FARGO, N.D. – As more farmers try vertical tillage with waved coulters, their old chisel plows are ending up in the bush or the scrap metal yard.
Ron Tschetter thinks that’s a waste of good cultivator frames. He added that buying a new coulter implement is also a waste of a farmer’s money if he still has the old chisel plow parked.
“I think most farmers still have their chisel plow sitting somewhere out in the trees. These things never wear out, no matter how old they are or what brand they were,” Tschetter said.
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“So why would I spend money on a brand new vertical tillage machine if I can find an economical way to convert my old chisel plow?”
He said there are good reasons that vertical tillage with waved coulters has made the chisel plow obsolete. Soil disturbance and power requirements are two chief factors. But the old frame is not obsolete, he said.
“Now that I’ve been using a coulter on my wheat stubble, I find it does a better job of spreading residue than a jumbo drag. Then your weeds get started and you spray with Roundup,” said the farmer from Carpenter, S.D.
“Another thing is my soybean stubble. It needs to be chopped up fine before you seed into it again. The waved coulters do an excellent job of that.
“But the main reason I went to coulters is the corn. Those Bt (corn) stalks are so tough. It’s difficult to no till into that corn stubble. You need to cut up those stalks.”
A wet spring provides another reason for vertical tillage. Tschetter goes in with the waved coulters set about one inch deep. This shallow pass aerates the soil surface so he can seed the next day.
Tschetter’s coulter conversion fits any brand or age of chisel plow. He said it’s designed so it even works with old frames that don’t lift high.
“You use the same shank. Just remove your old point or sweep. Then just bolt on the new hub and the two coulters. I only sell boron-hardened blades, so they last about twice as long as regular steel blades,” he said.
“I put four big roller bearings in the hub. They’re inch and a half bearings. No other company anywhere uses four bearings. They all use just two bearings. We have grease zerks so it’s easy to keep the bearings lubricated. And we have a cap over the hub so string and residue don’t get into the bearings.”
Tschetter said another thing he does differently is that every component is steel, not cast iron.
The cost per kit is $325. This includes two 18 inch, 13 wave, boron-hardened coulters.
For more information, contact Ron Tschetter at 605-266-2177 or visit www.ronsmfg.com.
