Future of New Holland Utility and Compact tractor line.

[jim_wilson]

I've watched Kubota from day one and I can say that while I believe they have worked hard to be where they are, the business they got was literally given away by the other makers. When other makers screwed up, Kubota filled the vacuum.

Early on I owned Fords and IH. An 8N, 9N an IH "H" and when ready to buy an IH 45 HP is when the company started to fail and couldn't deliver the product. I wanted to buy but they had none to sell. OK, so I went with Ford and a Japanese 1900 and then 2110. Just wonderful tractors and really did the job with zero issues.
When I went to buy another Ford there were issues of Ford selling the ag division plus talk of outsourcing the axles to some Eastern Bloc nation or whatever. I have no interest in a Yugoslavian, or whatever axle, so I moved on. I know how to build a business and they were going the wrong way.

Enter Kubota and I started with 90 HP. Then another, another, another and another. I picked up a couple Deeres along the way, and I love my 5520 but some of the conversations on this board deal with problems like melting fuel tanks in that series and things I don't need to deal with. So, again by default, I'll probably wind up with Kubota. Kubota has quietly become the CUT leader and is on a path to own a chunk of the utility line as well.

just my personal opinion here.

That's a good story. I have to say that I have had some of the same thoughts since I became a "tractor guy" about ten years ago.

I didn't grow up on a farm or even in a rural area. Grew up in the suburbs. Vacationed in Vermont when I was a kid. Maybe it was from those experiences that I always thought that Deere, Ford (or New Holland), and Massey were who made tractors. I can remember seeing a Kubota at a small dealer in VT when I was a kid - there were like 3 of them and they were sitting outside a hardware store or something like that.

So when I went looking for a tractor to do work around my suburban house like ten years ago - I first thought of Massey, Deere, and New Holland. But I never really saw anything from them that I thought would fit my needs. Then I ran across an ad on Ebay for a BX23 - and it was like "COOL - that's exactly what I need". But I still sort of had this ingrained "want" for a green, blue, or red tractor. I shopped heavily - and at the time - only the Massey GC really even came close to what Kubota had. Neither Deere or NH had a sub-compact with a backhoe on it. You could add one - but the result was not as "slick" as the Kubota BX.

So I guess that's a long winded way of agreeing with exactly what you said: if Deere or New Holland had had something as slick as the BX in their lineup - and had seemed as popular as the Kubota - I would have easily gone with them. But Kubota really has the market presence in that segment.

When I bought bigger last year - and went to a B3200 - the only other brand I really spent any time looking at - was Deere. I pretty much ruled out New Holland and Massey because their offerings (again) - just don't compare to the Kubota or Deere models - and the NH especially seems to be dying off around here. My dealer - who previously would have at least 4 or 5 blue tractors out on his lot next to the orange ones - now rarely has anything.

So now I'm two tractor in on something orange. The one I have now may be my last tractor ever. But - it's also possible I go bigger at some point in the future - in which case I'll likely look at orange and green again and red and blue will lose out.

So yeah - I agree with your assertion that New Holland is basically giving away the market. I kept going back and looking at that TZ when I was shopping for the BX - but in the end I just couldn't justify it. Second time around - I didn't even really look. If there's a third - I probably won't look again. Blue blew it.

 

[jim_wilson]

]if i was going to pay $35,000 for a fully loaded compact tractor i might as well put another $20,000 with it a get a pretty good size farm tractor.


Well, bigger is not always better or what is needed. I have a 70HP utility tractor that I rarely use now. It was bought to bushhog heavy brush and move lots of dirt and rock which is now very seldom. All the heavy hogging is done and mowing is maybe once a year. Most of my work is now with my Kubota B26 with the backhoe. I have about 90 hours on my 2010 model 7010 LS and almost 300 on my Kubota B26 that I bought used last year with 68 hours on it. The small tractor gets more use because it is more maneuverable and more versatile with the back hoe.

Take a farm of 100 acres - and how many tractors does the owner need? 1 or 2 100 HP tractors at maybe $75k a piece???? (I'm just making up numbers here).

Divide up that land into 1 acre housing lots -and you might get say 80 lots out of it? Out of those 80 lots lets say even just ten people buy a sub compact tractor - at $15k a piece (with some accessories) - you're talking the same money that you made on the two large tractors (maybe more) - and you're talking a lot more parts and accessory sales and also the possibility that some of them might convert to larger tractors later.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

That hundred acre farm here put in grapes would have a half million worth of equipment on it. If it was vegetables it would be less but even a row crop like corn would would have around $200k and that is if you hired a custom harvester instead of owning your own.

 

[bigbull338]

we run a 400ac cattle farm.an we use 2 70hp 4x4 tractors with fels on them.just in those tractors we have almost $60,000 in them.4 bale hay hauler an 16ft flatbed trailer at $4000.hay baler 2 ph diggers 1 3pt tiller $28000.2 shredders 1 6ft an 1 14ft $5000.thats well over $100,000 in equipment.

 

[dickday]

I bought my NH Boomer in '04 and love it. My son just bought a new LS, about the same size as my 40hp Boomer. He loves it. I stopped in my NH dealer and when I mentioned LS, all I got were snarls. They refuse to sell any small NH tractors because they are "off-shore junk". They carry Kubota instead. My 9 year old Boomer was off shore but apparently was not considered junk.

 

[daugen]

I really hate that off shore junk, like Mercedes and Ferrari...

 

[strawntsg]

I purchased a NH Boomer 3040 4WD hydrostatic drive in 2010 because of the safety features, long time reputation for quality, and a good dealer. I have been well-satisfied with its performance and reliability. Some issues with smooth shifting from high to low speed and in/out of 4WD, both shifting levers and linkage on the left hand side of the drivers seat. Understand it is all electronic and done by push buttons now.

 

[james weese]

New Holland is committed to the compact tractor business. The 2014 models are currently being launched to dealers. While still produced by LS, the "new" Boomers will feature an improved, larger platform that is similar to the Shibaura produced tractors. Also, the engine will be a tier 4 Shibaura instead of the current LS/Mitsubishi engine. Overall, the tractors are a lot more comfortable and quieter.

What does this tractor cost .Weight. Width, Length?

 

[lt190b]

Greetings james. I dont have the answers, but I have a few of my own. Does this (LS) tractor have the cab? What transmissions are in these. Does the undercarriage for front mount attachments from the (Shibaura) tractors fit? A link to the 2014 models would be great. lt190b

 

[Gary Fowler]

I bought my NH Boomer in '04 and love it. My son just bought a new LS, about the same size as my 40hp Boomer. He loves it. I stopped in my NH dealer and when I mentioned LS, all I got were snarls. They refuse to sell any small NH tractors because they are "off-shore junk". They carry Kubota instead. My 9 year old Boomer was off shore but apparently was not considered junk.

I can surely understand the NH dealer's frustration with LS. They are trying to sell an LS tractor with less features than the same LS tractor but trying to get thousands of $$$ more for it. Those with any savy at all will know that the LS brand is a much better buy AND they are both blue so what's to loose with buying LS if you are even considering NH.