is job 1, speed and economy are all-important concerns. With his three units, Gaither can cover 1,200 acres per day. He figures his fuel cost at less than $2 per acre for three trips across the field with the Kellys \u2014 far less than diesel-drinking field cultivator and float operations.<\/p>\n
And, the Kelly Diamond Harrow is highly dependable.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as major problems, we just haven\u2019t had any,\u201d Gaither says. \u201cThe secret is to keep the chains tight. We check them every morning before we start. It\u2019s pretty simple. There are four tensioners to check and you can do it in a matter of minutes. It\u2019s a very simple, trou<\/b>ble-free machine.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s exactly what it\u2019s designed to be. The Kelly Diamond Harrow\u2019s blades are wear-guaranteed for 50,000 acres and the swivel bearings are guaranteed for 10,000 acres. Although he\u2019s never had to replace a bearing, Gaither says it would be easily accomplished and the harrow comes with a spare to minimize down-time if he ever does.<\/p>\n
Sturdy construction and easy maintenance are important to Gaither because some of his soil is exceedingly tough on equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got some gumbo land that I\u2019ve tried everything on, and the Kelly handles it far better than anything,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a marvelous tool for heavy gumbo but it works great on all of our ground \u2014 it works well on blue gumbo and light sand and everything in-between.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaither was the first farmer in the country to give the Kelly Diamond Harrow a try. That was over three years ago and thousands of acres later, he\u2019s glad he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had a tendency to try something new,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to constantly be on the lookout for a better way to farm and the Kelly has given us a better way to grow rice. We have been very pleased.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rice is a tough act to follow, especially when it\u2019s rice following rice on Duane Gaither\u2019s blue gumbo near Hoxie, Ark. Gaither\u2019s Clover Bend Farms includes 2,700 acres of continuous rice. It\u2019s a crop that demands a good, even seedbed and there was a time when achieving that meant trip after trip with discs, field […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":18068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n