because the last years flooding and the fact that it is still wet and boggy with more rain on the way i have decided to take the blade off of my D4 6u and put rear remotes on it so i can plant some acres that i can't get over with my wheel tractor. i was planning on using a small tandem disk in front of a 16-8 grain drill and then some sort of drag behind that. the soil is light sandy loam and i don't need to till heavy just skim and plant. is there any advice from anyone i need to know or consider before i try this? do you think the 6U has enough power traction to do this? i have no experience farming with tracks.

An old spring tooth with a light drag behind works good too. Just scratches the top crust and levels a little.

The heavy 9 inch spaced offset disc was the most used tillage implement in the neighborhood back in the day. The 9 3/4 or 10 1/2 foot disc's were what was used behind a D4 from the RD to the 6u,7u. days. So with lighter 7 inch spacing a 1/3 larger would be common. Most of the country here gets steep as well lots of clay.*** But more soil types in my county than some Midwestern states.Even the dirt in California is mixed up crazy.:

So your load should be no problem. But you mention soft boggy ground,( I assume your not doing much acreage) to keep head ache down I might suggest you not try doing it in one pass.Hopefully it will all be fun and not become work you don't want.

You might try a broadcast seeder for one pass, then a light disc with a roller should be all you need. We have seeded then covered with a spring tooth and a harrow in heavy adobe, it works well in conditions you describe, not in dry. good luck, and have some fun farming on tracks!

You should have no problem pulling the Load you described with Tracks!
Yes to taking the Blade off!

thanks fellas that is kind of how i had it figured but the only experience i have in the field is with tires. lucky i saved some of the old machinery.

i'm not sure of the condition of your seedbed or soil, but when using minimal equipment it can be tough to stay ahead of the weeds.

-in the spring i like to disk or use a cultivator, wait a few days and then another light pass, just enough to knock down the weeds, then seed ASAP...and harrow in lightly....that way your crop will have the least competition...

-as someone already mentioned, always pull a harrow or drag behind when possible...and work the field the way it will be harvested...

I farm on sandy loam well drained. It can't rain enough to keep my D2 5J from pulling what it is rated for, but it is on 22 inch track shoes--ultra low ground pressure. I'd say if it is dry enough to not bog down your equipment, the D4 will probably keep going, especially if it is on wide shoes. If your equipment is rolling up mud, I doubt you are going to get much of a seeding job anyway.

BTW, I pulled a 7-1/2 ft. JD offset disk with 26"{I think} conical blades set well down in orchard covercrop spring discing, and it rains a lot here in the spring!

Having a big enough horse should not be a problem if it is dry enough to seed. I pull a 14 ft JD tandem disc with my Cat 22 in second gear with no issue in clay soil.

lucky i still have some of the old farm equipment. i have a krause 13 foot offset disc and a krause 13 foot light tandem disc a couple of case 5-16 drag plows a case and a krause chisel,and some drag harrow. i even still have a nice 21 foot Noble spring tooth. i think the D4 might work with some of this stuff. but my main focus right now is to just try and get some Jap millet to growing for forage crop on this wet farm. i will probably at this point use a broadcast spreader and harrow at the very least but if i can i want to pull the tandem disc with a drill and harrow in one trip. should be interesting because i have never farmed with steel tracks before.