New Hobby Farm - Is BX25 Enough?

[Bota4me]

I have 25 acres and my BX25 is more than adequate. I kust can't see myself needing to upgrade. You have your FEL which you can expand with the BXpanded bucket expander to double the heaped capacity (like I did), you have both a rear and middle PTO, you have a backhoe that comes off real fast and can dig a 6' ditch, you have 3-pt hitch capacity, your mower, your foldable ROPS, compact size.... I could go on. I love mine, and can't wait to get up to the cottage this weekend to blow snow with it! Best of all, you don't have to spend a dime, 'cause you already own one!

well said

 

[savaytse66]

Well -- not enough info here. Are you maintaining the horses yourself? Do you need to care for them? If that is the case, I'd start thinking of adding on a second tractor. probably used but much bigger. I think you will find that the BX can do things a bigger tractor can't, but if you need to start cutting/baling hay,I'd look into a bigger tractor. Like I said - I am not entirely sure of your intentions in the future on your hobby farm.

As of right now, we are not maintaining the horses directly, though routine maintenance around the farm would be on us; things like spreading composted manure, cutting fields, etc. I don't anticipate bailing hay anytime soon, but you never know. I would probably want to put a tiller on at some point, and maybe a box grader. We definitely intend to start small and learn as we go. More immediate plans, besides maintenance, is maybe a small orchard, a largish garden, and some small livestock (a goat or two and some chickens).

 

[AStanton]

At a minimum, if you keep the BX, and you haven't already, get the under armor to protect the cooling fan and other components.
I enjoy my BX-25; it's a little pit bull.

 

[radioman]

Keeping the BX is the way to go for now based on further info. You can put a 4 ft or smaller tiller on the BX, same for boxblade. Not to mention its easier to tow back and forth between properties and you can "get away with it" with a small truck/SUV since you wouldnt be going over 5k combined wieght. Only thing is spreadinng manuare - you may not be able to find a small used one locally, and you may have to buy new to get SCUT sized implemnt like manuare spreader unless someone here can tell me i am wrong in that aspect.

 

[Wingsy]

I'll also vote on keeping your BX25 unless you definitely come upon a need for something bigger. About a year and a half ago I bought 9.5 acres from a developer; it's got 2 ponds, several hills, and it DID have some serious growth on those hills, and 30 or more willow trees around the ponds that just had to go. When the developer saw what I bought (a BX25) he said it wouldn't be big enough for what I had to do. He was so wrong. The BH took care of those willow trees, a 50" rotary mower took down the saplings and thick brush from those steep hills (with some puckering here & there), the FEL fills the holes in 2 acres plagued with sink holes and 50 other things, and a 5' sickle mower trims the banks of the ponds. I recently got a box blade for a gravel road I plan to build next summer. The point is, I have yet to come upon anything that made me say "I wish I had a bigger tractor." I doubt if you'll be saying it either. (But I don't know squat about bailing hay.)

And, BTW, I had a flail mower for a while, then sold it and got a Howse rotary cutter. That was a good move.

 

[WM75Guy]

I think it comes down to how much is your time and effort worth and what tasks you plan on doing and why. We have 14 acres and 3 horses at this time. When I bought our first tractor, the TC40DA, my wife asked why we needed such a big tractor and a 20' GN trailer for our small place. She now loves her TC40DA for dragging the arena with the 8' arena drag. We buy hay several times a year, both square and round bales. She moves both around with her tractor without a problem where a smaller tractor would not have the FEL capacity. I buy shavings and sawdust pellets for the stalls by the pallet, about 1500 pounds each, to save money and I use the TC40DA with forks to unload them into the barn, much easier on my back.

I mow pasture with my Boomer 8N 50 HP and a 6' cutter but a smaller tractor with a 4' or 5' cutter could do, it would just take longer. I have a 6' tiller but again a 4'or 5' would work. There are clearing land tasks I could have done with my equipment but would have taken me a month so I hired a dozer company to do it in 2 days.

Enjoy your property and let it work for you, don't work for it. If you find a task that you cannot do with your current equipment consider the frequency and the costs associated with doing it yourself, either by buying or renting equipment or hiring it out. At first I bought attachments that I use once a year that I could have rented when I needed it instead of buying. Some tasks such as trying to make hay on a small place are not good from a business standpoint but you do it as an expensive hobby for the enjoyment. That's what our horses are, an expensive hobby, but we have fun with them.

 

[easygo]

As of right now, we are not maintaining the horses directly, though routine maintenance around the farm would be on us; things like spreading composted manure, cutting fields, etc. I don't anticipate bailing hay anytime soon, but you never know. I would probably want to put a tiller on at some point, and maybe a box grader. We definitely intend to start small and learn as we go. More immediate plans, besides maintenance, is maybe a small orchard, a largish garden, and some small livestock (a goat or two and some chickens).

It will really depend on what you end up doing on the farm weather you will be happy with the BX or would eventually want to get a larger tractor. That said. I strongly agree with the idea of sticking with it for now. It is something you are used to and something that you already have. While it is kind of fun to shop for equipment it is also important to keep the stress level down in the beginning. It will take more time to complete tasks but they will get done. If a large portion of the land is fenced pasture, the horses will do an excellent job at keeping that in check and the BX will shine at mowing along the fence. If you need to bush hog the filed you can do that or talk to a neighbor with a larger tractor. Tilling a very large garden is also well within the specs. Leave the haying to someone else. While it is fun it can get expensive and frustrating. I don't hay but help my neighbor and also fix equipment for him. He is running out of stuff I have not had to weld and he owns a lot of toys.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

BX 25 owner here. In 3 years I have put on 1000 HRs. Still running strong. If you plan to garden definitely get a 48" rototiller, the BX handles that fine. They make small scale manure spreaders, they are around $2500 new. I am looking as I am planning a Christmas tree plot and need an efficient way to spread compost. Mine runs a 6" chipper with no problem. I have a 2 gang 60" disc that it handles fine also. You may want a disc to keep that pasture up to snuff with winter cover crop, over seeding, aeration, and fertilizing. Don't even think about pulling a plow. All the earlier ideas all are great so no need to repeat. My dealer recommended to stay away from the flail mower and use the bush hog. Mine is a 48". Stay with 48" wide implements as they compliment your wheel spacing. If you do not have FEL forks, get some, I recommend 4 as they then double as a brush handler fairly well. Also you will need ballast weight to effectively use a disc, box scraper, or back blade as the 3PT has no down thrust. I use a chain type drag to knock down clumps and set seeds, they also work to keep arenas loosened up. I do that for my neighbor who is a show horsewoman. I use suitcase weights on a "my shop" rail on the tractor front and on my QH. If you change 3PT implements often, consider a QH. The BX is a B to work with.

I vote: stay with the BX, and have fun on your new place, Ron

 

[AceDeuce]

I think if you didn't already have a tractor and were buying new, I'd probably be looking at a B-series machine but since you already have a BX, I agree with others' recommendations to stick with it until you find something that you need/want more tractor for. I have never been disappointed with my BX. As long as you aren't in a hurry, it will just about everything a larger machine will do. The main drivers for a bigger machine will be the FEL capacity, ground clearance, and/or haying equipment.

 

[art]

The BX can do what you need to have done! It might be quicker with larger machinery but why not use the tractor you have for the small amount of extra time it might take because of it being smaller. On the plus side diesels are best when run for longer periods of time, this would be good for the tractor!
About mowers, did you look at the drive belt on your deck? Nobody else uses anything close to the Kubota! We do have people using them to mow pastures! Just run the deck up high and it even protects the transmission cooling fan!

So if it's not for time, you have no reason to buy anything more!