Nice of you to show us what this is all about. I have the same questions as Dcurrin... Interesting as, what was it BEST?...HOLT?, started in these fields too.

Now not to be a smart as$, or start bad feelings here, But I do have a comment.... It's easy to see that you are able to rip through this stuff, I am supposing that is only because the D-2's have already ripped up and removed all of the trees and rocks, after they re-routed the river (the Great San Joaquin River) that used to be alot closer to Nevada and Mexico and Oregon, and formed the great Mohave desert which used to be called the great Mohave forest.

right?

Moved the San Joaquin????? What, it's basically in the same location that it was in when cat's were invented. People have tried to move it, but it is blow sand along the river and it goes where it wants to.

Now water has been diverted to So Cal to provide for growth in the desert. Currently Metropolitian Water district is trying to get water that was set aside for ag by the federal goverment in the 20's to be used for LA. At the same time Metropolitan WD is trying to get a canal built around the delta so it can pump more water from the Sacramento river without worring about salt water intrusion. How much Colarado river water was basically stolen from IID under the Clinton Administration by MWD?

that was 300 acres done for gerawan farming.we are still doing other blocks for gerawan farming.we have 2 d11's which are in use.well the price is 325 an hr,if you supply the diesel or if you want us to supply the diesel that is about 390..we usually do an hour an acre depending on the hardpan..in an hour the cat consumes about 28 to 31 gallons..we work all day and night,just stop for service in which time we go on lunch break.so we work around 22 hours a day.we get the job done as fast as possible and reliable as it can get..when your going that deep,there is no need to cross rip.thats just so the ends look decent and that the challenger wont break there axle when trying to disc it.


MR.CR,
you are talking about those 2 475's and 1 375 kamotsu's that Mr.Lock has and Iron Transport moves right?well yeah they have counterweight though kamotsu has to take there ripper off before being moved i guess from now..well yeah its a pain in the butt to take and put the U-blade on over and over.so we are looking for counterweight because it puts wear on the rear rollers.

Thanks for the video, great stuff. Looks like your operator keeps a pretty good line. Do you cut lands or turn right back to the last pass?
I have {heard} that some guys cut the width of the blade down {to use as a counterweight} and so they can get it all down the road in one piece????? That might have been D10's and even then, wouldn't there be a weight issue. Thanks, Don

CR, that's interesting what you tell bout slip plowing and hard pan. I've always heard that when you've hard pan then a slip plow is the only way to go because it moves the scattered hard pan more into a vertical direction. If you don't do this, the pieces will re-compact and form a hard layer again - at least that is what I've heard about it.
Here's a 1/87 model of a D11R with a scratchbuilt slip plow - maybe a squirt out there in the Ag business, but the it's the dang right tool if you need to rearrange your flower box.

Cheers,

Max

A&S & CR
Thanks for answering my questions about the job.
That brings a lot of insight into the practices for tree type plantings.
Some of the things you do not normally think about when just looking at the end results. (fruits and nuts).
Was your job opening new ground or replanting a previously exsisting orchard?
Do the almond trees die off with age or become less productive?

Along this line.
45-50k/acre to bring it on line.
How long until the first fruits/nuts?
How long to recover the intial investment?
What would be a typical return dollar wise per acre? +/- operating expenses.

Thanks
Dudley:)

4-5 years for first harvest
At least 10 years to come out of the red

O yea
Trees die off and you start loosing production after 25 - 30 years.

Usually you end up with big holes in the orchard, and your fixed costs eat up your profits. Right now there is a problem with blackline in walnuts that kills them off at the graft, usually when that comes in you need to rip them out before you infect the whole area. Almonds usually lose their roots and a big wind storm will start blowing trees over.

Removing an orchard costs about $500 an acre +/- depending on how much hand labor is needed to remove roots and sticks, not including the cost of plastic pipe removal, or releveling the field.

CR,
Thanks for the info.
Sounds like you have been there done that.

Would take some pretty deep pockets to get in. Or a family farm that has been passed down. Sure doesn't sound like you could justify starting from scratch. Have to buy and or build everything..

Cheers
Dudley

How about some pics of the big boys!! Love to see the big tracked 11!! And some good shots of the rippers!