Buying Advice What to buy, smallholding livery yard

[Longdon]

Hi, new to tractors really, have livery yard and hay fields, case685 currently and a mf65 with loader and super major 4000 with grab, looking to trade all 3 in and get a newer main tractor with loader and bucket but don't know what to look for and best equipment. Use to empty/move much trailer , hay bob, roller and topper, then need bucket to push up muck heap, and help much appreciated,

[case245]

hey longdon how big is your operation i could help you if i knew how big it is

[Longdon]

Hi, it's about 140 acres of hay but we have a contractor, but we do chain harrow and roll it, top the edges for the horse riders when it get a bit high. Then about 40 acres for grazin and 40 horses, trailer emptied twice a week and muck heap needs to be managed properly, I think it should be 4wheel drive as we get a bit muddy in winter. Hope this helps.

[jenkinsph]

I think I would caution using a single tractor approach to your operation. No backup tractor and the need for both small and larger tractors might make this impractical. I might be wrong but your decription lacks details that are needed to determine what would best suit your needs. When you mention trailer for instance is this a dump trailer or manure spreader and how big is it? Approximate location for weather and terrain purposes might help, no need to be too specific. Do you have confined spaces and stalls to clean out?

Their are lots of choices for 60 to 90 hp utility tractors that can be equipped to handle your needs for the larger tasks. A small tractor might be of more benefit in the daily clean up operations though, hard to know without details.

[Longdon]

Many thanks, ok no need to clean out stalls with machinery, done by hand to wheelbarrow which is then put in muck trailer. Trailer is a tipper type, powered by tractor hydraulics, it's not too big, no more than 8ton when full and about 10m long
We do have a few yards that need emptying every fee years of shavings and access Is ok. Agree with your point about not having a bucket, have contemplated a small telehandler to push muck heap up and move Heston bails around/clean out some yards, and then have tractor for trailer and topper duties. The case 685 works well, I think something on those lines with a loader and lightweight buckets may be good but don't know what to look for. Thanks for your help. Uk, Bedfordshire

[jenkinsph]

Sounds like you want a new simple (economy) tractor in the 75hp utility series. Needs to be big enough to handle the tip trailer safely though.

FWIW, I would wan't to see what I could do to make clean up easier with the stalls, maybe a dingo loader setup or similar. What do you do with the muck when you haul it out? Do you cook it down and then topdress with it?