Search results

I’m trying to convince my son he can teach and still take over my business. He is understandably doubtful. I have a friend who is a teacher and farms as much hay as I do. He has 2 employees and lots of mowing contracts. I think my son could double his income doing the same as my friend. His...

Leasing is very popular now. Seems like the last step left for affordability of new equipment for farmers. Buying outright is a luxury for huge corporate farms with tens of thousands of acres. Financing can be done, but interest rates along with current prices, are extremely high. It’s nothing...

I run Double Coins on most trailers with very good results. They are a favorite of truckers in my area.

Yes, that’s true. Someone will let a trailer sit out in the sun for a year then wonder why a tire blew. Old tales die hard. It’s true that 40 years ago, chinese tires were generally, lower quality and some blew out. That left an impression on the impressionable. Now 90% of all trailer tires are...

I guess I could have said it better thats a heck of a deal in my area.

I have a New Holland 1225 that’s been good The Rhino looks affordable.

That’s a heck of a find!

Some perspective here: Obviously, if we are talking about a 10 acre “football field” type of lawn, then yes, you might be able to cut faster with a tractor & pulled mower. However, most large lawns have trees, buildings, landscape beds, etc. Trying to maneuver a 4 ton turf tractor with a pulled...

I just carry a Husqvarna measuring tape to mark logs 11-12’ to fit in the dump truck if needed. Having a previous career in framing carpentry really helps me. I can guess within a few inches pretty easy.

Same here in SE PA/ N. Delaware. When we get straight line winds ~50, it brings the dead ash trees down = $$$$$$

Why? I mow bumpy ground 2 full days per week with (2) ZD-1211-72” diesel zero turn and it flies over bumps, around trees, up & down hills with ease. I couldn’t think of a faster way to cut grass than a zero turn. Time is money in my business. We have to get grass cut fast, or time/money is...

I overheated my ZD-331 mowing similar tall, dry chaffy stuff once, but I attribute that more to the radiator being older and probably having accumulated more grit/dirt for many years. The 1211’s will accumulate chaff, but the rad seems to be plenty big to handle it. Gotta keep those bonnets...

Well, poop, I guess I better sell all my stihs and buy echos…… 😁 🤪 Somehow all 3 mine run day after day. Not a big sampling, but it is what it is. I’m not into brand loyalty, but I kind of fell into 3 Stihl. I did have 2 makita/dolmars and an echo and they were ok, too.

I’ll have to check one out

I really enjoy the woods over the winter as a diversion to farming. I think all the hay bale tossing has made my back, shoulders, arms, hands pretty bulletproof. Oh and “obliques” whatever they are 😁 By the time age does get me, I’ll be drinking iced tea in the cab of a CVT air conditioned...

I guess I am lucky that even bigger heavier saws don’t tire me out. But age will eventually catch up

I know. That’s where I bought it 😁

From last week:

I see a lot of 661 & 881 used for sale. Tempting, but not enough big wood to justify. Seems like a lot of guys buy them and don’t get the use.

The dead ash trees are out of control in PA/DE. Good for business, though 😁

Nice lookin work bro

This was mine. I had 2, but I can’t remember if this was the bigger or smaller one. Had one with a 24” and one with a 32”. I think this was the smaller 6401 tho. Picture was from 5 years ago. When you saw a lot of logs like I do, they all kinda run together. 🤪 Anyway, I love my 500i I don’t...

Oh, I don’t think its a big CC saw, either. I just think it’s got a lot of power to weight ratio. I did have a big CC Sachs Dolmar with a 32” bar just like in your photo, but I bet it only got used 1-2 times a year. Not a lot of 5’ diameter trees round here.

I mow all kinds of dry/chaffy field stuff and have loaded my rad, but mine don’t overheat.

AND sealed. Smirnoff is pretty awful. I like a Grey Goose or Kettle One much better.

Agriteer in PA/DE/MD/VA is big AGCO dealer. Try them. I got 3pt hitch arms for Challenger from them.

I just mowed a small filed along a state road. Must have been (20) empty pint bottles of Smirnoff Vodka tossed in there. 🤪 😁

It’s like a huge displacement gas engine with a turbocharger, like BMW makes. You mash the trigger and the torque comes on nonstop. Can’t imagine a 500i tuned, ported, etc.

I pulled a lime spreader truck out of a soft field with one of those. Really surprised at how well it worked.

I’m always looking for deals on all equipment, including saws. After your testimony and a few others here, I’ve included those 2 saws in my searches. Hear nothing but good about them.

If you only do small work, small saws are all you need. 500I probably too much saw for you.

