Looking for a good used tractor to mow 40 acres once a week. I also need a tractor 101 education so I can care for it properly, operate it safely, etc.
Here is a basic mowing calculator. If your ground is flat and level you probably can mow at 5-mph. If you have hills, have to mow around trees or the ground is rough, viz pasture, your average speed will be more akin to 3-mph.
www.landscapecalculator.com
A 144" wide mower will cut about 6-1/2 acres per hour @ 5-mph. So 40 acres will take at least 6-1/2 to seven hours with breaks and fueling. I would not mow a full day without a
cabbed tractor, which adds $8,000 to open station tractor price and 800 pounds to open station tractor weight. Too much heat, too many bee stings, too much pollen and too much mold, mowing with an open station tractor.
Operating a 144" mower with a cabbed tractor featuring A/C requires
minimum 70 net tractor horsepower.
This is the heaviest subset of compact tractors. With this rig you could mow quarterly, rather than weekly, if desired.
'Previously owned' you are looking at $60,000 for a 70-horsepower, 4-WD, cabbed tractor and rotary cutter. Tractor prices vary 20% by USA region.
For almost everything else a tractor does tractor weight is the primary consideration. For mowing, where you have to power the tractor and a particularly power hungry implement, tractor power is the primary consideration.
A 70-horsepower tractor will have a bare weight of 5,500 pounds. Most consider this weight just adequate for general farm work on forty acres.
Bare tractor weight is a fundamental tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models,
new and
used. Shop your weight range within tractor brands. Budget will eliminate some choices. Collect a dealer brochure for each tractor model in your weight range.
BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR!
