Creating The Perfect Farm By Moving 7000 Yards Of Dirt

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#Farm #Illinois #Fall #Harvest #FarmingSimulator22
Andy "aTrippyFarmer" Dole is a 6th generation farmer from Central Illinois. On this farm, Andy works alongside his father, Marty, his uncles, Chris and Jeff, and his sister, Katie, to grow corn and soybeans on some of the finest dirt in the world. Andy and his family are deeply rooted in the area, operating a large farm that traces it origins back into the 1800s. Although some tracts did not stand the test of time, Andy and his family still grow corn and soybeans on fields that have been in the family for longer than even the oldest members of the farm have been alive. We do, we have, and we always will take tremendous pride in calling this piece of paradise our home. Andy was a Bronze Tablet graduate of the University of Illinois in the field of Crop Sciences, following the same path as his father and late grandfather.
It would be misleading for Andy to claim that this life is one that came by chance; rather, as a member of two multi-generational farm families, it was simply in his blood. His passion for agriculture traces back to his early youth--some of his fondest, earliest memories being of days spent riding in the combine with his father and grandfather. Although his understanding of the lifestyle was much less complex in the beginning, the love he has for farming, and its industry has only appreciated through time. As this dream blossomed into adulthood, Andy now works relentlessly, and tirelessly, to chase his own dreams and to build a farming operation of his own alongside his family.
We, as a whole operation, are handymen, electricians, mechanics, landscapers, accountants, economists, caretakers, stewards, and, most importantly, farmers, and we take an incredible amount of pride in our work. There is no challenge too overwhelming, no situation too stressful, and no problem too difficult for us to take on, and we want to take you along with us. Welcome to our farm and welcome to our lives. You have the best seat in the house to watch the everyday chaos of farming unfold--we usually only get concerned when things aren't going wrong!
Follow Andy on Social Media for Live Updates:
Twitter: / atrippyfarmer
Facebook: / atrippyfarmer
Instagram: / atrippyfarmer

[@wayneinnc5379]

It is so refreshing to see you in a real tractor!!

[@mitchbeaverson3028]

Started precision leveling with Trimble WM Drain and a box scraper in Northwest Ohio a few years ago. Have 120 acres precision leveled so far. Makes tiling much easier and more effective. Liebrecht Manufacturing family wrote the book on it in my neck of the woods.

[@toddschmidt7980]

Finally got quality equipment on the farm.

[@gregorygilmont304]

Greetings from the STICKS in North County San Diego,California. We move dirt so we can pack people in huge density to maximize. As you often mention😂 ITS ALLLL ABOUT ROI....😊

[@cocodriefarms4788]

As a precision leveling contractor in south Louisiana, this is fascinating to see y’all do this in the northern states. Seen many tiling videos from up north but not much dirt shifting. Wish the dirt on most of my projects were that good! Very nice material!

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Thanks for the comment! I am a novice, but I thought it turned out pretty nice.

[@xray606]

Even here in L.A., we went from having about a dozen electronic supply stores in the valley... to zero, in less than a decade. Pretty ridiculous. But the internet killed them all. I work in RF tech, and I have to 100% order every single component nowadays.

[@BruceBergman]

Female to male coaxial cable adapters are something Radio Shack was good for. 20:26

[@wry569]

It was a great video. What farmer doesn't like to see engineered drainage improvement. And there is nothing better, and to a certain extent, more relaxing than good equipment working a good plan in good dirt. Looking forward to watching Spring work.

[@bulen24]

We started putting our own ground to grade in Southern Illinois 4 years ago. Much cheaper than putting tile in the ground and dealing with the ongoing maintenance issues with tile that no one wants to talk about. We use all John Deere GPS with T3rra cutta for our land grading. If you could add a carry or ejector pan to the front of that ralse your speed and efficiency will increase.

[@GraemeCox]

OptiSurface is far smarter than Terra so you don’t need to move as much soil and therefore don’t need as much bucket capacity and it saves a lot of compaction.

[@jamesashley3827]

Thanks Happy New Year to the Dole farm

[@billcowart589]

Happy New Year to you and your family. Enjoy every video thanks for sharing them with us

[@jordans5218]

Interesting way at implementing new strategies on a farm. Great video and explanation.

