"Bleedinred" wrote:

Iron Appraiser--what model is the D4? Havn't seen one of those before. Fellow up here by the name of Clark had quite a collection of yellow several years ago and I believe had some orchards. That collection was pretty much sold off I heard, never did get up there to look at them. How do you set up your irrigation--ditch?

The D4 is a 7U with electric start (no stating motor) built in 1957. I bought it in Gridley CA and it came out of the Woodland CA area. I have owned it for about 15 years. Only problem I have had with it is this year we managed to break the rear drive sprocket on the left side. It is still earning its keep and will every time we replant an orchard as there is some work only a Cat can do well.

I will put solid set (in ground sprinklers) in the orchard as soon as we plant. In our sandy loam soil the ditches wash out too often and I'm to cranky to deal with that monkey motion any more. Should plant second week of April which is late but when you take an orchard out in October and replant by April on a relatively wet year it’s not bad. I have a very competent foreman and he has good men working for him. I couldn't do it without them.

Hi Guys. Our pictures arent quite as dramatic as yours!

1. Winter rains Yolo County California, overflow Cachcreek February.




2. A few Heidricks Cats parked up after spring work, late 60's.




3. Combining rice Conway Ranch Heidricks. Note: bankouts manufactured in their shop. In the late 80's.




4. My potatoes planted county Shropshire, UK.




5. Blight control potatoes by aircraft. Now aircraft banned due to pesticide drift near public. Is there a degree for common sense lef tin the world?




6. River Tern source of pivot water. Water becoming even scarcer in the UK.

Iron Appraiser why are you ripping out almond orchards what are you going to replace them with, CR those sprinklers take me back afew years that looks like a lott of hard work every few hours. Do you move them yourself or let the little tough tough guys move them. Our problem in the UK very few people want to do hard work. all the best Atlas

"Atlas" wrote:

Iron Appraiser why are you ripping out almond orchards what are you going to replace them with, CR those sprinklers take me back afew years that looks like a lott of hard work every few hours. Do you move them yourself or let the little tough tough guys move them. Our problem in the UK very few people want to do hard work. all the best Atlas

Almond orchards have an economic life of 25 years when they are grafted to peach root stock. The almond orchard that was removed was at the end of its economic life having been planted in 1984 and severely damaged in early January 2008 with high winds which moved through the area. It was no longer an economically viable orchard.

We are replanting that land with walnut trees (Tulare variety) 120 trees to the acre.

that last pic is nice enough to hang on the wall, thanks for posting.

How long before walnut trees are productive?....Seems like you might be planting for the next generation.

Atlas the pipe are moved by either the employees that work for the farm or they will contract out with a company that irrigates turn key for a fixed cost per acre. The picture really doesn't show it after I resized the picture, however that pump is from Frasier Irrigation. I don't know if they rented the pump or had them irrigate the field as I am not involved with the day to day business.

We only use sprinklers to irrigate up seed, usually we furrow irrigate or use buried drip. Sprinklers are still used on the drip ground to germinate direct seeded crops. The primarily reason why sprinklers are being used on the corn is this time of year there is a lot of unsettled weather that can bring in hail in one spot causing a hard crust or we can get a strong north wind this time of year drying out the young plants.

Atlas I also like your Heidrick pictures, some where I have some pictures of their bankouts that look as If they had taken the undercarriage and finals off of a D4 cat and put them onto the bankout. I remember seeing a thick plate bolted to the finals where it would have bolted to the transmission case on the D4 and a hydrostatic drive now powering the finals and UC. I think the operator seat was also a D$ takeoff and mounted on the back of the grain tank.

Iron Appraiser how do replants in your area do? Trees after trees have not fared to well the last 25 years. I don't know if it is a rotation thing or the fact that soil fumigants has been forced by the wayside in that time period and nematodes and blackline have taken over.

Here are some pictures of some Payne walnuts on 30 x 30 plantings coming out by Lionudakis orchard removal and a new field of Chandler, Tulare, Howard or Vina walnuts going in on 12 X 26. The seed was planted in the fall of 03 or 04 and the first major harvest was this past year.

Liondakis video

Young trees from a few pages back, planted by seed then field grafted by my brother or a commercial grafter. We also have purchased grafted 5/8" trees and potted black walnut trees on other blocks.
www.acmocbb.org/ACMOC_BB/attachment.php?...d=12967&d=1266812481
www.acmocbb.org/ACMOC_BB/attachment.php?...d=12966&d=1266812481
www.acmocbb.org/ACMOC_BB/attachment.php?...d=12613&d=1264923788

Great pictures, Great scenery, Thanks for sharing!
We farmed on river bottom along the Susquehanna River in upstate NY. About three hundred acres, Small potatoes compared to those wide open spaces. That old steel sure is different then the 8N ford, John Deere H and Farmall H we used.

Dennie G

The tone and colors of the pictures from the UK really give a different look, like old calender pictures.

Atlas- those are some nice pics you added, would be nice to learn more about farming there in the UK


The weather has been nasty here recently, very wet and a snowstorm rolling in tonight. Got the last 222 header rebuilt, and put the D6C in the shop and got the tranny out of it in two days. Hauled the transmission into the cat dealer today and the tranny wiz there can do all the work, replacing a couple gears, a shaft, and all new seals and bearings in 2 1/2 days so we will easily have the cat back together in time for the rest of spring work.

For those that maybe missed the posts, lost a tooth in 6th after just 400 acres of spring cultivation.