Eagle Creek, Oregon

Greetings,

I just purchased 80acres in Eagle Creek, Oregon. I'm a commercial fisherman by trade. The house is a teardown that I am planning to replace in a couple years so for now I intend to use it as recreational. It hasn't been maintained and is overrun with blackberry bushes. So my first projects are to clear those and fence off about a mile. Then I will disc up and reseed aprx 30 acres for hay. Those are my first priority's but I also plan on putting in a motocross track and a pond for hunting. I will need a tractor for the fence and haying operation first. I want to stick with a used gas because I will do all maintenance myself and have the ability to rebuild an engine if needed. 50 acres is flat to gentle slope but the other 30 is moderately to extremely sloped. Most of the 30 I won't be using the tractor on but still would need a 4x4. For the haying part - round bales or square, I have read round requires 70hp+ but would think it would be easier to put up by myself. The haying part won't happen until late next year or until 2014 but want to make sure my initial purchase of the tractor for the fence and clearing will be enough for the haying operation. One of my grandparents worked 40 acres of crops and the other side ran a dairy farm of about 240acres in MN and I helped them growing up so am familiar with most aspects of working a farm. For right now somewhere between 5-8,000 dollars but could go higher if needed. A lot of my google searches have brought me here so I figured I might as well join.

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Originally Posted by NWOutlawMX

Greetings,

I just purchased 80acres in Eagle Creek, Oregon. I'm a commercial fisherman by trade. The house is a teardown that I am planning to replace in a couple years so for now I intend to use it as recreational. It hasn't been maintained and is overrun with blackberry bushes. So my first projects are to clear those and fence off about a mile. Then I will disc up and reseed aprx 30 acres for hay. Those are my first priority's but I also plan on putting in a motocross track and a pond for hunting. I will need a tractor for the fence and haying operation first. I want to stick with a used gas because I will do all maintenance myself and have the ability to rebuild an engine if needed. 50 acres is flat to gentle slope but the other 30 is moderately to extremely sloped. Most of the 30 I won't be using the tractor on but still would need a 4x4. For the haying part - round bales or square, I have read round requires 70hp+ but would think it would be easier to put up by myself. The haying part won't happen until late next year or until 2014 but want to make sure my initial purchase of the tractor for the fence and clearing will be enough for the haying operation. One of my grandparents worked 40 acres of crops and the other side ran a dairy farm of about 240acres in MN and I helped them growing up so am familiar with most aspects of working a farm. For right now somewhere between 5-8,000 dollars but could go higher if needed. A lot of my google searches have brought me here so I figured I might as well join.

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:welcome: to TBN! I am sure you will find the forum a huge help in deciding what tractor is best suited to your needs. As far as pricing goes, watch craigslist for deals, that is how I have gotten most of my machinery. On the gas aspect, I usually think of it this way, Diesel is a lubricant, gas is a solvent. Yes the diesel is harder to rebuild but with used machinery here in Oregon I have a feeling it will be more reliable, plus I seldom see a 4wd gas tractor in craigslist around here. Your budget does have some room but add in the implements needed (post hole digger, possibly a front end loader, etc.) it will add up fast. As far as the haying operation, square bales take much less power to make, you can bale with a much smaller tractor plus they stack tighter than round bales. Used square bales are far less costly that round bales plus bucking hay is great exercise, I helped stack over 110 tons of hay this last summer.
For example:
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/grq/3489292144.html
Yanmar makes a very reliable tractor, they are fairly easy to work on/maintain and you can get parts for them through hoye tractor. You can pick up a brand new loader from Cold water tractors for under $2k. The 336D is a great tractor, good frame size, decent power, it has 4wd, ROPS (a must for steep hills), nice deep lug tires for our wonderful wet Oregon ground, and they are very reliable. I have owned a Yanmar YM169D and it was pretty easy to maintain, I did all the maintenance myself (im 17) and never had any trouble in that aspect. Plus the Yanmar forum on here is great when you run into any problems. Just an idea here.