[@rauloropeza7496]

Happy New Year a TrippyFarmer thank you for videos they are the best

[@johnbaumiller6049]

Andy: thats an outstanding project. My head is still spinning on how you accomplished it. Cool Video. Happy New Year. Be Well. John from SD.

[@tomnugent845]

Andy, we start our drainage work with the surface. If we can get surface water off, the tile works faster and better. Our goal is to get water off the surface in 24 hours.

[@elkhound38]

Tom - this is something I need to look more into on my farms. My grandpa ran a buckeye through our fields, building multiple systems, but other than building some structures, we never dabbled in a surface job like this. I can think of a few fields this might augment the tile very well. Thanks for sharing and helping me validate my thoughts. Andy as always great video. So much can be gained by doing these projects most people don't want to do. Cheers!

[@wilfreddueck2052]

My experience with moving such an amount of dirt is that you need to build it back up for two years before you are there where you want it to be but depends on how much top soil there is. Happy new year to you and your family Andy

[@CharlesLScofieldJr]

You mentioned possibly building a new shop building. You might cherck out the videos the Millenial Farm did on their new shop building. It was pretty cool, It has about a 60 foot bi-fold entrence door. It may have a couple other large doors on the side of the building also. Room permitting I think having the 60 foot bi-fold entrence doors on each end of the building might make for getting equipment in and out of the building a lot easier. Sorta like a C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft, drive in and drive out. Backing equipment is where accidents tend to happen.

[@toddschmidt7980]

Finally got Quality on the farm!

[@dougblasberg8244]

I'm not sure how many inches of top soil was relocated from the former high spots. My main concern would be removing so much that you would be down into "sterile" soil. Meaning less organic matter and lower fertility and less micro biology activity than what was previously above it. Being a dairyman myself, I'd spread manure on those spots pretty heavily over the next few years to help get that new soil healthy. Good video.

[@bryanswing135]

I think this video was great. I love seeing equipment working in the field doesn't matter what color it is. The drone shots are very cool. Again,Thanks for sharing.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@thomass5924]

In Monroe County IL we don't have 1 ft of drain tile on our farm we put in ditches for drainage and it works just as well.

[@Dmenbiker]

Awesome, great video...

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed it!!

[@stanuphoff3615]

The red paint looks good!

[@randydehne8866]

Excellent content

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Much appreciated!!!

[@davidthorne2129]

G’day Andy. You you people have it easy. When I was at AG college here in Australia we had to survey a plot with theodolite and staff and then work out soil movement needed for .75% slope for rice paddy Fluff factor of scraped soil needed to be taken into account as well. To do the actual work the scrapers used laser (very new and extremely expensive in late 70’s) levels and the operator had to control height by hand (no computer controls back then). It’s so easy now.

[@b_lumenkraft]

That cut/fill map is amazing. That is some cool job to shape the land like that. Hope it works as advertised. Keep us updated on that, please.

[@GraemeCox]

Another comment. For best results you should do your final scraper pass in the main direction of water flow (North South in this design) and also farm in this direction, otherwise the small ridge left by machinery wheels and implements will inhibit the surface drainage.

[@b_lumenkraft]

@@GraemeCox Great tip!

[@chrissyfrancis8952]

This process makes sense to me, same theory as grading an area like a parking lot for drainage. Ben from IowANFarmer almost gets almost giddy about field drainage/tiling. He has the equipment & even travels to help other farmers. Everything I’ve learned about field drainage came from Ben & the “Master pipe layer”& yes, it’s very expensive.

[@ataglance556]

Andy this episode sure was a mission for you bud, hope that everything get better moving forward, and now that I think of it, could be the JD tractor heard you said the CHASE tractor was nice and got a bit jelly, that's why the low voltage message....., figures.... lol 🙂, stay safe, stay awesome bud until next time, please tell the family and crew hi for me please and thank you 🙂

[@ferdystrik4629]

You guys need to come to Holland end see how we do this every piece of land is flat end the top soil is everywhere the same end all the tile are laid on gps end lazer level

[@paulmccoy1789]

One wire brings the whole operation to a stop.

