Vineyard Tractors?

[ganodave]

Greetings!

New to Tractorbynet here and I am specifically interested in finding a tractor that would be suited for vineyard work as well as the usual bush hog, backhoe loader, tiller and cultivating work for a 25 acre property in South Eastern Ontario... Had an Old Massey Ferguson 165 for a few years but looking for a smaller, narrower and more maneuverable for the vineyard.

Any insights, opinions and collected wisdom would be much appreciated from all of you folks here on TractorbyNet.

Thanks for looking in...

GanoDave

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[PossumHound]

:welcome:

 

[houstonscott]

I have been looking too. JD F76, or F85 look good to me. The JD M5105ML is outstanding all around tractor. I like the NH TK4030V to, but can't find anyone who owns one. For real orchard work on 25 acres I would look hard at the NH TK4030V.

HS

 

[flusher]

Greetings!

New to Tractorbynet here and I am specifically interested in finding a tractor that would be suited for vineyard work as well as the usual bush hog, backhoe loader, tiller and cultivating work for a 25 acre property in South Eastern Ontario... Had an Old Massey Ferguson 165 for a few years but looking for a smaller, narrower and more maneuverable for the vineyard.

Any insights, opinions and collected wisdom would be much appreciated from all of you folks here on TractorbyNet.

Thanks for looking in...

GanoDave

Kubota BX series is your best bet to handle the multitude of chores you've listed. These tractors are in the 25-30 hp (engine) range so you'd be limited to 4-ft wide implements for your field work. But they're narrow, maneuverable and come with backhoes. A 2006 BX24 TLB sold for $12K on eBay a few months ago.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Knowing the area your talking you will be looking at similar equipment that we run across the lake. Any narrow tractor in the 60-80hp range will work for you with that size farm. Your going to want to find a good sprayer and make sure the tractor you get can handle the sprayer. The 300-400 gallon sprayers will use all of the 50pto hp available and you will have the weight to handle that size sprayer, and you will find if you have any mud you may use more. If you end up helping with harvest you will need all the weight and hp available to pull the cart.

If your looking new I prefer the narrow JD and narrow Kubota currently because of their cabs. If your in a double curtain then you may want to look at the ultra narrow New Holland or Case-IH. I know from personal experience the John Deere 5420N fits down our double curtains without any problem.

I would avoid the Kubota BX for the main fact it is too small for the acerage your talking. Yes, it can be done but in our area when its not raining you need to be spraying and the BX won't be able to handle the size sprayer you will want. When the canopy starts to fill in you will want to put on around 100 gallons of water per acre and the BX will be limited to a very small sprayer.

The NH TK line looks impressive and if your dealing with mud or steep hills then it may be worth considering but the reason their hard to find around here is because they are not really needed in this area. Even the Kubota with rear tracks doesn't seem to be used around here. I know of a dealer that had one but I don't know who bought it and for what purpose as I have never seen it in any vineyards locally.

The JD F series I didn't like because their are very low and the cabs are cramped. If your dealing with an orchard then yeah, they would be a good option but for a vineyard you don't need to stay that low for our trellis systems. The JD narrow tractors cab feels large inside and you have a lot of foot space and their easy to get in and out of as is the Kubota. The CNH tractors make you feel like you have to twist yourself in and out of them (unless they changed the cab drastically in the last couple years). Before my back injury I didn't mind but since I hurt my back I dispise the CNH cab as the tractors are uncomfortable to me now to be able to get in, sit in and to get out. The JD I can sit in all day long (13 hours was the longest shift) and not feel bad because I can move around and shift my body as needed. The CNH cab you sit in it like a cockpit on a fighter jet, you are sunk down and it feels like the cab is hugging you completely.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Also, the John Deere and New Holland tractors have factory loaders available to them. I have seen aftermarket loaders on Kubotas as well.

I have never seen anyone put a 3pt backhoe on a vineyard tractor but it has a standard 3pt hitch so if it will clear the cab (if it has a cab) then I don't see it being a problem.

 

[Soundguy]

many older tractors were made with vinyard fender options, as well as narrower stances.

soundguy

 

[Briana03]

Hello & WELCOME to TBN!

I moved your thread to the Buying/Pricing/Comparisons Forum.

 

[ganodave]

Also, the John Deere and New Holland tractors have factory loaders available to them. I have seen aftermarket loaders on Kubotas as well.

I have never seen anyone put a 3pt backhoe on a vineyard tractor but it has a standard 3pt hitch so if it will clear the cab (if it has a cab) then I don't see it being a problem.

