OK, so I'm new here, and new to ATVs in general but here goes...

So I'm working on a project to help very small farmers in Africa - really, really poor people working with pretty much bronze age technology. Mostly we're working with guys planting corn on 1-2 acres of land by hand, just raising enough for their families to live on.

Now, a lot of these guys actually till their land by hand. The "richer" ones can afford to higher an ox keeper to bring a team of two oxen to plough their field the oooooold fashioned way. It takes 'em more than a day - sometimes two days - to plough an acre of the heavy clay soils they're dealing with that day. Do it by hand and it's 2-3 weeks of really back-breaking work.

We're trying to come up with a project to bring in some modern farming equipment. Doing it with a tractor would seem to be the logical choice, but the farms we're dealing with are really widely dispersed, the roads are total crap, and moving a heavy slow tractor from one site to the next would take AGES.

So it got us thinking...wouldn't an ATV with a chisel-plough solve this problem?! OK, sure, it's a bit of a hack, but it doesn't have to be perfect. It only has to be better than a team of oxen!

Am I crazy?

 

Well, you aren't completely crazy. Plenty of hunters out there using an atv to make food plots. There are several companies producing implements for that purpose. I can't attest to the long term durability of either the atv or the implements though. That sounds like a pretty severe usage. I also question whether the atv would be any faster running from site to site if it is also towing equipment. Might be more expedient to trailer it.

 

Thanks Scooter86!

Well, we definitely can't trailer the equipment, unless we get an Abrams Tank pulling that trailer - there are no roads at all in our area, and the footpaths we're on get *really* muddy during the rainy season, which is when our farmers need our services. No pickup truck I know of is going to get through that stuff...

(It's the no-roads+mud situation that initially got me thinking: dang, we need some ATVs out here....)

Another thing: it has to be a diesel. We can't get gasoline out there. And when your main worry is low-torque power, my guess is diesel is better anyway.

I've been looking at some of those ATV food-plot chisel plough videos on YouTube. It seems like it'd be a slog to prepare a whole field for cultivation with one of those. But, again, it's that or the ox plough!

 

I think the only diesel ATV presently for sale is an Arctic Cat. Polaris used to have a Sportsman with a diesel engine but they'd probably be hard to find. If you end up with an ATV I'd just recommend running in low range all the time.

 

Thanks!

Our project is pretty big, so we're looking to put together a fleet. We may need to mix and match Arctic Cat ATVs with some Polaris Ranger Diesel side-by-sides, and some compact utility tractors too. A lot of it will be about going out into the field and seeing what works and what doesn't.

Who knows, maybe when all is said and done our farmers like their oxen just fine!

 

The big thing you're going to need is traction to pull something that will create that much friction with the ground. It's too bad you have to go diesel. The Polaris Big Boss 6x6 is a quad width machine with true 6wd. The Ranger is also available with 6wd. Pretty unstoppable.

 

Yeah, we've looked into the logistics of delivering gasoline out there and it's hard to make it work. I thought we'd deal with traction by using big soft agricultural tires though, no?

 

Quad tires are generally on the soft side to give the largest contact patch for good traction. Other thought would be a tread kit for the Arctic Cat. Tread kits are about $4000 US by themselves.

 

For this project you really need a tractor and not a quad or side by side. Tractors are made to work all day every day, and the wheelers really are not. Kubota is a good small tractor and fairly inexpensive. Some are not really any bigger than a quad, and some are smaller than a side by side.You may also want to look at Massy Ferguson; thousands have been donated to Afghanistan (where I am currently) by the UK and are used for everything from field work to going visiting. Both can be purchased with a diesel engine. Either way; I'd suggest getting one with front wheel assist.

You never said what country you are in? I've been all over Africa and would be interested to know...

I know there are very few roads, but tractors could also be used to improve roads and trails as you move from one place to another.

 

I agree with DeeDawg . As hard as the ground sounds and as muddy as it gets I don't think the atv would hold up or get the job done properly. Stick with the ox or a diesel tractor.