"forever" is a subjective term.
A 5' rototiller can do an acre an hour. Strangely, a 6' tiller is about 20% faster.
There are multiple ways to go. One would be to till the land up with a tiller. It will do about the best job of mixing the top 5-7". It there is hardpan under the soil, a middle buster may be needed along with the tiller. Using a bottom plow will turn a good 12-14" over and followed by a disc and cultivator will result in a good seed bed too. No matter what you do, it will take time to turn a mucky spot into a farm field. Disturbing the soil will germinate weeds. Plan on tilling or discing every weekend for a month to kill off the weeds.
As a new farmer, I don't know if you will be smart to do all 16 acres all at once. That could be a way of spending a lot of time and money on seed/fertilizer/herbicides and get nothing back at the end. Visit your county extension agent and even the local feed mills. You will probably need to spray to kill weeds. Might be smart to plant roundup ready corn or beans and spray roundup 3-4 times over the summer / fall and again in the spring to deplete the seed bank. Then convert over to your "real" crop.
Looking at your wish list "I prefer a new compact tractor with cab, with a FEL and 5' tiller" and your budget of 20K ---- well those two don't go together when talking about 35-40+ hp tractors !
I think you can be well served in the 30-35hp range. Deere, Kubota, New Holland, Mahindra, Kioti and Farmtrac would be on my shopping list for new or slightly used. You can save 10k getting an older larger tractor 40-50hp range, but may have more repairs needed. It takes a fair amount of tools to repair a tractor in that size range. Not so much to maintain.
A 5' rototiller can do an acre an hour. Strangely, a 6' tiller is about 20% faster.
There are multiple ways to go. One would be to till the land up with a tiller. It will do about the best job of mixing the top 5-7". It there is hardpan under the soil, a middle buster may be needed along with the tiller. Using a bottom plow will turn a good 12-14" over and followed by a disc and cultivator will result in a good seed bed too. No matter what you do, it will take time to turn a mucky spot into a farm field. Disturbing the soil will germinate weeds. Plan on tilling or discing every weekend for a month to kill off the weeds.
As a new farmer, I don't know if you will be smart to do all 16 acres all at once. That could be a way of spending a lot of time and money on seed/fertilizer/herbicides and get nothing back at the end. Visit your county extension agent and even the local feed mills. You will probably need to spray to kill weeds. Might be smart to plant roundup ready corn or beans and spray roundup 3-4 times over the summer / fall and again in the spring to deplete the seed bank. Then convert over to your "real" crop.
Looking at your wish list "I prefer a new compact tractor with cab, with a FEL and 5' tiller" and your budget of 20K ---- well those two don't go together when talking about 35-40+ hp tractors !
I think you can be well served in the 30-35hp range. Deere, Kubota, New Holland, Mahindra, Kioti and Farmtrac would be on my shopping list for new or slightly used. You can save 10k getting an older larger tractor 40-50hp range, but may have more repairs needed. It takes a fair amount of tools to repair a tractor in that size range. Not so much to maintain.