[@jamielee9350]

The Deere was getting it's own back on you for playing in the Case 🤣🤣🤣🚜🚜🚜

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Haha that maybe true!

[@stevekissel605]

Welcome to our world. We Lazer everything because our water comes from a ditch. Great video 👍 👍

[@AgriCHR]

Bel video. Bravo. Bei mezzi 👍👍👋👋💪💪🚜🇮🇹🔝

[@gordondavies-morris649]

That was very interesting. You don’t see that here in the uk.

[@morganreeder109]

The way the soil piled up and ran over the front of the scraper, that tractor could pull a much larger scraper. I pull a 12 foot scaper with a 230Hp tractor. The tractor doesn't have enough power to pile up the soil like that tractor did. I have owned it since the mid 90's so I have a laser set up. A neighbor used the scraper last fall and he put a GPS system on it supplied by Deere. It was a slick system and did a good job for him. I use the scraper to level our fields for flood irrigation. Out here in the western deserts you see a lot of it. I have fields that we had to cut 3 feet off of small corners. Of course those areas have taken several years to build OM back and some areas still suffer after 20 years because they just don't grow enough biomass. But without leveling there wouldn't be any water reach those areas to grow anything. So 6 of one or half a dozen of the other, but manure applications make a big difference if you can get it. I would think in Illinois your top soil is deeper so if you take a foot off the top you won't even notice it. Leveling for drainage makes a lot of sense. No high spots or low spots. Nice even water without any underground pipe that needs maintenance. Nice job. It is a big time investment that will pay off for many years to come.

[@kevinsiedschlag429]

Plant with the grade, n cultivate throwing a lot of dirt, will help erase any mistakes or settlement in deep fill areas

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Thanks for the tip!

[@donham512]

laser leveling is common here in calif ... very important here to irrigate evenly, reduce labor, and conserve water ... we usually level twice to take care of settlement .... i would think that you should do this leveling before putting is tile ... here tile is installed for high water table fields ... good luck

[@USSBB62]

In the Central Valley of California if you're putting in an Orchard you wouldn't think of not Laser Leveling after Deep Ripping to 6ft. or more. When you want to sweep up the Nuts. It has to be Dead Level.

[@truthfilterforyoutube8218]

Your alternator issue seems to be a " Harness Bad/dirty ground". This will also explain why the original alternator packed it in....bad ground = low voltage / excess heat

[@alexisflores6048]

I see a lot of scraping out in California!

[@thr8061]

Trevor Bales from YT's Bales Hay Farm & Ranch can talk alot about planing/scraping/leveling land. They do all their fields in AZ because they flood irrigate.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

That's like a whole different world in terms of farmland... they are playing a different game than us, though there are definitely similarities.

[@rogerhodges7656]

Land planing is very common in the south. Because of the different nature of the soils, tiling in not effective and surface grading is the only method that works.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Yep. I think the surface is the most efficient place to remove the water, especially if you have tighter soils!

[@adamwiseman5831]

The case quads shift really smooth and fast. You can skip gears quickly.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I've heard that from a few different people. I noticed it when driving in the field!

[@ricksebree4659]

It’s about time you got some real bourse power

[@nefarmer]

The easiest way to stop power hop? Get a Case IH Quad!!!😂 Good video, keep it up!!👍

[@edwardmonken4562]

Case quad trac setup with a gs4 is probably the most ideal tractor setup there is! love the red tractor absolutely hate their gps and mapping systems!

[@aTrippyFarmer]

That tractor would've been more fun with a Gen 4 Deere display!!!

[@KALI1080]

I've worked as a technician at a New Holland dealership and now a John Deere dealership. I love to see the comparisons between the Deere and CNH tractors! Has the 9620r needed a rocker arm PIP done? I have been hammering through those about 1 a month and every one needed a new camshaft. I've learned that the Cummins powered tractors seem to eat alternators. There is an update I read about that adds a smooth idler pully between the A/C compressor and the alternator pulleys.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

This alternator ends up getting replaced as well. Other than that, I don't believe it has any issues, but it is still young in terms of hours. A lot of those fixes are Fix If Fails, so we never know that it could be an issue until it breaks!

