PTO for beginners

[jeff9366]

Rotary Cutter - total of maybe 3-4 acres out of 18.5 are going to need to be rough cut periodically

Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour

www.landscapecalculator.com

Post hole digger - may be a good option for planting new trees. (we will be planting some fruit/nut trees in one area and will likely start a very small Christmas tree 'farm' in another)

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Can my tractor handle a tree spade?

Or should I just use the backhoe attachment to dig up bushes (need to create a private space by moving some bushes around from other areas of the property)... Maybe the backhoe + grapple to move it is "good enough"... but I do need to harvest and move about 50 bushes.. Tractor is 35hp Kubota...

www.tractorbynet.com

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Forestry related equipment - We have 14-15 acres of Loblolly Pines that can be harvested for timber. We need to thin scrub and deadfall between the trees.

I use a 5' heavy duty Rotary Cutter weighing a bit over 1,000 pounds with a Category 4 drive line. $4,000 The scrub and deadfall shreds into mulch. Pointless to handle or transport scrub or deadfall. Chop it.

Rotary Cutter / Bush Hog Considerations for Compact Tractors

If you buy a Rotary Cutter too light it will visit the dealer yearly for $600 repair. NEW Rotary Cutters cut everything at first. As the light blades dull a light cutter undergoes increasing stress. 60" - 72" Rotary Cutters: 400/500 pounds = light duty = grass only. 600/700 pounds = medium...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

I am rather curious why many of you call a brush hog/mower and a rotary mower the same thing?

Attached are images of a rotary mower without and with its canvas cover panels. Not normally used to cut brush.

View attachment 707117

 

[mcfarmall]

^^^^in the U.S. we call those "disk mowers"^^^^

 

[jacric2005]

I have a JD 870, about 1994 model. It has a front loader (bucket), brush hog and two sizes of post hole drills. I also have an arena groomer (not PTO). I am learning about the maintenance and changing implements since my elderly dad used to take care of that. It is very serviceable for my needs on 7 flat pastureland acres. It had a broken PTO shaft cover on the brush hog so I ordered and installed one from a program in New York that focuses on preventing these types of injuries. After using a two man auger to drill a 12" hole last weekend, I'm definitely going to get up to speed on the post hole drills. Some modifications my dad made: holders for 5' long metal bars that ride on the tractor and very handy especially for moving implements slightly to attach; welded on hooks to the top of the bucket to use with chains, chains ride by the side of the seat on the "floor", metal plate in bolted on in front of radiator, presumable to keep it from getting punctured. I would like to get a trailer hitch attachment for the top of the bucket to move my trailers around.

As for maintenance, I recently took it to the dealer, after Dad did the maintenance for 20 years. It was over $2000 which included about $200 for transport. They told me they have specials in their slow season when transport is free. If you can do your own maintenance you save a lot of maintenance. I only know how to check oil!

Good luck. These tractors are invaluable around the farm. And it's kind of Zen riding around and around mowing a field.

 

[2LabsTX]

As a fellow NE Texan, also new to tractors, also on roughly 15 acres...I'm super happy with my L4701.

 

[Tony H]

Sounds like you don't need the mid PTO. Spend the money on the extra hydraulics for the FEL.yry to get a second lever type with a locking detent. grapple implement, 4:1 bucket, maybe even use a rear hydraulic log splitter on the front as I do. sounds like something you will use. No Blower, no mid mount mower, not sure what else you would use the mid PTO for.

Post hole digger, hmm, you may want to see if they can do a cat 1 hitch that can push down as well as the normal pull up (lift). One small stone and the gravity dropping Bit will not dig

 

[mo1]

Mo1, that is a good point. We are still compiling a full list of tasks, but there are some that are 'must have' and some that are 'nice to have'.
Must have -
rotary cutter (total of maybe 3-4 acres out of 18.5 are going to need to be rough cut periodically);
FEL (between moving fallen branches/trees and road/path maintenance that is a given);
box blade or similar (our driveway will be about 200+ feet of gravel/rock base, we also have a couple of extra approaches into the property that will need maintenance);
Nice to have -
Post hole digger - not sure if rent or own, but we need to fence at least 1/2 the property and it may be a good option for planting new trees. (we will be planting some fruit/nut trees in one area and will likely start a very small Christmas tree 'farm' in another)
Forestry related equipment Not sure what else we will need (shears/chipper/puller?), we have 14-15 acres of just trees, mostly loblolly pines that can be harvested for timber. We need to thin the trees of scrub and such and remove deadfall and low branches. We MAY decide to harvest pine straw as well. I thought about baling hay in my open areas, but that may be cost prohibitive. Ultimately, we are not trying to turn a profit, just defray the cost of our equipment and give back to the community (the Christmas trees will be a donation thing).

Baling generally requires a full sized utility tractor, although there are some nonstandard balers such as small round balers that can be run with compact tractors. Everything else doesn't take all that much of a tractor. A 5' rotary cutter will be fine for 3-4 acres of cutting. A medium sized compact such as the smaller Kubota Ls with 25-35 HP would work here and be more maneuverable than a larger unit.