At first we thought about farming a portion of the land and were even looking for larger tractors than this. However, I've read (I believe from Jeff) that farming alfalfa would only be cost effective at 80 acres or above. Thus we've really narrowed down the tractor to maintaining the horse ranch and if we ever decide to do row farming in the future, to get an older tractor with higher horsepower.
Eh, that number is both true and false. It's true you would not turn a profit if that was your intention. However, if you get a tractor with enough HP and weight to run a small square baler you can have the option of buying used equipment as it becomes economical to do so. Haying your own ground has its advantages over buying in hay or having it done by a custom operator.
Buying in hay is expensive. Some places charge 12+ dollars for first cut high quality small squares(at least here in PA, I have no idea what California charges for hay). A horse will consume about 100-120 of them per year, depending on bale density, horse size, exercise level, pasture time, etc. So buying small squares for a single horse can cost over 1400 dollars a year.
Custom baling has its own pitfalls, cost and timing. What are you paying the custom operator in? Cash? Most people do a 50/50 split of bales. Which if you can maintain your herd with the 50% of bales remaining, you could sell the other 50% yourself to offset costs of baling. The other problem with custom baling is timing. If the custom operator gets a contract to do your 20 acres and someone else's 200, guess who's going to get priority when the sun is shining and the hay is ready?
While not profitable per say, sometimes doing your own work is the best choice to get the job done right, even at an increased cost.
As far as CAT 1 vs CAT 2, I don't see having a CAT 2 tractor as some major handicap. The weight of the XR4150H is identical to that of the XR4155H. They're the same tractor with different 3pt arms. It's literally a 3$ cost to turn a CAT 1 implement into a CAT 2, and those five HP are not going to cause the CAT 1 implements to crumple like tinfoil. Having CAT 2 as an option might come in handy at an estate sale or auction, where the bidding pool will be limited due to most people not being able to use the implement on the block.