[@KALI1080]

@@aTrippyFarmer The rocker arm PIP is a mandatory PIP and if damage to the camshaft is found it gets replaced as well. There is a serial # range for all of this of course.

[@milesmcdonald4367]

Just found out someone I know down in Georgia is from mattoon!

[@marcusvanvorhis4646]

I gotta ask what you think of the Nexat that’s now in the U.S

[@ryangroen1697]

👍been some time

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Glad to see you in the comments!

[@joeheneghan9375]

I see the six Harvestores on the farm, what is the back story on those?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

They were originally put up to hold cattle feed. We used to have a lot more before the family sold off the herd.

[@michaelsteimel8737]

Could you do a cost breakdown per acre?

[@kymcfarlin8948]

Were im from u see that regularly rice farm is more efficient when leveling has taken place we use levee to hold water on the crop topo is taken then loaded to a computer and it generates the grade u want then load to a jump drive load it to the tractor and it shows u were the levees go sounds like a lot but pretty simple now days sure beats the old way of surveying the land with a instrument a lot faster now the flater the better for rice but we grow beans to so if u get to flat water has problems getting off so if u grow beans u better off with a little bit of grade we fight what u fighting alot have to surface drain everything u have to get the shovel out and dig it off sometimes

[@bladewiper]

So now, regardless of brand, that you have run a track tractor, has this made you any more interested in getting one ?

[@williamhelland3914]

I’m jealous. Howmuchy?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I'm not sure what you're asking exactly. The tractor is probably $400,000. Scraper and GPS hardware together is probably close to $100,000. It was about 75 hours worth of work in this field to complete the process.

[@iamafarmerntx]

What kind of drone do you use?

[@joellair8023]

Tiling makes perfect farms

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Tiling is the best investment for the person that buys the farm next... 😒

[@joellair8023]

@@aTrippyFarmer sign long term lease

[@billuphoff1021]

I'd love to demo! I can send my contact info later

[@brucegay4847]

Should be 24 v system in that tractor.

[@polarisman09]

Removal of a foot of dirt would Destroy cropping for several years

[@aTrippyFarmer]

It depends on the soil profile!

[@brandonm6052]

Be interesting for you to run a grain cart with a red tractor. That single function handle for speed and gear shifting is handy. I've run both colors and find different uses for each style. I work for a land management company and I see we have no farms in that area. Based on your choice of language with owner and land manager do you guys custom farm this piece versus cash rent or crop share?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

It is more of a custom arrangement, but it isn’t a standard one. There are some very unique aspects to it.

[@wry569]

In one recent video Andy talked about the landowner being disappointed in yields because it was a share rent. At least that is what I think it was....could be wrong.

[@brandonm6052]

@@wry569 Ya as a farm manager just the last 4 years, I'm always looking to do things to improve arrangements between both parties. I have one landowner where he wanted to run an 80/20 custom arrangement. The farmer gets 20% of the crop instead of payed per task. This year that paid out VERY well. Other years it may be tighter or be dependent on marketing. I'm still trying to feel that out to make sure it's fare to the operator and not exorbitant to the owner.

[@twinman08]

How much does a Trimble system cost?

[@redclover51]

Will the land owner establish new fertility grids since considerable soil has been relocated.

[@agger838]

So did u have to run the hydraulics at all in the dirt pan? Did u just drive down each ab line until the elevation was in the green?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I ran the dump plate to push dirt forward if the pan was almost empty. Other than that, the elevation is pretty much automatic, other than messing with your offset if you need to run higher to cut less or fill more.

[@rickk6447]

Check the battery cables! I have a car that if it’s not set perfect the positive and negative and it’s not getting a perfect connection it will not charge. The bouncing is the real clue, only when the battery gets low does it start showing up. Trust me that dang battery and the cables, I put in at least three alternators in two years only to find out they were good, it was a bad connection on the positive post. Like I said, if it’s not turned perfect and there’s marks on the positive cable end and the battery, the car will not start! Check the cable connections on the positive and negative connectors near the battery and the alternator. What’d Lenny get for Xmas? A John Deere tractor?

