Tractor for 55 acre farm any suggestions?

[Sideoutds]

The mulch layer is a rain flo irrigation 2550. I was going to get the 2600 but it say a minimum of 65hp 4wd. The 2510 is a bit light in the front end so u have to start a lil slow coming from the barn or you'll pop a wheelie but once it's on the ground it pulls it pretty well, the ole Deere weighs in around 6500 lbs. I also don't like that the tricycle front in packs the soil right befor forming it up into a row. I also want one of these for cultivating around he plastic which is impossible with a tricycle front end.
Model CS | Hillside Cultivator Company, LLC

The land is around 40 acres pasture and 15 acres of woods give or take 2 to 3 acres. I also buy logs here and there to cut for projects. The mill is a woodmizer lt40 no hydraulics so it's a pain loading logs on it with the winch that's one of the reasons I want a loader.

 

[Reyer Farms]

The mulch layer is a rain flo irrigation 2550. I was going to get the 2600 but it say a minimum of 65hp 4wd. The 2510 is a bit light in the front end so u have to start a lil slow coming from the barn or you'll pop a wheelie but once it's on the ground it pulls it pretty well, the ole Deere weighs in around 6500 lbs. I also don't like that the tricycle front in packs the soil right befor forming it up into a row. I also want one of these for cultivating around he plastic which is impossible with a tricycle front end.
Model CS | Hillside Cultivator Company, LLC

The land is around 40 acres pasture and 15 acres of woods give or take 2 to 3 acres. I also buy logs here and there to cut for projects. The mill is a woodmizer lt40 no hydraulics so it's a pain loading logs on it with the winch that's one of the reasons I want a loader.

Rainflo is a good one, makes a good tight bed. Do you have center fillers on it? I think it's 10hp per inch of bed height and a margin of error for MS clays and 65-70 HP is looking pretty good. We use 6" high beds but buckeye does not pull as hard as a Rainflo.
I like the hillside cultivator. I'm going back to that site to look at it some more.

 

[Sideoutds]

I do not have the fillers. It does a good job if the ground is broken up well. I'll be going Thursday to test up some of these tractors I've been looking at. Hopefully I can make a decision.

 

[Edward. S]

Take pictures! And tell us how you liked the features etc.

 

[Sideoutds]

Is this a good pric for this tractor?
http://www.tractorhouse.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=7465345
Yea I had planned on taking some pictures of the tractors so I can go back and look at them while making my decision.

 

[Edward. S]

Its alright, can do better on the price. I can help you look too.

 

[downslope]

Are you planning on leaving the loader on all the time or taking it on and off for the vegetable bedding, cultivating, spraying, etc? I usually prefer to keep a loader on one of the older tractors so that the new tractor is available for all the everyday tillage and vegetable work.

You're right about the tricycle tractor, you really want a wide front end for laying plastic. Also for cultivating/subsoiling between the 4 foot plastic you'll probably need the wheels set at least 68-72 inches. For vegetable work I like to have high clearence if possible, better with narrower 38" tires than wide 28 or 30 inch. As someone else mentioned it's nice to have a tractor that can run run slow if you are going to run a transplanter or do close cultivating. I believe a creeper gear can be added to larger Kubotas with a dealer kit for not too much cost. Also certain JD's the creeper could be either factory or dealer installed. There are also some older IH Hydros of different sizes that are very nice for vegetable work.

I think you are smart to hang onto the older usable tractors. You've got a lot of things going on and it's nice not to have to keep switching implements and also have a backup if one tractor is down.

I would keep looking for something used or maybe new that best meets the bulk of your needs.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see you list of existing tractors, you already have some nice older stuff. I think you will be tight to buy major brand new for $30K with loader, maybe a New Holland TD or plain jane Kubota 70-80 HP open stations. The Kubota is nice because like I said you can get it with the creeper trans if you have a need for that. Some times you can get by with a little less HP on the plastic bedder by making two passes, second one with the plastice and drip tape.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[Sideoutds]

I looked at the John Deere 5065E and the New Holland Workmaster 65. Here are some pictures I took.

 

[Sideoutds]

i also had some video of me working the front end loader on the John Deere. The John Deere has 9Fx3R transmission, the New Holland had a 8Fx2R. When I first cranked it up it ran really rough for the first minute or so. The salesman gave me the keys and then went inside to work up a price for me. I drove it around and operated the FEL on it. I tried all 3 ranges in Forward and Reverse, played with the 3 pt hitch, everything worked smoothly. He gave me a quote of $31,769.50 after taxes. The New Holland has a 600lb weight advantage, that's without the loader. I didn't see any specs on the weight of the loaders just what they would lift. I did not get to operate the loader on the Workmaster because it was still on a pallet they had just gotten the 65hp workmaster in. On paper the John Deere has a 600lb advantage on the lifting capacity with the front end loader. 3 pt lift capacity for the new holland is 3276 at the ball ends and for the John Deere is 3192 24" behind the ball ends. The salesman at the New Holland dealer said the the engine in the workmaster was an Iveco which somehow had something to do with Cummings.

I have a few questions maybe some of you could answer. I don't know much about the axle set up on the New Holland, to me it seems like it would be a weaker than just having axles coming straight out. I noticed that the John Deere has a 3 cylinder and the New Holland has 4, I don't know if this would be an advantage or disadvantage. I know that the engine on my sawmill is a cat 3 cylinder but other than that I'm not a diesel mechanic. I also noticed the whine from the transmission of the New Holland, I had read another thread on here where they were talking about it, according to them it was from the way the gears were cut. Last thing is both of these tractors have a Dry Clutch. I have heard a "wet" clutch is better but don't really know the difference.

The New Holland Dealer never gave me a print out of exact price it would cost but he said it would be around $28000.00, I think I may call him and get him to send me an exact quote tomorrow.

Overall, I really liked both tractors, I would have liked to have operated the Workmaster 65 with the FEL on it. I will also be purchasing with a grapple for the FEL. I will be going to the Massey Ferguson dealer in the morning to try out the 2535. It has a bit more HP than these two tractosr at 74 HP Engine and 60 HP PTO.

 

[Reyer Farms]

Man I really like the Deere. I'm like you on the rear end, I'm sure it's fine but it just don't look right. The smaller work master was not like that when I looked at them. I like cylinders behind the front axle, seems more protected. The new holland had a nice feel to it, and I wonder if ride is better with the way the rear end sets???? You probably can't go wrong with either. Price seems fair, I was quoted 26 and some change for just the 5055 when I was shopping. Went with the smaller Mahindra with cab and loader same money. Interested in how the Massey compares, I really like a Massey, no dealer close sells them.