Buying Advice Tractor advice for agroforestry farm in Greece

[dimitri9993]

Greetings to all,
I am currently setting up an agricultural enterprise in the south of Greece. No harsh winters, hot summers, 500mm rain.
The land the we are starting off with is 5ha (12acres), and we are hoping to expand in the coming years.
The land is hilly, partly terraced, with the tractor needing to climb slopes of 15-20ï½°, and ideally working on contour on 5-10° slopes.
The soil is silty and rocky (from 5cm to 30cm diameter)
We are planting an agroforestry system, funded by beans and vegetables whilst trees start producing.
The implements I'll be using are subsoiler (to pull rocks out and move them), rotary tiller, flail mower, chipper and trailer.

I have found a serious dealer in athens offering second hand mitsubishi, kubota and yanmar tractors imported from japan.

After our conversation he advised me to take a Mistubishi MT27, 40hp, with wheels spread out to 1,70m and ballasted. 460h of work.
This is the link Τρακτέρ Mitsubishi MT27D Μεταχειρισμένο krekis.gr

I would hugely appreciate advice from you guys. Is this tractor well adapted to my objectives? Am I going wrong buying this tractor?

If you need more info to make an assessment of the situation, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks a million!
Dimitri

 

[Citydude]

If it's front wheel assisted, it should be fine and don't skimp on the ballast. Good luck on your new adventure!

 

[jeff9366]

Mitsubishi MT27D is not imported into the US, therefore it does not show up on TractorData.com.

There is no ROPS (Rollover Protection Structure). I would have dealer install. It may save your life.

Make sure tractor has 4-WD. Tractors do not have brakes on the front wheels. The only way to have adequate stopping power going down hill, when weight transfers to the front wheels, is to have 4-WD ENGAGED giving a semblance of four wheel braking.

I would also check to be sure it has power steering.

Spreading the rear wheels and "loading" the rear tires 75% with liquid are both good recommendations for hill work and for improved traction.

Many of us contributing to T-B-N use the FEL (Front End Loader) and bucket for 50% or more of operating hours. For me, possibly not for you, the lack of a Front End Loader would rule out this tractor for developmental ag work. The loader makes ag labor so much more efficient, serving both as a crane and powered, self-loading wheelbarrow.
VIDEO: tractor FEL - YouTube

Mitsubishi sells their diesel engines to several tractor producers. Mitsubishi diesels are well regarded.

 

[dimitri9993]

Hi jeff,
I'll check for the power steering, but I'm pretty sure it does have it. It has 4-wd too. It also does have the possibility to attach a front end loader, although I didn't see that as fundamental to my operations. I'll give it a think. Cheers

 

[jeff9366]

Few doing ag work find a tractor PTO powered chipper efficient. Too much maintenance required for minimal value of chips. Most with ag enterprises burn. I had a high-end Wallenstein chipper. Sold it after two years. Now I burn.

An exception are Christmas tree farms that have a lot of soft wood pruning debris. In this case, chipper blades can be adjusted for optimal cut of a standard input.

 

[dimitri9993]

In this case what kind of chipper would you recommend? Its a big part of my operation since i'm going to be using the chips as mulch on my tree lines.
Thanks again

 

[jeff9366]

In my experience it is cheaper to burn tree debris and buy chips. The cost in time to keep a tractor chipper serviceable, after the first year, exceeds the cost of buying chips by the truckload. Hot, tired employees can jam a chipper so often and so thoroughly that 20% of chipper time is maintenance time.

Operating a chipper is hazardous. Hazardous to you and hazardous to knuckle-headed employees, who require succor when injured. Chippers are considered the most dangerous Three Point Hitch implement. Florida local tree services do not operate chippers. They haul tree debris in huge grapple trucks to a commercial burner.

Your situation in Greece MAY be different from my situation in Florida. I am in timber country and there are several timber mills within twenty miles of my property producing chips as mill byproduct. In Greece, wine grape press waste (lees and seeds) olive waste and cork waste may be cheap mulch.

Photo: Kubota B3300SU, 33 horsepower.

 

[ericm979]

What would you be chipping?

If you're spreading chips, including your own, a loader would make that easier. For example you could use the loader to load a dump trailer like Jeff shows above from a pile of chips. Shovelling chips ranges from difficult (small chips) to impossible with big chips from a trailer chipper. For the latter I need a piranaha bar on the Branson's loader bucket to make a dent in the pile. Shovels and the loader from my smaller Kubota B7100 just bounce off.

I use a Woodmaxx 8H PTO chipper to get rid of cut brush and tree slash but it's a slow way to make chips. The knives require honing and sharpening. I got 20 hours out of one side of the double sided knives, and that was with honing every 4-5 hours. But I have been chipping a lot of dead material which is hard on chipper knives.