[@patrickaherne3598]

Thanks for this very interesting video. I'd like to know how much the time and diesel cost and how you are expecting to see the payback in returns?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

At most, I would estimate there is a gross expense of $250-300 per acre. Typically, you see your largest returns from drainage in soybeans. If it brings the farm average up 10 bushels per acre on 100 acres, that is 1000 bushels of soybeans. Current prices of $14 per bushel make that worth $14,000 for 1 season. At $300 per acre, the entire project would be $30,000. That would take 3 years to return on your investment using fixed numbers. Farming is never that simple, though!

[@patrickaherne3598]

@@aTrippyFarmer You'd hope the improved drainage would give other benefits, like being able to get in the field sooner, too.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

@@patrickaherne3598 yes good point. It’s hard to quantify things like that!

[@billuphoff1021]

How do you like you boots?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

They’ve actually been really solid so far. I haven’t really put them through the ringer, but they’ve been really comfortable!

[@paulprillwitz9901]

👍👍👍👍👍👍❤

[@lloydgeransky7714]

If you cut to much topsoil will you not be down to clay and obviously you can't grow much on clay hard pan?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

In some places, you will definitely cut out the top later of soil. We are betting that the process is a net positive based on the mitigation of water damage during the growing season.

[@butterbeanfarmer7952]

It did say John Deere on the door

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I saw that... must be some kind of loophole!

[@chrissyfrancis8952]

I saw it too Andy, was confused.

[@neihtholmes9407]

A real tractor

[@mungogerryjnr]

PEACE😂😎🇦🇺

[@philrizzo]

Is that a single or multi grade design?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I’m not sure that I know what your asking… it is all designed with minimum and maximum parameters. I would assuming that at any given point there could be a different true slope based on the natural topography of the land.

[@thomaslomeo2736]

Tripp Master.. Master farmer of the farming industry… don’t you have to strip the topsoil before you make your initial cuts… or is everything just mixing with everything… just asking..

[@wry569]

There are videos of tile jobs in Illinois where topsoil is several feet deep. Don't know but it might not make that much difference if topsoil stockpiled then re-spread. One thing for sure, no weed seed in the cut areas (maybe)

[@thomaslomeo2736]

@@wry569 Roger that… Didn’t think of that

[@connellyslandmanagement725]

Well for starter don’t bend your tripod

[@aTrippyFarmer]

Good advice!

[@frankcooper6911]

I'm not Getting Bell Rings on your output !!!

[@aTrippyFarmer]

This video is from last fall. You never know with KZbin. The notifications seem to be optional on their end even if you opt into them. Thanks for watching!

[@AKsnowball]

Why didn’t you just park your pickup close and use pickup battery

[@johnkruger3661]

Time to realize there are tractors as good as or better than J.D.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I never thought there wasn't!

[@JustusLanders]

I hate moving dirt with a passion

[@rypkepaulusma]

Case is great. Fendt is great. JD is... ok. But boy, don't have an issue with a JD, because most of the time you will have to dismantle half the vehicle to only get to a culprit part. And JD's sadly to say do have their fair amount of issues. Not to speak of 'intellectual ownership', 'closed systems' and 'right to repair'. Great video though.

[@cashking8056]

if you can run that scraper with gps there should be absolutely no reason you cant run a tile plow

[@aTrippyFarmer]

None of that equipment was our own... I think I could run a tile plow without too much studying, but I would need more help!

[@larryhofer8853]

I feel sorry for you for having to drive a case if you're used to Deere

[@rickk6447]

So your working on a horizontal plain, but your going vertical to GPS 😂 it stands for God’s Positioning System! See God wants all of us to be on an even plain, where he plucks us off one by one until the big day happens.lol yes, the catching away of the church. Yes, everything we do is GPS, so he knows where we’re at at all times!lol

[@mowsgrass7747]

Lol he said shhhbbbeeeeep

[@bobrat]

Hey Trippy check out the Nexat on @ag with Emma

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I saw that video... pretty interesting tool!

[@bobrat]

@@aTrippyFarmer maybe you could get a demo unit and become a video spokesperson 😀

[@aTrippyFarmer]

@@bobrat I’m always open to try anything once!

[@bobrat]

@@aTrippyFarmer Best wishes to you and your Family in 2023 peace 👍