New here and in the market.

Robert_in_NY · Dec 13, 2009

Vineyard Dave said:
I have not fully committed to a variety as of yet, but in speaking to the local winemakers there is demand for Seyval. They all seem to be coming up short with locally grown Seyval, so I thought with a ready made market that would be a good choice.

Good point on the use of a sprayer as well. I just e-mailed Branson to see if they offer the 4720 in a cab version. I'll let you know what I find out.

The wine market is a strange one. Remember it generally takes 3-4 years before you get your first crop harvested and the market can and most likely will be completely different by then. Around here it is common to see new vineyards being tore out and replanted as the wineries all want this one variety so everyone plants it, then when they all start harvesting they have flooded the market and the price drops and the wineries either can't use it all or no longer want it. Its a gamble but is one of the reasons wine grapes are so expensive. When you hit the market right you are set to make good money, hit it wrong and you just hope to get your investment back.

The common advice around here is to plant what the wineries will want 3-4 years from now, not what they want now. The problem with that advice is they don't know what they will want that far in advance

Thats why I like juice grapes like Concords and Niagaras. The market is stable for the most part and while you won't get rich it is a lot easier to maintain juice grapes then wine grapes.

If you have any other questions feel free to post them on here as there are a few of us that grow all different varieties of grapes and all sorts of locations. Hopefully one of us would be able to answer a specific question if you do have one.

Vineyard Dave · Dec 13, 2009

Great advice, thanks Robert. It's great to see there are a few other grape growers here that I can learn from. Again, many thanks.

greggh · Dec 14, 2009

I think that most of the major manufacturers have an "N" series tractor. Which is a narrow tractor for orchards. You might check those out. I am like another poster pretty sure that a 5' row would be too narrow for tractor use in a vinyard. But that is something that other vinyard owners can answer.

GPintheMitten · Dec 14, 2009

FWIW, Kubota has a narrow tractor model B2320DTN. It is gear driven (not hydrostatic) has 23 engine hp, 18 pto hp, and minimum width is 35.4 inches.

It is good that you are getting advice from other owners of vineyards because I was surprised by the fact that one owner uses such a large tractor for spraying. I don't know how he gets it in the rows but I'm sure he knows what he is talking about.

I would think maybe a used narrow light tractor for row work other than spraying and maybe a larger tractor with a cab for spraying and other landscape work.

dodge man · Dec 14, 2009

Just curious at to what part of Illinois you are moving to?

Vineyard Dave · Dec 14, 2009

Southern Illinois, near Carbondale.

Shawnee Hills Wine Trail

flusher · Dec 14, 2009

Vineyard Dave said:
I have not fully committed to a variety as of yet, but in speaking to the local winemakers there is demand for Seyval. They all seem to be coming up short with locally grown Seyval, so I thought with a ready made market that would be a good choice.

Good point on the use of a sprayer as well. I just e-mailed Branson to see if they offer the 4720 in a cab version. I'll let you know what I find out.

You don't necessarily need a cab for spraying. Around here there are thousands of acres of olives, English walnuts, almonds, mandarin oranges, prune plums. When spraying is needed, they suit up in their plastic full-body hazmat gear and use a tractor without cab to tow the spray unit.

Robert_in_NY · Dec 14, 2009

flusher said:
You don't necessarily need a cab for spraying. Around here there are thousands of acres of olives, English walnuts, almonds, mandarin oranges, prune plums. When spraying is needed, they suit up in their plastic full-body hazmat gear and use a tractor without cab to tow the spray unit.

That is how I have to do it but on hot days I have to stop in the middle of spraying because I am overheating inside the suit

Once you use a cab tractor to spray you will not want anything else

Robert_in_NY · Dec 14, 2009

GPintheMitten said:
It is good that you are getting advice from other owners of vineyards because I was surprised by the fact that one owner uses such a large tractor for spraying. I don't know how he gets it in the rows but I'm sure he knows what he is talking about.

Are you referring to me? You can get narrow orchard/vineyard tractors that are under 60" outside width up to 95 hp if my memory is working.

Kubota also has narrow tractors that are 48" to just under 60" and are utility tractors with a lot more hp then the 18hp tractor you listed. The Power Krawler is a narrow tractor designed for vineyards and orchards.