Buying Advice I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice

   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice #1  

vanguard

Bronze Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
78
Location
Raleigh, NC
Tractor
2014 Kioti DK45SE
I've never driven a tractor before but in a few weeks I'm going to close on my dream house. It has 14+ acres of grass and very few trees aside from the 26 that line a long front driveway.

I've never had a yard like this but part of my motivation in buying the house is to get outside. That means that a small hobby farm, maybe horses, etc. could be in my future. Also, I'm a pretty avid woodworker so there is always lumber and machinery to move around. But by far the most use the tractor will get is mowing the yard.

I've been *all* over the place on what I should get and where I should put my budget. I'm thinking I may need a tractor and a ztr mower combo. Is a yard like this big enough to warrant a mower like this? Caroni Estate Mower-TC 910NRSD Estate Mower | Agri Supply #29234 (93" finish mower)

I've also considered the flail mower that's so popular around here. Flail Mower, Caroni, Rear Flail Mower | Agri Supply, 30837, TM1900 That would let me keep some areas longer and I decide to mow them once a month.

I started thinking that maybe an old Massey 175 would be nice. Something like this would be cheap and it would pull anything I'd ever buy: MASSEY FERGUSON 175 TRACTOR

However, *everybody* that buys a FEL seems to wonder how they ever lived without it. Something like this would cost a lot more and pull a lot less but it's modern and it has a FEL: JOHN DEERE 4600 HST DIESEL TRACTOR WITH LOADER

I need some guidance. (FWIW, I live in North Carolina so snow is only a minimal concern)
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice #2  
If you're really thinking of a hobby farm then fence some of that grass in and graze some cattle. They grow while you're working sleeping and living life. You wont have to mow those areas either. Just keeping an acre mowed and maintained around the house takes more time than you might think. Cattle are bringing good money right now. I took one to the stockyards Monday that was grass fed and it brought almost $1900. That will make your hobby farm profitable instead of just taking money to mow grass all the time. Do some homework on whether or not to get a hydro static trans since they work good for some things and not so well for others. Good luck
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice #3  
For mowing the lawn I'd get a zero turn mower, from a cheaper sears on to an exmark.
I'd also get a 30+ hp tractor with 4x4 and a front end loader. You can buy good used ones as well as new. Asking a tractor to mow the lawn works against the strengths of having a tractor. The bigger tractors tear up a lawn even with R4's. Turf tires slip in mud/snow. If you have fields you like to keep close cut, then a bush hog, your caroni are great to pull behind a tractor.
Tractors open up new way of doing things. That's why you want to go with the tractor that is designed to work hard rather than mow the grass. Hydro tractors are nice (though I hate them!) but you have to size up a bit more to replace the hp that is lost to the hydro. Obviously, I like gear tractors.
Driving a tractor is easy, kids start on tractors. You get the hang of it pretty quickly. Check out Tractor Attachments And Skid Steer Attachments For Any Tractor Or Skid Steer for their videos showing the different possibilities in tractor uses, youtube also (+ the russian tractors for the fun of it).
I wouldn't go below a 30 hp gear tractor. It is what I have (bought used) and it does fine for us on our 19 acres and 2 horses. -gravel, snow, manure, bush hogging, garden plowing, disc harrowing, pushing standing and fallen trees around.
You'll love what the fel opens up as a tool!
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice #4  
I've never driven a tractor but in a few weeks I'm going to close on my dream house. It has 14+ acres of grass and very few trees aside from the 26 that line a long front driveway.

But by far the most use the tractor will get is mowing the yard. I'm thinking I may need a tractor and a ztr mower combo
. YES

I've also considered the flail mower that's so popular around here. That would let me keep some areas longer and I decide to mow them once a month.

I speculate Rotary Cutters (aka Bush Hog) outsell Flail Mowers at least 20:1. When mowing a piece of ground a Flail Mower has 300/400/500 parts where a Rotary Cutter has 30-40 parts. Rotary Cutters are among the most indestructible of PTO powered implements. I subscribe to the KISS PRINCIPLE / KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID, when considering implements. I will pay MORE for simplicity.

I started thinking that maybe an old Massey 175 would be nice. Tractors are complex. Tractors are dangerous. New tractors are much easier and safer to operate than old tractors. Buy a new tractor to learn on. Do not load the dice against yourself.

However, *everybody* that buys a FEL seems to wonder how they ever lived without it. FEL's are by far the most purchased tractor option. I have never seen a formal poll on TBN but I would guesstimate 90% of sub-compact and compact tractors are sold with FELs. The balance have an FEL added within three years, at vastly higher cost.

In the category of larger utility tractors, probably 75% are sold with FELs.

In the full-on ag tractor category, very few are sold with loaders, but ag tractor owners have multiple tractors already outfitted with FELs.
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice #5  
The 1/4 acre around the house is the lawn. The rest is pasture/field.

:)

Bruce
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice
  • Thread Starter
#6  
For mowing the lawn I'd get a zero turn mower, from a cheaper sears on to an exmark.

If I mowed the entire yard with a ztr wouldn't that mean I'd have to mow the entire yard every time? I have this notion that I'd keep the part near the house well maintained but out by the edge of the property I'd just "keep it in check". I think that means hitting it with the flail/bush hog once a month or so.

Also, I may be crazy but I see driving a big comfy tractor as relaxing compared to a ztr. I don't have any experience with either so I'm here to learn.

I've watched ztr's on youtube struggle with 18" of grass. To me that means I can't skip a part of the yard.
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice
  • Thread Starter
#7  
If you're really thinking of a hobby farm then fence some of that grass in and graze some cattle.
Maybe someday. I think we'll start smaller, maybe with chickens and garden.
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice #8  
"I see driving a big comfy tractor as relaxing compared to a ztr."

"Big" means different things to different people. Certainly long-wheelbase tractors are more comfortable than short-wheelbase tractors. On tractors suspension is the pneumatic tires and nothing else. Tractors are mostly operated on rough ground, so while the ride varies I would rarely call it comfy; though operating may be relaxing if the temps is under 85 degrees and over 60 degrees.

If you have vines, Blackberries and Kudzu to get rid of, consider goats. Goats will graze everything to death. Downside is that goats are Escape Artists.
 
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   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice #9  
That MF175 was produced between 1964-75 and so it's a 50-year old tractor. Not what you want for your 1st tractor unless you want to roll up your sleeves and get grease under your fingernails. If you're set on buying used, find something that's 10 years old or less which will fit your needs.

My first tractor was a new 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD, hydrostatic transmission, power steering) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket, 800 lb lift capacity).

My place is 10 acres with about 8 acres of hayfield. I mowed the hayfield with a 4-ft wide rotary mower (aka brush hog, bush hog, shredder, slasher).


You can sharpen the blades on a brush hog to an edge like you have on a riding mower blade if you don't plan to cut heavy brush. That'll get you a good looking 3-4" tall cut on your hayfield.

I have a 68" wide flail mower that I use on my big tractor (the Mahindra 5525). I prefer the 6-ft brush hog that I use on the 5525 since I can mow my hayfield in half the time than with the flail.

Good luck
 
   / I just signed the paper on a house with 14+ acres, need advice
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I have a 68" wide flail mower that I use on my big tractor (the Mahindra 5525). I prefer the 6-ft brush hog that I use on the 5525 since I can mow my hayfield in half the time than with the flail.

Good luck

Why is the flail so much slower? The 5525 is surely powerful enough. Is it just that flails can't mow quickly?
 
 
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