I've been looking at those but seem to be quite narrow so I was thinking more unstable?

Welcome to Eagle Creek. I'm just 4 mi. south of Estacada. It's warmer and drier where you are--I'm at 1,200 ft. elevation--snowed here today.

Anyway, I like the Pape JD dealer on Orient Drive. Ownership just changed hands a few months ago, but I believe the same people are working there. I like JD because they will get parts to you fast. They can also get you Yanmar parts for non-gray market tractors, but parts are limited.

The folks at Fischer's Mill are also good. They carry Massey.

In my experience the Kubota folks in Gresham are OK, but parts are spendy.

There's a big Ag show in Portland near the end of January--you might make some contacts, see who you like & what they have to offer.

Good luck with the blackberries. I spray in the spring with Crossbow, in the fall with Roundup. The fall spray seems to be more effective.

PM me if you want to contact a local.

The rear rims on the Yanmar are adjustable, they are in the narrow position in that picture and easily can be set out for a wider stance. My old Yanmar was a mere 40" wide yet it was quite stable on steep terrain. My rear tires were filled with calcium which lowers your center of gravity plus adds weight to the tractor which means you get better traction.

Get diesel! They will run and run and run before they need an overhaul. I think you will regret getting a gas tractor of the size you want.

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Originally Posted by Pilot

Welcome to Eagle Creek. I'm just 4 mi. south of Estacada. It's warmer and drier where you are--I'm at 1,200 ft. elevation--snowed here today.

Anyway, I like the Pape JD dealer on Orient Drive. Ownership just changed hands a few months ago, but I believe the same people are working there. I like JD because they will get parts to you fast. They can also get you Yanmar parts for non-gray market tractors, but parts are limited.

The folks at Fischer's Mill are also good. They carry Massey.

In my experience the Kubota folks in Gresham are OK, but parts are spendy.

There's a big Ag show in Portland near the end of January--you might make some contacts, see who you like & what they have to offer.

Good luck with the blackberries. I spray in the spring with Crossbow, in the fall with Roundup. The fall spray seems to be more effective.

PM me if you want to contact a local.

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Fischer's Mill was where I have been looking mostly, they seem to have all the equipment I'm in the market for and in the price range. Wasn't aware of Pape JD so I'll have to check them out.

Unfortunately I have to leave on the 4th of Jan and will be gone for a few months so will miss the AG show, but when I get back I'll have 4 months to get busy. I've seen people brush hog blackberries but wouldn't that just spread seeds? I had planned on cutting them off with my Stihl combi with brush attachment and shredding them to minimize spreading then spraying. Most of these are 6ft tall. A 6ft sickle bar won't work either because i've seen old barb wire in some areas. Labor intensive yes, but my whole purpose of the purchase was to give myself something to do in the off seasons.

Thanks

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Originally Posted by Zebrafive

Get diesel! They will run and run and run before they need an overhaul. I think you will regret getting a gas tractor of the size you want.

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I guess if I can rebuild a car engine and transmission with a good manual I can figure out a Diesel. Now I have the fuel part narrowed down.

Hey brother Oregonian... Don't buy Gas Machine. Diesel will run circles around gas. And will outlast any gas.. If you can rebuild a gas engine you should be able to rebuild a diesel. Confidence in your skills can go a long ways. I have found the best way to get rid of blackberries and have fun is drive on them with old beater 4X4 of your choice.
That way you don't have to deal with nasty chemicals and chance of contaminating your Ground water.Cleared 2 acres that way.NO CHEMICALS...

Diesels just plain like to work. Good luck and keep us posted on just what you decide on!

Years ago, I lived in Maryland on an old farm that had become overgrown with multiflora roses, which are very invasive. At that time, I had a mid- 1950s Massey Harris 44-6 tricycle tractor and a 5' brush hog. I found that the brush hog was very effective in cleaning out the rose bushes. Some of these bushes were 6' high. After about a year of infrequent mowing, the roses and other briars were all gone, and I had a nice field of grass. I recommend that as the way to go.