Let's dig a dugout!

[@blessedandhappy3921]

You commented on that swiveling bucket several times, wouldn’t surprise me to see one of those on the Mitchell homestead before long. Thanks for taking us along with you today. God Bless and prayers for you and your family.

[@ronkeking97]

How come no one uses a rotortilt in the US?

[@Agrovasco]

Hope all is well and getting excited for planting!!

[@tylercruit6261]

I can't even comprehend 8-10ft frost lines. Here in Illinois I had to hand dig down about 40 inches to install a frost proof hydrant. Glad to see it's back on track.

[@LLImprovement]

Guy is brave using a grading bucket to dig frost out.

[@kopenhagenkid]

Good luck getting your dugout dug Mike

[@jamescollins4260]

That’s really a Hitachi excavator with Deer colors and stickers

[@kopenhagenkid]

Great video Mike

[@dragonragenl]

Nice yellow Hitachi 💪🏻

[@gavinperry7237]

Glad to see you got the tractor running so you have some place to stay warm

[@paulhardy7561]

Hi Mike great vid again. Could we please have update from main yard regarding drill maintenance and sprayer overall ( or no arrivals) , it be great to see all your drills on tractors again especially anticipation of what you driving this year!!! Hope your wife and son doing well. Good luck with new water hole.

[@mikemitchell2554]

Those videos are prb still just about a month out here yet, but they are coming 👌

[@paulhardy7561]

@@mikemitchell2554 Cool, thanks for replying 👍

[@dmlyonsdl]

Have you guys ever found anything historical whilst working the land? 🇬🇧

[@bigun447]

Mike's "Lake Skinny Dip" for future fun.

[@koolman2021]

Awesome video thanks for sharing ❤️

[@jamesv1277]

Morning yall

[@crandonborth]

Mike a 350 G is a 80,000 Lbs or 40 Ton machine with 271 Hp so it’s bigger that you thought.

[@joefredette7253]

In Canada that’s only 35 tonnes. We use metric tonnes and not an imperial ton. One tonne is 2205lbs as opposed to a ton of 2,000lbs. We like to make things complicated like that. 😃

[@recklessbehaviour01]

Morning

[@michelpicton8357]

Great content

[@johnnylindsey5808]

good job

[@bigooooooooooooooooooooooo3446]

Now you got a big outdoor swimming pool

[@planeiron241]

great vid 👍👍👍👍👍

[@sotasipper1213]

The third person is tuff. I recommend ivers farms!!!!

[@FarmingBros]

You think that bucket is cool Mike, you should look at an Encon tilt rotator bucket now that's cool.

[@sotasipper1213]

Cat is the second 2 numbers

[@davidgirvan6007]

Mike, amazing that this freeze/thaw process, year after year, will be what creates your fertile soils. Some of the deeper material may not have seen the light of day for millions of years. Since before the ice sheets covered Canada perhaps 🤔

[@darrylpaulhus3069]

Ice age was about 10,000 years ago

[@BillStecik]

Unless you own a caterpillar and then its the last 2 numbers

[@johnpatton3656]

Warm spells above 0c between cold below -25c will also drive frost down and cause shifting in traffic areas.

[@wssides]

The frost goes deepest during spring thaw when the thawing on top drives the cold deeper.

[@cat_22295]

the bucket attached is a wrist bucket

[@recklessbehaviour01]

Plant wheat Mike, and lots of it. Global shortage coming. Should mean good prices for you.

[@mikemitchell2554]

That's true, unless everyone thinks the same thing, which means something isn't getting planted 🤔 so what's the sleeper going to be

[@spideybrent]

Hello Mike great videos

[@kaziwill]

Machines are measured in "Metric" Tonnes, which isn't the usual 2000 lbs. I believe a metric tonne is 2,200 lbs. so, that's a big machine..

[@kevinwilson868]

I operated backhoe and frost is the worst to dig through

[@agespottoo8910]

There is an art to digging frost...........Mike did he use a hook to get started.

[@ernestreason1732]

Mike, ideally the sides of your dugout should not be steeper than 3:1. If you plan on watering livestock, the end slopes should not be steeper than 4:1. Steep slopes will slump over time decreasing the capacity and depth of your dugout. A shallow dugout will reduce the quality of the water since it will warm-up quicker which promotes algae and aquatic weed growth. As Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story…..

[@claudreindl7275]

I guess that there is enough clay content in the earth to keep the dugout water from just seeping down. Seems like it would still dry up though unless the adjoining ground slopes towards the dugout.

[@rogermeacham2051]

Soil look good, deep soil.. the home place dugout is doubling as a water ski canal?

[@ernestreason1732]

Ideally, Mike should have gone in the a backhoe first and dug out a few test pits to ensure there is moderately fine textured ( i.e. clayish) material to the total depth of the dugout. Otherwise the water will indeed seep-out. If isolated sand pockets are identified, they can often be dug out and backfilled with clay material.

