Buying Advice Tractor Suggestions for 30 Acre Homestead w/ Horses

[RougeRiverRanch]

Hi all, new to the forum. Lots of great information on here.

I have zero experience with buying tractors (have always borrowed my very generous neighbor's tractor) and would like some suggestions as to what may best suit my needs. We live on 30 acres in Michigan, there's a river that runs through the center property, and the surrounding property slopes towards the river. During the spring and fall, some of the property tends to get very muddy due to the high water table. We also have 2 horses and 2 mini horses, no farming plans either besides maybe some gardens to feed the family. No plans to get additional horses any time soon either.

I presume the primary uses for the tractor will be general maintenance of our 30 acres and for the horses (hauling horse manure, plowing and grading the 2,800 feet of driveway, mowing grass). In the future, I would also like to get a backhoe attachment to dig out some small detention ponds to make the horse paddocks less muddy.

I would like to get a used tractor, somewhere in the 500-2000 hour range (if closer to 2000 hrs, it must be well cared for), and my budget is $12,000-$15,000, but would be willing to spend an additional $2,000 if absolutely necessary. A loader is a must, mower and blade can be purchased separately or at a later date. I think I'd prefer a hydro transmission but am open to suggestions to others.

Any good suggestions? I have mainly been looking at Kubota L series, Deere 3320, 3520, 4410, 4430. Any other suggestions or reasons why to look at one over another? Suggested prices for any of these?

Thanks in advance,
Jason

 

[Blaneypark]

I have had a JD4100 with cab and snow blower. Made a FEL fot it with plans. Sold that and got a JD 790, no cab FEL, Blower, Brush hog, and tiller. Loved it but cold in the winter. Now have a 3520 with cab heat and AC. FEL Blower tiller Grooming mower brushhog and tiller. Would not trade it for the world. Cab is so nice you can blow snow in a tee shirt. Problem is it was twice the ammount in your budget stated.

 

[jeff9366]

I would like to get a backhoe attachment to dig out some small detention ponds to make the horse paddocks less muddy.

You need a tracked excavator to dig out ponds. You can rent these fairly easily where I live. The load on a tractor's tires and on Backhoe sterilizers is too high on wet ground and tractor will completely mire before you can pick up the first 300 pounds of mud in the Backhoe bucket. (The load on tracks is just a fraction of load on wheels.)

Perhaps you should consider trenching all the low area, laying perforated pipe and directing underground runoff toward the river.

In your plan, does the tractor have to get into your barn? What is the restricting dimension for entering your barn?

What horsepower and weight is your neighbor's tractor and how satisfied were you with the results of using it??? This should be your benchmark.

 

[super55]

I would recommend roughly a 30-35 CUT. Adequate power for your needs in most cases yet small enough to still get in the barn and maneuver around for mucking stalls. One thing I would recommend is Ag R1 tires. I have had all types on my tractors at one time or another and they all have their advantages but for doing farm related work you just can't beat Ag tires. I had them on my kubota before I sold it and really miss them. My JD 4310 has R4 industrials and I really don't care for them. I was trying to mix up a compost pile with my loader and was consistently breaking lose before I could fill my bucket. I never had that problem with my kubota with the R1s. The problem is the lugs are spaced fairly close and pretty shallow so the clog up pretty easy. Once clogged you might as well be trying to do work with racing slicks.

I would consider a tractor with a shuttle shift or an E-reverser. It will save you a couple grand right off the top compared to a hydrostatic. Once you get used to running one and find the right gear for the task I think they work just about as fast as a hydro. Plus I'm not overly impressed with hydros and drawbar power. Plus they rob your PTO of more HP than gear/shuttle will which you might want to have if you ever decide to do a small baling operation on your property. 30 hp will be about the smallest you can go and still run a baler like a JD 14/24T or an IH 46/47.

Also look for a loader with a detachable bucket so you can go ahead and put pallet forks or maybe a bale spear if you decide to go rounds. A 30 hp should be able to lift a 4x4 or 4x5 soft core bale without any issues. Anything larger and you are really taxing the loader and will have stability issues due to the narrow stance of CUTs. Being able to get whatever you are lifting as close to the pins will help maximize efficiency of your loader. They do make spears and forks that attach to the bucket but they are extended so far out that you end up loosing a lot of lifting capability plus it's harder to see what you're doing.

My current tractor is a john deere 4310 (next size smaller than the 4410) with the e-reverser. So far it has been a great little tractor. It handles 5 or 6 foot implements with ease and have yet to stall out the 420 loader breaking out ground or lifting something. The issue i have had is that the cylinders on the model 47 backhoe I have for it tend to leak down a little bit after a while.

 

[RougeRiverRanch]

Thanks for the responses. Much appreciated.

