Just purchased a small pecan orchard

[s219]

You can probably find a good deal on a Deere if you shop around, but in general I have found them to be more expensive. Still I would suggest at least shopping Deere, as they make a good tractor, and price should not be the only factor you consider. You may find that you like them better regardless of price.

Also definitely look at Kubota. You will probably find that the prices are a little lower than Deere, and they have a great dealer/support network.

After shopping around for a 25-30HP tractor recently, I narrowed down to Deere and Kubota myself, and went with Kubota this time (B2920 model). It's been great. But I still love my older smaller Deere.

 

[Pecan Bill]

Ok, I will check both out. I stumbled across some "reconditioned" Yanmars and found that they were "reconditioned" in Viet Nam. I don't feel that lucky.

I guess finding a used well maintained tractor with low hours would be a much safer bet than the reconditioned tractors. If I run a 6' shredder I wonder if I would need more HP than the smaller compacts would offer? The last tractor I shredded with was 46 HP and it took all of its power in some situations with heavier brush. This field is mostly pasture with some brush on the front and back sides.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Briana03]

WELCOME to TBN

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

 

[Nissan197]

I purchased a Mahindra 3215 gear five years ago for my 10 acres. It has a 3 cyl. Mitsubishi engine and has been a great tractor. I have a front end loader for it and pull a 5' rotary cutter. It has done everything I have ever needed. Mahindra is an Indian company, however I believe only certain models are made in India and others are made elsewhere. Good luck in your search.

 

[jenkinsph]

Ok, I will check both out. I stumbled across some "reconditioned" Yanmars and found that they were "reconditioned" in Viet Nam. I don't feel that lucky.

I guess finding a used well maintained tractor with low hours would be a much safer bet than the reconditioned tractors. If I run a 6' shredder I wonder if I would need more HP than the smaller compacts would offer? The last tractor I shredded with was 46 HP and it took all of its power in some situations with heavier brush. This field is mostly pasture with some brush on the front and back sides.

Thanks for your input!

First of all Welcome to the forum

Tractors have changed alot over the last 50 years but their have been some improvements that are very worthwhile along the way. Most of the tractors available today are pretty good. I have a preference for Deere and Kubota new equipment but thats personal opinion. I would be careful not to make assumptions about quality on overseas makes as very little of the small tractors are USA made today. Regardless of origin most are good machines.

In your first post you referred to a 460 if this was an International 460 I think you will be pleasantly suprized at the improvements in the new tractors. We had one of these years ago and moved up to new 3020 and 4020 Deeres, sure made me happy.

 

[bigbull338]

if you want to run a 6ft shedder id go with a 40hp tractor.go to the differant dealers an test drive some tractors ask qs an get a feel for them.

 

[flusher]

We have just purchased a 7 acre pecan orchard near Granbury Tx. The previous owner sold his equipment at auction and I need to start the process of piecing together the equipment I will need to control grass, spray trees, till a vegetable garden, etc. I have not purchased a tractor since the 60's and am very disappointed by the predominance of Indian and Far East tractors. I don't want to purchase something that I cannot get parts for and need advice. I was raised on a small row crop farm less than 200 acres and we did everything with Ford 8N and 460 tractors.

Please let me know what you have learned about the tractor(s) to consider, finish mowers vs. brush hogs vs zero turn mowers with large decks, loader uses, and tillers that work well for small gardens.

Thank you.

Around here (North Sacramento Valley) we have tens of thousands of acres of orchard (almond, pistachio, English walnut, olive, mandarin orange, prune plum, etc). The larger operations use expensive orchard tractors with hermetically sealed cabs so you don't poison yourself when spraying insecticide on your trees. Smaller operations use all kinds of equipment. My neighbor just planted 8 acres of English walnut and bought a used JD 2640 tractor--overkill for his needs, but he really, really wanted that particular tractor and the price was right (about $7K).

Around here you see a lot of older Massey Ferguson tractors working in the orchards. I bought one of these in July06. It's a 1964 MF135 diesel deluxe with multipower--$3600. It's a field tractor that's been modified to squat low for orchard work. The 28 inch diameter rear wheels were replaced by 16" dia wheels and the front axle spindles were shortened to keep the tractor level.




He mowed his orchard with a 6-ft brush hog. Most of the larger orchard operators use big flail mowers (8 ft wide and larger) to tidy up their orchards. You need pretty large tractors (60 hp pto and larger) to handle these beasts.

There are lotsa Ford 8Ns in the orchards around here. Just be careful if you want to go this way since some 8Ns are pretty worn out when they show up on craigslist and at local auctions.

Good luck.

 

[Pecan Bill]

The Massey seems to offer a lot of tractor for the price. I am constantly looking at craigslist to see the equipment offered. It is tough having a small operation and needing the capability of larger equipment. Thanks to all for your input!

I am also considering a zero turn mower for the orchard. It seems that the Mahindra, Deere, and Kubota dealers all sell tractors and zero turn mowers and consistently recommend the mower over the tractor.

My concern is how long the mower will hold up under that load compared to a tractor with a 5 or 6 foot cutter. Some of the zero turn mowers have a price tag to rival 30 hp tractors. I have looked at Scag, Bad Boy, Grasshopper and Gravely. I prefer the Kawasaki engine due to my experience in the past with this engine and found the best deal on a 60" to be the Gravely. It is $2K less than the Bad Boy with the same engine and much less than that compared to the Scag.

The zero turn cannot drive a pto sprayer that I will need every 10 days or so to spray zinc to the tops (40') of the trees. I also need to broadcast granular fertilizer and spray pesticides and herbicides.

I am looking for one machine to do it all at a great price and made well enough to last 20 years!

I don't ask for much do I?

Thanks to all for the replies.

Bill

 

[jenkinsph]

We have just purchased a 7 acre pecan orchard near Granbury Tx. The previous owner sold his equipment at auction and I need to start the process of piecing together the equipment I will need to control grass, spray trees, till a vegetable garden, etc. I have not purchased a tractor since the 60's and am very disappointed by the predominance of Indian and Far East tractors. I don't want to purchase something that I cannot get parts for and need advice. I was raised on a small row crop farm less than 200 acres and we did everything with Ford 8N and 460 tractors.

Please let me know what you have learned about the tractor(s) to consider, finish mowers vs. brush hogs vs zero turn mowers with large decks, loader uses, and tillers that work well for small gardens.

Thank you.

I think a zero turn such as a Deere 997 diesel would work the best for mowing under the trees. I have a Deere x749 aws 4x4 mower that could do a good job too with a diesel and 3PH, 540 pto. This will till the garden too using a 647 Deere 4' tiller. Both of these machines have a small uncut turning radius and are low profile for getting under trees without damage.

If you go with a zero turn and trailer spray rig consider getting one with a separate engine drive. The x749 could utilize a standard roller pump.

 

[yandeereguy]

I'd certainly go with Deere just because they hold value, and parts cost the same but you'll get your money back on the green ones.. I'm currently shopping in the same market as yourself and looked at kubotas but I'm gonna stick with Deere, maybe find a 990, 970 or 870.. they're smaller but have the Hp..
whatever you decide make sure you get a 4x4 machine and it has a loader on it.. because you'll have a **** of a time getting one later on,,, and it'll cost more to buy them seperate