Im really getting to like my 261C and 500i pairing. 261c getting way more miles as you would expect. 500I just melts through bigger stuff with its’ higher HP. 261c might be about the nicest grab & go, all purpose saw I’ve ever owned. Blew through this wild cherry like butter

Bought a set of (6) well-used Continental HD-3’s. Best one will be my spare. The other 5 will serve as emergency tires should I rip one in a field.

Have had real good luck with Double Coin tires.

Buy once, cry once. Man, this thing rips bone stock.

Looks “scammy”

X2 on Bose. I have them for mowing. Very nice. I have the Stihl Blue Tooth logging helmet for sawing. Works/protects very well.

I would love to own a diesel 12-15” chipper. Look at used ones on FBM a lot. 10K buys you a pretty wore out chipper. 25K gets you a nice one. I use one about 5-10 times a year, so I just rent and build it into the job price for the customer. Seems to work out just fine

Looks like a good value for someone wanting a good bush hog or “woods” tractor...

Is anyone like “why don’t you just buy a cheaper used utility tractor with a loader and keep your ZD-331?”

I might be interested in your ZD-331. PM me if you want to sell.

I’d doubt you’ll see DPF/DEF removed, but I’m hoping they pause before the 2027 regs hit. Those regs will cost too much for the typical farmer, trucker, etc to be able to handle. All those regs will work in favor of huge corporations. Once they are in control, you’ll pay THEIR prices. And I...

Maybe there’s some farms operate without a mortgage (mine does), but they likely borrow money for equipment (mine does). Some do both. Borrowing money is OK as long as your gross profit and hopefully your income is increasing every year. I had a banker tell me they would not be interested in...

Or better yet, farm other people’s land rent free. No taxes to pay, no property upkeep, no worries about trespassers, vandalism, etc.

I’ll hold you to that. I think it will come back. Not to the degree of 1900-1960, but recent changes, popular with American company owners, are pursuing a new future in manufacturing.

Because they either graduated with poor grades or are struggling and don’t want to go to college. Their parents are making them go for the “status”.

I am friends with a lot of adult parents who have HS and college age kids. It’s sad to see those parents that struggle to push their kids, and even cheat for them, to get them through college. They should have sent those kids to learn a trade, a skill, or a small business.

I want both. For national security. I am highly opposed to buying all our pharmaceuticals from the Chinese. We also need to be able to produce enough steel and mine enough rare earth. War is always a possibility and I don’t want those commie killers squeezing our b@lls everytime theres a crisis.

Been 15 years now. I would say they have improved, but are still a significant cost up front, and still prone to failure at too high of a rate. You have to remember, we are stuck with all the lousy junk they built in the beginning. Not all of us can afford low emissions diesel equipment built...

Well I would rather bring it back for national security's sake

Right. Nobody is saying wind-back the clock to days of belching black coal smoke and children working in factories. lol But let’s chill on dumping virtually all of the regulations on truckers, farmers, manufacturers, etc. We need to bring back industry and manufacturing, not give it all away to...

There’s plenty of ways to get cancer. Like smoking, overconsumption of alcohol, eating too much processed food, being 50lbs overweight, smoking a suitcase full of weed every month…. Yet those are all perfectly legal. So why the hell should my equipment have to be near ZERO emissions, but people...

I’m NOT writing this to start a Stihl/Husky war. I rented a 12” diesel chipper from a well established rental company last week who is authorized to service Stihl and Husqvarna. (I didn’t realize a dealer could sell/service both). I was talking to the GM a bit, discussing my dissatisfaction...

I don’t think the cut quality will be much different, but you’ll leave more tire tracks with the narrower cut swath of the BX. Have you thought of keeping the ZD and just ordering your BX without a mid mount deck? That would alleviate some of the cost and leave you with a tractor thats more...

I bought a non-compliant backhoe from Cally about 15 years ago. We still have quite a few non-emissions machines running here. They fetch good money if well kept.

Makes you wonder what truck manufacturers, if anything, have to look forward to? Could be a a real boost to the US manufacturing economy. I like clean air, but not at the cost of diesel engine reliability. I’m trying to make a living here. Wonder what todays high efficiency, high PSI injectors...

Yes, you can turn off DEF/DPF equipment with a laptop. EGR’s require a physical block. IMO, if standards are rolled back, we should be able to shut it off ourselves.

I think they should roll back emissions on off-road equipment. Burdening American manufacturers and farmers with this nonsense has gone far enough. I’m ok with simple emissions lowering, but adding $5,000 to the cost and thousands in repairs later down the road along with unreliability is too...

High 50’s all week here. We’re starting some work that’s been put off a while.

Some mowing from today

Do you have pictures of the quick release pins you speak of? I have the tethered pins

Mine was down, too. Mine folds down to about a 45* angle. Still managed to get whacked.

