Recent content by stlawrence

U.S. Retail Farm Equipment Sales: Summary By Kristy Scheuble - Jan 12, 2011 2:28 PM ET Industry sales of row-crop tractors rose 15 percent last month, while four-wheel drive tractors rose 40.1 percent in Dec., according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers...

After much agonizing, deciding, and re-deciding, I pulled the trigger on the purchase of a new (well, 2009) New Holland Boomer 8N from Tim at New Albany Tractor Sales in Indiana. I bought it with a QA FEL and Hawkline 6 foot slip clutch shredder, Rimguard R-4 tires, and a red front grill guard...

I've been renting (while overseas working) a Ford Escape Hybrid. I love this thing. It's got me thinking. One of the downside of hybrid cars is the weight of the batteries. But in a tractor, weight is a good thing. So, why no hybrid tractors? Look, a hybrid tractor could work. When I'm...

I am thinking strongly about buying a MF 1643. Unfortunately, on the MF website I cannot find a "build your own" feature so I can get an idea of pricing. Am I missing it? Could some of you guys give an idea of what you paid for a 1643? I'm thinking of the 1643 with FEL, a six-foot bush hog...

When I use the built it feature on the New Holland website, it charges me almost $2000 to get the tractor "FEL ready" and then another $4960 for the FEL. That makes the total cost for the FEL almost $7000. That can't be right, can it?

Anyone have an 8N? How is it working? You like it? What kind of deal did you get? But the big question is this - can you get it without that darned chrome ROPS? I love the tractor - absolutely love it - but that chrome ROPS would get me mocked by every farmer within mocking distance.

Has anyone seen any concrete info on the rumored new L3800? Any Kubota dealers/reps here? When will Kubota update their website to reflect the 3800? I saw one post that said the L3800 was anticipated in mid-Nov. I saw another that had a reputed L3800 photo. But nothing concrete yet from...

Being a newbie, I know I'm asking dumb questions, but.... When I go to the Kubota build site to price a model (such as the L4400), I note that you can select the FEL, and then there's another place you can price the bucket. So, the stupid question is, do I have to buy the bucket extra, or does...

I've been researching tractors for our farm (land - I guess a farm has to at least act like it's trying to make money) and have started visiting dealers. I've gone to several now. The other day I went to one of the big two dealerships. I won't say which brand it was, as I don't want this to...

I just went to the John Deere dealer to talk about tractors and stuff. As an aside, I must say they really like their tractors - don't think they should be discounted much. I need a tractor to bush hog about 50 acres of abandoned pasture in hilly terrain. I'm looking at a JD 5045E or a Kubota...

I'm down to making some initial decisions, and these two are major contenders. The Deere is shuttle transmission, turbo, and hydraulic brakes. The Kubota is sync transmission, non-turbo, and mechanical brakes. The Deere makes its PTO power at 2400 rpm, while the Kubota requires about...

I've also posted this on the John Deere buying and selling forum, but wanted to open it to the greater community to get more ideas. I've read years worth of posts on this website - I'll tell you, ya'll are a wealth of information. I marvel at the power of the web - at the information available...

I've read years worth of posts on this website - I'll tell you, ya'll are a wealth of information. I marvel at the power of the web - at the information available. Well, here's my situation. We're buying (I hope, Good Lord willin' and the loan comes through) about 80 acres in upstate New...