I had a viewer letter asking about which hole to put the top link in. Many tractors have two or three holes in the top link hanger, and he was wondering which one is appropriate for a brush hog rotary cutter.

I only have two holes on my tractor and the owner's manual is clear, use the bottom hole from a bush hog, the top hole for a groundengaging tool like a plow. Honestly, I'm of the opinion that, unless you have draft control on your tractor, and are using the implement to work up soil, it doesn't matter which hole you put it in. I use which ever one lines up the easiest.

If you're plowing up ground, and have a tractor with draft control, it's important to see what the owner's manual says about getting the right hole. Draft control is standard on most utility tractors and larger, an option on smaller ones, and it senses "draft", or the resistance, the tractor is encountering and adjusts the depth of the implement to keep it consistent.

Without draft control, as soil types change in the field, a plow, for example, could rise and fall pretty drastically, giving a very inconsistent seed bed. With draft control properly set, the tractor senses when the plow is dropping and lifts it back up to maintain the preferred depth.

Draft control is normally an apparatus that is attached to the top link hanger that has a large spring that senses the position of the implement. It's controlled by a lever that's usually to the right of the operator. Set your position control first to the depth you want, then move your draft control lever close to it. Your implement will stay in the range you've set while turning soil.

Bottom line, if you're using a ground engaging implement and the tractor has draft control, it's pretty critical to get the top link in the correct hole as indicated in the owner's manual. If pulling anything else, it really doesn't matter.

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