My neighbor's tractor is a mid-1990s Deere 870 with Model 80 FEL with turf tires. It seems a bit smaller and underpowered than what I prefer, but it has always worked for us. If anything, I'd rather get something that's a bit overpowered.

Regarding the R1 tires, I'd like them for the traction in the muddy areas but they will tear up our grass when I mow. We do have quite a bit of grass that I would like to keep looking nice. I think I really need 2 sets of tires but that's not in the works right now so I may just settle for R4s for the time-being since they seem to be the halfway point between turfs and AGs. Let me know if you think I'm wasting my time with R4s.

Will not be keeping tractor inside our horse barn, it is too small, it will be kept in my garage with the gator until our pole barn is built in the next couple of years.

Regarding detention ponds, getting a tractor in there is not an issue. There's already space and raised gravel tracks to get the tractor back there and in a position to dig, the swamps have flattened out over the past 40 years and need to be mucked out so they can hold water again. Prior owners set it up this way because they knew it would eventually flatten out over time and didn't want to get heavy equipment out there (dense woods anyways).

Regarding the hydro trans, I'm fine with shuttle shift or e-reverser but not sure how capable my wife will be figuring out the gears. She will be the primary operator for horse-related work.

I think I'm leaning towards the Deere 3320 or 4410, they seem comparable to eachother.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any additional questions. Thanks.

 

[Creamer]

For 30 acres I would go with a CUT frame. I would be lost without my 1710 Ford (28 hp CUT). But if I was going to buy another I would get a little more hp 35-40 would be nice. If you find your neighbor's tractor a little small you need to bigger than the 3320 or 4410. The CUT frame is necessary for more weight carrying ability (hay bales, wood, manure, etc.), more clearance, stronger PTO system for basic implements, more stability (loader on slopes), and just a lot more capability.

I certainly agree with the E-reverser or shuttle shift vs a hydro - less hp loss, quick for loader work and less expensive. I would insist on FWA as I would be lost without it. Mine has diamond tread turf tires on the rear which are really nice for flotation but I would like more traction. It is still on its originals but the next set is going to be some I-2s - a short V-cleat high flotation tire that will give me the same flotation with a lot more traction. I would think these would be great in your wet ground.

I would certainly throw Ford New Holland (made by Shibaura) into the mix of options. I can honestly say that my Ford has not failed me in 20 years except when a battery went bad and needed replaced. Kiotis and Mahindras for newer tractors work very well and don't seem to cost quite as much. Repairs have been limited to the front axle seals and a small hydraulic leak that was a aged seal.

There are a few days I would like to have a cab but most of the time I would hate it. No cab means - easier on/off, access to controls from the ground, less trouble with trees and tight places, better visibility, etc.

Just my $.02.

 

[zzvyb6]

I live in the next county (Livingston) and farm 30 acres for horses and hay. I have a 36 hp JD 1070 that does all my jobs. I even dig holes with my loader.

You are welcome to come visit and see how it all goes together. Lots of good machines and equipment right now in our area on Craigslist.

 

[RougeRiverRanch]

I live in the next county (Livingston) and farm 30 acres for horses and hay. I have a 36 hp JD 1070 that does all my jobs. I even dig holes with my loader.

You are welcome to come visit and see how it all goes together. Lots of good machines and equipment right now in our area on Craigslist.

Thanks for the offer, zzvyb6, maybe I'll try to set something up with you on my next trip out to TS in South Lyon. I'll take a look on Craigslist to see what's out there. PM me if you find anything of particular interest, my searches are mostly littered with lawn and garden tractors.

Forgive my ignorance, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the models I listed in my original post CUT frame tractors???

 

[MH8675309]

I live in Sanilac county - north of you a ways. I'm on 32 acres and keep some horses beef cattle and a few pigs. I started taking some hay off and have been working on increasing our hay acreage so that eventually I wont have to buy hay at all. My tractor is a JD 5205 two wheel drive 53 hp with a 521 front loader and a class 2 three point. It is not considered to be a compact but just a utility and I'm glad its not smaller because I don't have some of the problems some of these guys do with a smaller tractor that has adequate hydraulics but lacking weight. It has been able to do just about anything I've wanted to do so far like carrying large round bales ( 3 pt bale spear), running a NH 273 baler, or just having a loader that'l pick up a ton if I need to. I bought a back blade for it a few years back and I like that for snow better than the blade on the truck. I paid $15000 for the machine at a tri county deal 2 years ago and don't know how I ever made it without it. It had over 3000 hours on it when I bought it but people buy JD because they last.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Around here, horse people want a tractor AT LEAST big enough to pick up 4x5 round bales with the loader! AND be able to easily move them, even in the winter, or when there's mud to drive through...

That leaves out many of the little compacts people are suggesting here...

SR