[@wssides]

@@ernestreason1732 History and the willows already told him that this low spot doesn't dry up very often. Like he told us, this slough usually has 5 feet of water in it at the end of summer. He lucked out and had a dry fall that has let him dig without taking out the ice and water first.

[@ernestreason1732]

@@wssides You can still hold 5 feet of water with a couple of feet of impermeable clay. But if you hit sand layers at greater depths (i.e. 10 to 14 feet), the water will seep out of the dugout..

[@ernestreason1732]

@@wssides To take this a bit further Bill, the bottom of a slough is not necessarily a good place to construct a dugout (ideally, move to the side). If you look carefully at the excavation, you will see a very thick layer of black soil. This black layer is organic material accumulated from dead plant material over potentially hundreds of years and is very high in nutrients (i.e., phosphorous, nitrogen, etc). You may expect an abundance of aquatic weeds and algae in the dugout (poor quality water) from this nutrient layer.

[@jimhanifer1177]

Mike if you want to increase your speed on it dugout I would definitely be using some off-road trucks and not worry about pushing with a dozer you can move the material anywhere you want I'm 6 wheel drive off-road trucks will go anywhere just about and that way you can dig it twice as fast and only move it one time and if you want cattle to going to The dugout you need a 4 to 1 slope all the way around we use excavator off-road truck and then the dozer to shape the pile or or wherever you're putting the dirt have a good day

[@mikeznel6048]

No you use 3 times the fuel. Dozer is made to push dirt. Hail truck would need another operator, more fuel, the excavator wouldn’t be running nonstop and you still need the dozer to finish grade.

[@kenhofer8063]

@@mikeznel6048 ur getting more clueless by the minute

[@jimhanifer1177]

I would still get the whole truck have the man running the dozer run both the way you have your pile long ways be very hard for the dozer man to push straight he'll have to pull it back or the whole man's going to have to pull it back so the dozer man can have a straight push I would agree with you about the fuel what the cold weather and everything you would speed the process up by bailing the dirt once instead of pushing it many times especially the way you have your pile if you did it with wives it'd be a straight push for the dozer man and I would agree with it have a good day

[@richardschipper5989]

you don't use haul truck to move dirt a 100ft

[@halwilliams1682]

With frost that deep I wonder what settlers did when there was a death. I assume they had to wait for spring thaw?

[@wssides]

Varied .But strong men with picks could handle some soils depending on how dry they were. A lot of fires were started and banked to thaw a few inches at a time. Established cemeteries soon had hedges and trees that trapped blowing snow which insulated the ground so frost might be only a few inches if snow came early in the fall.

[@rolandvachon9848]

Can the dugout be a source of water for fire-fighting and would that help reduce your insurance rates for any nearby buildings ? Also, I believe that you said the Cat was a D-6. That's a lot of work for that size of dozer. I am surprised they wouldn't want a D-8 or 9 for that job.

[@mikeznel6048]

No a d6 high track is just the right size for that. That’s a big dozer.

[@kenhofer8063]

@@mikeznel6048 u don’t have a clue

[@wssides]

@@kenhofer8063 When Dad had a dugout made in the 1940s it was done with a D-4 and a scraper. In the 50s he had a neighbour with a 20 hp John Deere crawler dig a large sewage lagoon. Size and power helps with speed but doesn't affect results. Price? Depends on labour costs/cubic meter.

[@cromotocciano]

if you made it a competition you could call it a dugout dig off

[@tommurphy6062]

Must be doing serious damage to the machine in that temperature and the frozen ground

[@jackgerberuae]

Fertile soil runs quite deep

[@ernestreason1732]

Good Observation, ideally you should not construct a dugout at the bottom of a slough (move to the side). A thick layer of top soil (often referred to black organic matter) will add nutrients to the water (hurts quality) promoting algae and aquatic weed growth.

[@jacobotes8443]

Mike do you not have problems spraying the dirty water?

[@ginger_nosoul]

Where is the dirt going? Just going to spread it there or moving it all? I did farm work fast fall, a lot was leveling water ways in fields cuz they were going to tile it. Dont need a drainage ditch if ya got pipes in the ground... or so im told lol

[@sandy7299]

Over here in the West of Scotland we use these machines to run the water off the land and there you are trying to save as much water as you can, its an ill divided world

[@caseysimon2098]

so you are digging a pond? do they call it a dugout in Canada?

[@rsporter]

"Ponds" are typically either natural or used for asthetic reasons (ie. koi pond). "Dugouts" are utilitarian water holding for farm use typically.

[@caseysimon2098]

@@rsporter oh a pond is a pond in southern Indiana. some times called a farm pond, and not many if any natural pond's

[@jayv7746]

How much does a dugout that size roughly cost Mike?

[@kadinstarkey1033]

Does any sort of liner get put down before yall dump in the water?

