eonblue
New member
Hello all, been reading this forum for quite a while on and off for over a year since we bought this property. I am however new to tractors so I seek the infinite wisdom of TBN. 
Homesite:
25 Acres of 15-20 yr old mixed hardwood(oak, hickory, cherry, maple). Timber stand has been unmanaged after selective high grade cut 15-20 years ago, however most of the stand at this point is dominated by 10-16" hardwood leaving the understory pretty manageable.
2 acres of yard around primary home
2 acres of yard/pasture around secondary home(for my mom and newly minted grandmother)
Land is rolling hills and flat ridgetops. Most of the hills are manageable but significant. Soil is deep silt loam and very good for pasturing(with a little lime that is).
Immediate Plans:
-General cleaning up of the fallen dead wood
-harvest firewood
-cut trails around woods
-maintain 1200' gravel drive
-bushog small pasture around secondary home
-till family garden
-general landscaping around primary home
-couple small dirt work projects
Long Term Plans
-Slowly establish areas of silvopasture(pasture leaving large trees) and acre or two at a time. This will include:
-plant a small fruit tree orchard
-skid the odd log for personal lumber or sale
-occasional aeration of lawn(no mowing)
-all kinds of small projects I probably haven't even thought of yet
General
I know there are more efficient tools to do some of this and that it may even be cheaper to hire it out, but the point of this property was to work to make it our own. I am 37 yrs old with a new daughter(my first), wife and grandmother moving onto the property. We all love being outside and working outside and we are not in a hurry. What I am not interested in doing is having the place dozer cleared wholesale. We want to live with the property and mold it slowly so we can see what its becoming and adjust accordingly.
Tractor and Implements
35-40HP 4WD with HST(Kioti CK3510/4020 or Kubota L3901)
R4 tires (filled with rimguard for the hills and FEL work)
2-3 rear remotes
FEL w/3rd function and Grapple
Box Blade
Medium duty rotary cutter like a Woods BB60X or something of that nature
That is to start with the plan to add implements as needed and or rent them. My budget is around 25-30k.
My question to you guys is, am I being naive or foolish here? Am I missing anything? The last thing I want to do is sell my wife on grand visions of the future and sell her on this kind of investment only to find out I can't do any of it with this type of equipment. As I said...... Ive been reading a lot around here but the verdict on some of the land clearing type of work I want to do is still pretty fuzzy to me. I worry about that given that its a significant part of the long term plan. That being said, I am not at all scared of hard work.
Homesite:
25 Acres of 15-20 yr old mixed hardwood(oak, hickory, cherry, maple). Timber stand has been unmanaged after selective high grade cut 15-20 years ago, however most of the stand at this point is dominated by 10-16" hardwood leaving the understory pretty manageable.
2 acres of yard around primary home
2 acres of yard/pasture around secondary home(for my mom and newly minted grandmother)
Land is rolling hills and flat ridgetops. Most of the hills are manageable but significant. Soil is deep silt loam and very good for pasturing(with a little lime that is).
Immediate Plans:
-General cleaning up of the fallen dead wood
-harvest firewood
-cut trails around woods
-maintain 1200' gravel drive
-bushog small pasture around secondary home
-till family garden
-general landscaping around primary home
-couple small dirt work projects
Long Term Plans
-Slowly establish areas of silvopasture(pasture leaving large trees) and acre or two at a time. This will include:
- brush hogging 1" saplings and other underbrush
-Chainsaw clearing small/moderate amount of 3-5" trees and larger tree's where necessary to get proper light penetration in canopy
-prepping the ground for forage. Reading the food plot forum I gather this will involve liming and discing
-eventually fence in pasture and graze a few animals-plant a small fruit tree orchard
-skid the odd log for personal lumber or sale
-occasional aeration of lawn(no mowing)
-all kinds of small projects I probably haven't even thought of yet
General
I know there are more efficient tools to do some of this and that it may even be cheaper to hire it out, but the point of this property was to work to make it our own. I am 37 yrs old with a new daughter(my first), wife and grandmother moving onto the property. We all love being outside and working outside and we are not in a hurry. What I am not interested in doing is having the place dozer cleared wholesale. We want to live with the property and mold it slowly so we can see what its becoming and adjust accordingly.
Tractor and Implements
35-40HP 4WD with HST(Kioti CK3510/4020 or Kubota L3901)
R4 tires (filled with rimguard for the hills and FEL work)
2-3 rear remotes
FEL w/3rd function and Grapple
Box Blade
Medium duty rotary cutter like a Woods BB60X or something of that nature
That is to start with the plan to add implements as needed and or rent them. My budget is around 25-30k.
My question to you guys is, am I being naive or foolish here? Am I missing anything? The last thing I want to do is sell my wife on grand visions of the future and sell her on this kind of investment only to find out I can't do any of it with this type of equipment. As I said...... Ive been reading a lot around here but the verdict on some of the land clearing type of work I want to do is still pretty fuzzy to me. I worry about that given that its a significant part of the long term plan. That being said, I am not at all scared of hard work.
