RanchWorx Vs. Aerway Aerator Comparison

[@SNIPENACE]

Ive been really interested in trying a aerator. Glad I found your channel and It amazes me how few subscribers you have for the video quality.

[@farminainteasy]

I hope you get the chance to try and aerator. They can secret weapon or even a lifesaver on some farms. Thank you for the well wishes and appreciating the quality we put into our videos!

[@hughmarcus1]

It’s fascinating to think you’re aerating to get moisture into your soil. In Ireland farmers are aerating to avoid their soils being water logged.

[@farminainteasy]

It much in the same reason. Storing the water deeper in the soil structure, for both storage, erosion, and infiltration are all beneficial things! Thanks for watching!

[@TheBiggRiggz]

You brought something to my attention, I aerate my yard every year, but it's a little baby one that pulls behind my rider mower. It pulls these plugs out about the size of a roll of dimes I then get some cow crap or a soil known as "TaGro" that I get in Tacoma, WA and put a decent layer over the lawn, then tell the boys to go hit the yards with leaf rakes. But little mud plugs make a mess. I'm curious if Ranch Worx makes one of yours but on a small small scale to pull behind my craftsman mower. If not, might have to build one

[@farminainteasy]

Great comment @thebiggriggz. Our experience with aerating is the stimulation of cutting through the rhizome layer of the sod. Keyword in your application being, that your growing a sod-forming variety of grass, instead of a bunch-type grass. The more linear feet of cutting in the sod, the better the stimulation effect will be. Given that your aerating a lawn, you'll have access to irrigation! Which is amazing. Turn on the sprinklers as soon as you finish aerating. Sooner the better! Your also already putting great fibre and nutrients into the soil by doing your spreading after aerating, so you'll definitely have the healthiest grass on the block! Unfortunately, RanchWorx only makes aerators as small as 8'. So might be a bit much for a lawnmower style tractor to pull....

[@TrevorStruthers]

The old penetranometer probe, where’d you find that? A victorian adult toy store? You’re well ahead of me with this release. Im not even ready for my 7am upload.

[@farminainteasy]

Hahahahahahaha and for the record I'm laughing at your "procurement" note.... can't wait to watch your vid!

[@chadtosh6831]

Curious to see if you notice a production difference between the two machines next year.

[@farminainteasy]

It would equally interesting to have a moisture probe reading moisture levels after winter down to 25".

[@mrtrusty101]

Great video Dave. Cheers, from Australia

[@farminainteasy]

Thanks 👍

[@jmfarms3555]

Do you find aerating in the fall or spring better? I noticed more soil fractured soil in the fall but machine won't go all the way into the ground. In spring i noticed the aerator goes all the way into the ground and on cold springs helps warm up the soil faster. I built my second aerator and have a video on KZbin of it. If you need bigger rocks i have plenty. You can take as many as you want but have to pick them yourself.

[@farminainteasy]

I probably lean towards the fall, but early spring also works really well. Essentially any time prior to the onset of moisture. Are you running a RanchWorx Aerator?

[@jmfarms3555]

@farminainteasy iam running this.kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKHNoYJjeLx5nNksi=opvrVI5a6qluLe6R

[@chadtosh6831]

Wow, I was curious how many acres those blades would last. I’ve got some pasture with some rose bush pressure, it’d chop them up and break up the compaction. Gonna have to look into renting one or buying one. An impressive machine.

[@farminainteasy]

They sure do last a long time, we have been very satisfied with the ROI on these machines.

[@HootMaRoot]

It shows you the difference between 2 airators built for different soil types. The one you own is built for red dirt that is hard and dry, while your friends is built for soft soils like the black soils we have over in the UK, Ireland and most of Europe. I know Canada and the States have some soils like that we just don't see much of them on youtube

[@farminainteasy]

Your right, the aerways are definitely designed for light soils or turf applications.. We have very high organic matter black soils, but we only get 90 days to grow a crop, so having the soil moisture available is a key component.