[@mikeznel6048]

The clay is the liner. They don’t fill it either, snow run off and rain does.

[@kadinstarkey1033]

@@mikeznel6048 Twice you've helped me out now! Makes sense too lol. Didn't think that one through. Have a good day !!

[@rogerembry4777]

Do they charge by the hour?

[@mikeznel6048]

Usually charge by the cubic yard.

[@kenhofer8063]

@@mikeznel6048 again no clue

[@lanemcnutt8185]

Well Mike why can't you use the feint and start moving the dirt for him

[@4170-d3e]

Mike is smarter than that....a farm loader is not designed to move dirt. He will destroy his tractor and loader moving that much dirt. You can move dirt with them but you have to be VERY careful

[@ivarbergheim3485]

dont tell mike about rotor-tilt, he would loose his mind

[@sigarius1783]

Den som kunne kjøre Brøyt og fortsatt kan grave med maskin uten roto-tilt..? He he no do not tell him about It.

[@supersmallbatch]

I have one I’m from Saskatchewan near mike, I love it hard to explain to people, they think your joking

[@ivarbergheim3485]

@@supersmallbatch awesome, i tought that was a european thing. Keep preatching the modern tech😄😄

[@ronkeking97]

Is rotortilt not a thing on excavators in the US/Canada?

[@zbudda]

It’s the cost of the tooling and the suitable airline pressure set up on the excavator to power it all plus the training to use it all properly for the excavator operator…

[@ashleythompson5550]

Do yall not have deep wells up there forgive me im from ga. So long way from yall

[@ramdes]

I’m first.Nice 😎

[@CoronaVirus-um8nz]

Mike why don't you use a well instead of a dugout?

[@mikeznel6048]

He has explained many times the ground water is very acidic and no good for the plants.

[@wssides]

@@mikeznel6048 And he talked about the cost of putting in wells. Also the chemistry of the water for spraying was another of his concerns.

[@brads9931]

Cast the pile over, no need to wait for the dozer, that guy needs more practice anyways

[@mikeznel6048]

Apparently you do t understand how this works. You can only throw it so far.

[@kenhofer8063]

@@mikeznel6048 gee you need to run for p.m

[@brads9931]

No kidding, still better to get it out of the way and keep digging

[@stakman78]

Hey Mike. Will you push snow into the dugout or just rely on it filling up naturally? Thanks.

[@Packer910]

60x100x14....... not very big.......it will only hold 2384809.42 liters of water when it's full lol

[@cliff4695]

The reason you do a "back slope" is for soil erosion. That is the only reason. The reasons you mentioned, just benefit from the real reason.

[@mikeznel6048]

No, you do a back slope for emergency egress in case somebody gets in there. They can’t get out of a straight drop off.

[@cliff4695]

@@mikeznel6048 once again, this is a benefit. The proper egress would be a step back. This would fail egress inspection in 1 second. Once it gets wet or muddy, you won't be able to egress from it. The reason is erosion/cave in. Is it legal to work in? Not sure. Would need the depth and setback to determine. FYI, im a pipe layer, this is what I do for a living. OSHA and confined space certified. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about

[@halwilliams1682]

@@cliff4695 Thirty years ago we had a hog effluent lagoon dug ( before liners were required). It had egress slopes on each end and you are correct, there is no way if someone had the misfortune to fall in, there was no way to walk up those slippery slopes. It would have been a horrible way to check out.

[@mikeznel6048]

@@cliff4695 Step wouldn’t work. After years it would turn into a steep slope. Proper egress would be exactly as it was done here.

[@mikeznel6048]

@@cliff4695 This isn’t a trench, it’s a retention pond by definition. Your pipe layer, I’m a site work guy. You don’t step a pond, you slope it. What makes you think a series of steps cut into a pond bank wouldn’t turn into slick mud too? Wind driven water sloshing away at the shore. Steps cut into the bank would create more muck. I’m telling you, the proper way is what was done here. Trenching and ponds are two completely different things with two different sets of regulations. Confined spaces have nothing to do with this either. My fall protection training has nothing to do with this as your confined spaces training don’t either. Neither does my lock out tag out or a hot work permit or a lift permit. I’ve sat through hours and hours of OSHA training and too. Many of those hours geared towards egress, trenching and what not. Had nothing to do with ponds or US Army Corps of Engineers standards and regulations for egress of a water retention pond. They aren’t in the US nor is it large enough a pond for them to interject but the standards and practices apply throughout.

[@benoitduchaine4603]

hello mike, the number 350 = 50t machine, like a PC138 komatsu is a 38 tons operating weight ;)

[@leighriley6277]

No...the JD 350g has an operating weight of 35 tonnes

[@allenbaker8171]

He’s wasting time with that hydraulic bucket a real operator can dig and cut slopes at the same time with a regular digging bucket.

[@mikeznel6048]

No a tilt bucket makes a good operator even more efficient. I know, I know, it’s something different and it’s scary to you.