Is there a secret set of equipment for small fields?

[CaptGoodvibes]

I'm new so forgive me if this has been spoken of ad nauseam.

I have a very fun time with this game/sim and the maps are mostly very inspiring. I don't find much difficulty navigating the small, tree-lined fields just east of the Lone Oak home farm near the pond. What I don't know is how to deal with fields smaller than those. I've tried several maps with small fields and little margin between the field edge and a fence or shrub with collisions on.

I wonder if folks could lay out the equipment they would use in these conditions? The crop don't matter. I'm still stuck on plowing and seeding without rage quitting because I'm frustrated.

FWIW, I can work a front loader and bale spike and do manual storage all day so I don't think it's an issue with my ability to be precise or repetitive.

[Dixie Farmer]

Have a look at how farmers do it in the real world (well the UK at least), when seeding/cultivating, you do the up and down the field runs first but stopping before the edge, leaving yourself plenty of room to turn around and line up the next pass, when you get all the way across the field, you drive around the edge of the field in circles until you get all the bits you missed. It’s called a headland.

Try it with mounted equipment instead of trailed to make the turning part a lot easier.

[blue_painted]

I'm going to have a wild guess here, that you are trying to plough or drill the fields right up to the hedge with no headland?

Typically what I do is pick the longest side of the field and work that way. I stop short at the end of the works, giving myself enough room to turn on the headlands. For a plough I'd typically turn in three moves: Lift the plough and turn away from the worked land. Flip the plough over while reversing on full opposite lock. Pull forward, lining up in the open furrow, while letting the plough down. When I've worked all the lands, then work over the headlands, pretty much at right angles to the long direction.

For combining it's the reverse: Work around the field clockwise (puts the pipe/auger over the cut crops) for three or four bouts, to give more turning room. Then pick the longest work and cut out lands until the field is done.

[Dixie Farmer]

Haha that was funny, yeah good point about the harvesting Blue_painted. Also what real farmers do to avoid damaging the auger on trees.

[blue_painted]

Haha that was funny, yeah good point about the harvesting Blue_painted. Also what real farmers do to avoid damaging the auger on trees.

Two minds with a single thought, although yours was probably easier to understand.

[eric21]

I think hes asking what equipment do you use for small fields?

[blue_painted]

I think hes asking what equipment do you use for small fields?

Ah yes, good point.

But to be honest I don't think the equipment really makes the difference: You could probably work Somerset Farms with a NH T9 or the JD 9R is you wanted, you'd just end up leaving a higher proportion of the ground to headland.

[Yeahrightio]

How come you don't cultivate around your paddock 3 or 4 times and then go back and forth. Then once you come to the headland, you turn around on the dirt you first cultivated.

[Illinois Farmer]

That would depend if you have a drag behind you, otherwise you would be creating tracks where you cultivated and ruin your seed bed. Chisel plowing is similar in creating compaction in chisel ground, but seeding you can seed the endrows first then go back and forth.

[Yeahrightio]

Are we towing trailed equipment or linkage equipment?

[Yeahrightio]

We always go around with no trouble, but we go around and around the whole paddock, with sound a big X to finish off the turns. Another suggestion is that you paint grass to make you feild a tad bit smaller, but it provides headland room away from the boundary.

[iwan073]

Is there a secret set of equipment for small fields?

Yes, there is. But I’m not allowed to speak to you about it

[Dixie Farmer]

Ooh like fight club.

[BoxTunnel]

Ooh like fight club.

You just broke the first rule...

[CaptGoodvibes]

You guys are freaking awesome! This has to be the most polite forum I've ever joined, and I've been discussing things online since the Usenet days. Cheers!

Okay, first of all, this came about when I loaded The Old Stream Farm map and tried to deal with the home farm fields. One is easy, the other... impossible.

I'll try the suggestions above. Is a headlands the same as endrows?

Thanks!