Tractor Sizing What Size Tractor to Buy?

   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #1  

amanda cather

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Jun 27, 2006
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We are a 9 acre organic farm, purchasing a new tillage tractor. We have 2 Farmall SuperAs for cultivation and an old Ford 800 to help out with other work. I'm looking at Massey 1540 and 1552s as well as JD 3720 and 4720. I'm right on the edge -- I run a 6-foot disk harrow and a 4-foot spader primarily. I'd love to go with the smaller tractor if possible because it would fit better with my current equipment, but I'm not sure it's large enough for everything we need it to do.

Any thoughts on size or models would be greatly appreciated.
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #3  
Any uses for this new tractor other than the disc and spader?
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #4  
It will help us if we know what kind of soil you have, what your climate is like, stuff like that.

A tractor that will pull an implement through a nice sandy loam may not be capable of the job in a heavy clay soil.

That said, my FIL farmed a couple hundred acres in the 50's with nothing more impressive than an 8N (about 25 hp) and a WD-45 (about 45 hp). He plowed, planted, disked, dragged, cultivated and harvested with those tractors and the things he could attach to them or pull with them. It wasn't organic, but it was a lot closer to organic than modern farming techniques are.

He's located in North Westcentral Ohio, about 70 miles N NW of Columbus, in the glaciated part of the state. His soil is mostly loam or sandy loam type.
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #5  
Could be anywhere from mid 20's to mid 30's hp.. but as the others said.. what's your terain, and soil like.. and what other tasks will the machine perform?

soundguy
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #6  
None of the tractors you list could replace the Super A for cultivation. They lack the "cultivision" and ground clearance of the A. So I guess you would want to keep at least one A and replace the 800. The 800 is a much larger tractor than the JD 3120-3720 series and about the same size as the 4120-4720 series, so if you want to use the same implements as the 800, the 4000 series is the better match. The smallest of this series (4120) may be slightly below the 800 in drawbar hp but because it has 4wd, the 4120 can put all this hp into the ground for tillage operations. The 2wd 800 wastes a lot of hp pushing a "dead" axle through the soft ground. I do a lot of organic farming and a JD 4120 and farmall Cub are the tractors that do most of the work. My farm is mostly all mucky bottomland soil which takes a long time to dry out in the spring. I have been very impressed with the ability of the 4120 in these siol conditions as it has taken all the hassle out of getting the plowing done when we have a wet spring. This tractor will litterally pull a 3-bottom 14" plow through standing water over a mud hole with no wheel spin and no need to raise the plow. Be sure, whichever tractor you decide on, to get the R1 (ag) tires rather than the R4's which are most often supplied with the models you are considering. In the case of the JD 4000 series, the rear R1's come on 28 in rims vs the 24's on the R4's which will give you a lot more ground clearance.
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
More information:

we will be keeping both our Super As and our Ford to help out on the farm. What we'll be using our new tractor for will be primary and secondary tillage (spader, disk harrow, perfecta), blind cultivation with a tine weeder, and loader work (making compost, but not huge amounts). It will also pull a transplanter, which only weighs about 700 pounds loaded with riders.

Thanks for the suggestions so far... I'm making progress.
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #8  
amanda cather said:
We are a 9 acre organic farm, purchasing a new tillage tractor. We have 2 Farmall SuperAs for cultivation and an old Ford 800 to help out with other work. I'm looking at Massey 1540 and 1552s as well as JD 3720 and 4720. I'm right on the edge -- I run a 6-foot disk harrow and a 4-foot spader primarily. I'd love to go with the smaller tractor if possible because it would fit better with my current equipment, but I'm not sure it's large enough for everything we need it to do.

Any thoughts on size or models would be greatly appreciated.

I would keep the A to cultivate with. I would look for a unit with 4WD. The units you listed are excellent. I would not hesitate on either of them. Purchase a unit with easy proximity to service and support. Service is not that important to me as I do all of my service work, but parts and supplies are very close. That's one reason I purchased a New Holland. Corriher Implement is on my way home from work.
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #9  
I would look at the John Deere Web Site, they have a calculator based on your choices. you can also price one out. If you are looking for a solid tractor the JD990 or the JD5300 series is a excellent choice for everything you want to do. You can also get parts easily.
 
   / What Size Tractor to Buy? #10  
I think, I would go with Agro-Oti in that case.
SDF tries to enter the US market, with a tractor that fits a lot of needs. So it would be sold for a good price and You can choose between different hp ranges and different options, too.
It looks like Deutz will become (maybe is) a main brand of SDF group, cause they changed the engines in some of the other tractors, i.E Same and Lamborghini, where they had Same engines before and Deutz engines now.
 
 
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