[@mtfarmer4430]

Cool video. Do you aerate any alfalfa fields, have you seen damage to the crown of the plants? Also what are the chances of incorporating weed seeds? Thanks for all the info?

[@farminainteasy]

We don't aerate our pure alfalfa, but we do aerate our alfalfa/grass hay all of the time. The varieties we find success with in our area have a deep set crown such as AAC Meadowview alfalfa. We aim for only 2" or 2.5" blade penetration of the blades, in fields that have alfalfa so we don't upset any crowns. We notice that the alfalfa stays happier during its lifespan when we aerate, as the soil has more consistent moisture throughout the depths, and the lack of standing water or flooding on the land.

[@Dennis379c16]

Are you getting any benefits of weed control by using the ranchwok on you hay ground or pastures. As expensive as chemicals are getting anything to cut that cost would be great. We have a niche hay operation of mostly small squares that our customers pick up out of the field.

[@farminainteasy]

Good question, hard to answer. In the short, weeds thrive in less than desirable conditions typically. Sometimes giving the hay the ability to be competitive against the less desirable species, could help hold back your weeds. In no way am I saying this opinion works in all scenarios, just strictly an opinion that competition against weeds can be beneficial, not a guaranteed fix or solution.

[@paulr7829]

Weeds have a hard time thriving in a healthy stand of grass.

[@KarmaShaw-dc1hd]

Would you or can you manure fertilizer before or after using the aerator

[@farminainteasy]

Yes absolutely, many corral cleaning contractors perform that maneuver to help get the nutrients into the soil.

[@chadtosh6831]

Interesting, that’s impressive about the rocks on the ranchworx. Looks like it’ll shove them rocks in with the drum style too.

[@farminainteasy]

Yes it definitely pushes them into the soil as well.

[@jasondedic]

The Ranchworx just has so many less moving pieces that can break and when something does break it looks way easier to fix than the Aerway. It obviously looks so much sturdier too. You could crash that Ranchworx into a cinder block wall and the wall would apologize.

[@farminainteasy]

Hahaha your totally right! I think I should try that...

[@sanityfade]

How do you decide the rate for rental or doing aeration for others? What do you get if I can ask?

[@farminainteasy]

Great question @sanityfade. Every operation is a little different with overhead cost, but in a nutshell, most single drum aerators can be pulled with modest sized tractors and be profitable between 17-20 per acre. On small fields that are inefficient, I would recommend charging by the hour, and knowing what your specific tractor costs to run per hour. These aerators do a better job the faster you travel, so the speed will benefit all parties.

[@Brobro449]

Little confused why you said the aerway went only 2 inches into the ground. The paint wear is the same depth on the ranchworx. Is there anywhere to buy them in Alberta or rent one? They seem to be significantly more in price than an aerway for a comparable sized unit. The 20 foot aerway has lower hp requirements then the rachworx unlike the 25 foot. Just a few things I found interesting

[@farminainteasy]

Great question @brobro449. The paint wear on the Aerway from from previous use. In this field we were only getting 2 to 2.5" of penetration into the soil with full concrete ballast. The Ranchworx was getting almost 3.5" with zero water ballast. This spec helps show how efficient the RanchWorx RanchTECH blades transferred their energy to the ground, while taking less power to do the task better. Thank you for watching our videos!

[@Brobro449]

@ is there anywhere to buy these in Alberta? We are looking at a used one in biggar Saskatchewan you sold to a guy

[@BigTader]

The Ranchworks is a much better piece of equipment built better.

[@farminainteasy]

Agreed, thank you for watching @bigtader!

[@joshmunns1898]

The aerway has adjustable angle on the gangs straight pulls the easiest and the more the angle the harder it pulls Also the more the angle the larger the hole left

[@farminainteasy]

Thank you for watching and the comment @joshmunns1898. It sure did pull hard, its just too bad it didn't fracture as deep as the RanchWorx Aerator.