Many thanks to all who have responded to this introduction... most helpful! I will take a look at all the tractors suggested here!

 

[ganodave]

Hello & WELCOME to TBN!

I moved your thread to the Buying/Pricing/Comparisons Forum.

Thanks Briana!

 

[charleyfarmall]

Brian,

What is a double curtain?

Charley

 

[ganodave]

Also, the John Deere and New Holland tractors have factory loaders available to them. I have seen aftermarket loaders on Kubotas as well.

I have never seen anyone put a 3pt backhoe on a vineyard tractor but it has a standard 3pt hitch so if it will clear the cab (if it has a cab) then I don't see it being a problem.

Planning to dig a few holes for trees and walls Robert so I'm looking at detaching the backhoe when I'm don't need it.

Thanks!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Brian,

What is a double curtain?

Charley

Double curtain is a spread trellis system that allows more room for growth as well as light to enter the canopy. You can go to this link http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/info/pdf/domototrellis.pdf and if you go down past the section about construction a vineyard they will get to the trellis design section and it will show a decent picture of single curtain compared to double curtain as well as other designs.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Planning to dig a few holes for trees and walls Robert so I'm looking at detaching the backhoe when I'm don't need it.

Thanks!

If you expect to only use it for a short period of time you may want to look into renting a mini excavator or such. They will work faster and better then a 3pt hoe and will be much more affordable compared to buying a 3pt hoe. Around here its around $700/week for a 4 ton mini excavator and I would imagine the 3pt hoe to work with a vineyard tractor would be in the $5-$6k range. Just an option to consider if money is an issue.

Where abouts are you located? What town more specifically as I am curious. I know they were trying to establish vineyards near montreal but were having to pull the vines off the trellis at the end of the year and bury them to protect them from winter kill as it freezes the vines badly there.

 

[ganodave]

I'm in Prince Edward County, Ontario's newest VQA region... we have to do the same thing here as they do in Montreal. Some varietals are much stronger and that's what we're looking at here, to plant a hardier and frost resistant vine. Don't plan to have a large vineyard, 3 or 4 acres at most. Thanks for the advice on the backhoes too, I was looking at a towable backhoe last night...

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I'm in Prince Edward County, Ontario's newest VQA region... we have to do the same thing here as they do in Montreal. Some varietals are much stronger and that's what we're looking at here, to plant a hardier and frost resistant vine. Don't plan to have a large vineyard, 3 or 4 acres at most. Thanks for the advice on the backhoes too, I was looking at a towable backhoe last night...

Ok, if your only looking at 3-4 acres then you can get by with a smaller compact tractor in the 30hp range and a smaller 150 gallon trailed sprayer. Just make sure you find a sprayer and make sure which ever tractor you pick will be able to handle the sprayer you will use. A 100 gallon 3pt sprayer will be pushing a 30hp compact tractor weight wise. It will lighten the front end a lot.

You guys definitely earn your money up there when playing in a vineyard. Its very seldom we have to worry about that long hard freeze so once our vines are on the wire they stay there (thankfully).

 

[charleyfarmall]

Double curtain is a spread trellis system that allows more room for growth as well as light to enter the canopy. You can go to this link http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/info/pdf/domototrellis.pdf and if you go down past the section about construction a vineyard they will get to the trellis design section and it will show a decent picture of single curtain compared to double curtain as well as other designs.

Thanks! Much clearer now!

Reading that made me want to go plant grapes....

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thanks! Much clearer now!

Reading that made me want to go plant grapes....

Your welcome, glad I can help.

I hope you have a deep pocket book as their not cheap to plant and then you have to wait 3 years before you start to see any return on your investment The nice side though is once their planted you don't have to replant again for a long time. Some of the vineyards here are over 100 years old so the investment will keep paying as long as the market is still there.

 

[zonta223]

Your welcome, glad I can help.

I hope you have a deep pocket book as their not cheap to plant and then you have to wait 3 years before you start to see any return on your investment The nice side though is once their planted you don't have to replant again for a long time. Some of the vineyards here are over 100 years old so the investment will keep paying as long as the market is still there.

A recent survey in Australia showed that only 25% of grape growers can make a full time living from their vineyards. More than 50% "Support" their vineyard with outside income. Today's prices for wine grapes are terrible mostly at or below the cost of production. If you grow Chardonnay grapes it's a case of paying wineries to take them away. Whats the situation like in your part of the world??

Bob