# ATV Food Plot Equipment



## DaveK (Jul 15, 2002)

I am looking for some feedback on using my father's atv for creating food plots. I have a few questions if anyone has the time or knowledge to answer them. 

Questions:

Is a 350, 2 wheel drive Yamaha Moto capable of pulling a disk or plow for food plots in sandy soil?

His atv currently is setup with a regular ball hitch, is it easy and not expensive to set it up for either a sleeve hitch or 3 point?

I was considering purchasing a Brinly Disk or Plow sleeve hitch and somehow converting them to a ball hitch for the current atv setup. Is that possible and not expensive?

The reason I was looking at possibly using the Brinly products is because they are available through Home Depot or Meijer and can then hopefully avoid s&h charges. Also the Brinly products seem to be less expensive then other atv food plot equipment I've found. The Brinly products are for home gardens and are for garden tractors that are between 12 to 25 HP (depending on hitch).

Thanks,
DaveK


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Dave 

I'm not sure 2 wd can pull a plow but it should be able to pull a disc harrow. 

If you want to try a less expensive way of putting in food plots try Ed Spin's book. It is a step by step book using hand tools and planting methods without any tow behind equipment.

Look at the Mid-Michigan Branch of the QDMA web site.

http://qdma.net 

The site has information on food plot prep and planting using an ATV. Read the food plot section, it may help you decide. It also has info on how to order Ed's food plot book. I have it and it's one of the best books I have seen on planting food plots for deer.


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## DaveK (Jul 15, 2002)

Thanks for the feedback Luv2hunteup. I first discovered Ed's info (prebook material) through the QDMA webstite about 3 years ago. I also purchased his book last year. I have read Ed's material a few times over and will try the no till method this year for the first time. 

My father has had his atv for many years and no longer uses it. I do not have one and if I can get by with his I will. I don't have the $$ to buy a 4wd 500cc atv at this time. It seems that the quality of the food plot will be increased using an atv and equipment over the no till method. Over time I might even be able to build up the soil.

DaveK


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## Spinner1a (Mar 15, 2003)

I'm doing the exact same thing on my property and have researched the heck out of ATV implements.

The best products by far are Monro Tufline. Some products are rated for smaller cc ATV's.

Check them out http://www.monroetufline.com/

good luck


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## johnhunter (Jun 17, 2000)

A critical piece of equipment for food plots is a sprayer, plus boom attachment, and there are several on the market designed for quads. One unfortunate fact is that most of the good ones are only available via mail or the web, and you won't be able to examine them until you unpack 'em. 

My sprayer works fine, but my boom attachment, from Northern Tool, is pretty cheesy in my opinion. I attaches to the hitch, takes three hands to install, and didn't work at all until I fabricated a shim for it. Its lexan arms are held together with those plastic fastener straps (no kidding), and had to be reinforced within the first month's use. And the boom arms don't stay upright (they flop around, where they can cause problems) when you're motoring on your way to/from your site while the sprayer is idle.

If you decide to get a spreader for broadcasting seed or fertilizer, I prefer the tow-behind mechanical models over the 12-volt cylindrical products which attach to the rear rack. I had one of the latter, it was a true POS, crappy wiring, shorted out/blew fuses like crazy, and bent my rack when full of fertilizer. No such problem with the tow-behind models, which are also, thankfully, cheaper.

If you're interested in establishing clover, you'll need something to mow with. Perhaps someone with a tractor and bush hog can help you out. Otherwise, you may consider a trailcutter which can be pulled with your quad. Swisher products model T-44 appears to be a popular model. Northern Tool has a pretty good price on this one, or perhaps you can find a used model on eBay.

Actually, if you're talking clover, using Ed's method, you don't even need a disc. Just a sprayer, something to broadcast see/fertilizer with, and some kind of mower.


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## wild bill (Apr 20, 2001)

farmlegend, i have the same floppy sprayer for my quad.i put a metal rod on the backside of the arms to stop the flopping. i also drilled a small hole while in the up position through the arms and the mount and put in a pin to stop the arms from coming down when driving while not spraying. depending on the size of your plot a lawn/garden size disk will work. larger plots can be hard on a quad. its not so much as the quad cant pull the disk,its the amount of time your pulling it. long periods of pulling is hard on them.


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## DaveK (Jul 15, 2002)

Thanks for the feedback and keep it coming. I am going up to my my property today to spread some lime. I actually (and brother-in-law too) bought a new, it was never used, Earthway 3100 spreader for $2, plus $4 s&h, through Ebay. I still can't believe I got it at that price. I asked the guy what he wanted for it to make sure I met the reserve. He said he just wanted to get some stuff out of his garage and will take what he gets for them. He was selling 2 so I told my brother-in-law about the other one. But be careful on Ebay I had one guy sell me a Chapin 4 gallon backpack sprayer as 'new' but it had definitely been used a few times. He refunded me my money but I had to eat the cost of s&h back to him. Ebay is great, you just have to be careful! I ended up buying a RL-Flomaster 4 gallon backpack sprayer from Costco for $66. The only thing I need now is a chainsaw but I may just borrow one to save some $$. 

With the atv equipment I was looking towards next year and beyond. At the very least I'll want to try and use the atv (2wd, 350cc) to do some type of discing to build up the soil.


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## Bmac (Jul 7, 2002)

DaveK... I have a Polaris 500 4x4 I use for food plots. I have a Brinley plow w/ sleeve hitch and it works, but it definitely is a labor intensive process for larger plots. I have plenty of power with the 500, not sure but it would probably be hard for a 2wd. The sleeve hitch is definitely cheaper to set up than a 3 pt hitch on a ATV. I also have a small disc, 3 section drag, cultipacker, sprayer and spreader. I just brought home an old 2 row corn planter today. I also have a one row brinley corn planter I bought but have not used. I am probably going to sell the brinley planter so if you are interested let me know. I am in Montcalm County. I can also give some specifics on the setup of my ATV for the brinley hitch and conversion to a ball hitch.


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## DaveK (Jul 15, 2002)

Bmac thanks for the info. The Brinly disc was rated for a garden tractor that has between 12 to 25 hp. I figured that if a garden tractor could handle the disc, then the 350, 2 wd atv could as well. Maybe I am wrong though. That is why I started this thread. My food plots would not be larger than 1/2 to 1 acre each. I don't think that those would be considered big. 
The other question I have is how hard is it to use a disc on sandy soil that has not been disced before. I would plan on cutting down the trees but would I have to remove the roots before I can disc? I guess my question should be how much prep work do I need to do before I can disc the soil for the first time?


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## DaveK (Jul 15, 2002)

Bmac I forgot to take you up on your offer for specifics on the setup of an ATV for the brinley sleeve hitch conversion to a ball hitch. Especially in light of some recent findings (having to remove leaves from a no till plot for proper germination). Please make it as easy as possible on yourself. Whether you post here, save to Word doc and email it to me, or some other way. 

Thanks for the offer on the corn planter but I'll have to pass. I think (hope) the Brinly disc should get the job done. 

DaveK


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