I got a concussion from that exact situation. I was backing up in a powerful, heavy zero turn not knowing I was flexing a 4” pine branch backwards. It skipped over the ROPS and clubbed me good on the back of my neck. Luckily I weigh enough that it didn’t knock me over onto the mowing deck. I...

Is it spinning at rated speed, or just turning?

The tariffs? I don’t know yet.

The tractors I have are barely enough to get the hay done, so that wouldn't be an option. However, the next call I get for a decent size clearing job, a mini with a mulcher would be heavily considered

Now to go find $12,000 worth of replacement work. Just to get back to where I was 24 hours ago…..lol

The Lord is in control, always.

I think its a MY 2015. I purchased it used, in 2022.

Some HOAs have by-laws requiring them to rebid every 3 or 5 years. This could be what happened. Funny thing is, I haven’t raised my prices in 5 years since they hired me, so the price they hired me on 5 years ago is the same. So now they decide to find a lower price????? I mean haven't we all...

I don’t know if they “exposed” my price to others, but what I do know is they shopped around for another price until they found one 15% cheaper. Anything 10% + cheaper must be accepted. We have plenty of folks running around pretending to be legitimate mowing service companies that are not, but...

I’m pretty sure thats what happened. I, thinking I was not in danger of losing the contract, did the right thing and presented my 2025 Proposal (unchanged from 2024) thinking that would all but guarantee me 2025. It happens.

I’ll get through this. It’s more the loss of an “anchor” client that kind of rattles you. I knew something was up when one of the supportive HOA members retired. He always liked me and “firewalled” me when there were minor issues (there really were none though). I think his replacement was...

You're correct, it wouldn't. But it could depend on what triggered them to look around. Was it a required rebidding every so many years, or something else? Thanks- trying not to. Does impact you though. Probably not this late in the game, but making some calls.

I wish, but no. One thing I have learned about working for a HOA: An HOA is a “committee” right? It’s made up of several people. Some on the HOA are fine with me. Some are neutral, and maybe a few are skeptical. It just takes one that’s angry with you and just wants a change to spark a bidding...

Well guys, I promised I share the “Life of a Custom Mowing Contractor” with you and sometimes, there’s difficult setbacks. Every year, I must submit Proposals for large property/HOA’s so they can review my price & terms. Sometimes, they are required get other bids every 3,4,5 years. Sometimes...

I don’t really know. I found this item for sale on Facebook and thought it was interesting. So I copied the photo of it. This is my set up for baling

12ga

How do you know that? Are they obligated to come back and tell you? Maybe they never had any intention of buying. Its possible were demoing it just to get clicks. The DEF issues are everywhere in the winter. The tanks freeze and crack below 10 degrees. There’s a lot of dumb operators out...

Haha I flew on a 737 my friend.

Speaking of sun, I just got back from Florida. Wife and I took a long weekend off and went to our friends place near Tampa. Caught a couple Phillies spring training games. This game was at Tigers Park in Lakeland. This one was on Sunday at BayCare Park, the winter home of the Phillies. They...

Then theres customers. They always seem to run out of hay on Sundays when its raining, snowing or 12 degrees.

Amazing how many non-farmers know so much about farming.

Great post. I am on the downside of my working life and am trying to justify 1 tractor per task. I currently have 3, and would like a 4th. The money I have to save for 4th tractor keeps me from buying pretty much any other big purchase. 1 on baler 1 on disc mower 1 on rake/tedder 1 on 15’ field...

Priorities man, priorities.

Boy isn’t that the truth. What my wife went through…. SMH I think it might be on par with combat infantry.

Went through that recently. 5 years of having a dementia patient living with us. Rough.

Snow = $$$ Backhoes can be equipped with pusher boxes or load trucks. They can easily get $200/hour for snow work. An excavator cant. I know. Heck, even without mats an excavator can go where a backhoe can’t, BUT a backhoe can run down the road like a farm tractor to local jobs and plowing...

8’ Go big or go home.

We tried feeding longer logs into the bigger chippers with the grapple, but the automatic feed systems don’t like that. The auto feed wants to have long large diameter logs chipped by drawing the log in-out, in-out, in-out, etc. Have to be careful with logs. You can over-feed, or stall the...

Backhoes don’t suck for dirt scooping, snowplowing, stuck equipment extracting, and roading from one job to another.

Not so much for me. I have a farm tractor with a log grapple and it works fine. I would like to have a mini/mdi-ex with a grapple though.

I like those takeuchi 15,000 machines on steel tracks.

I can actually justify one for all the woods/brush clearing we do. A team of guys with weed wackers w/ saw blades is sure gettin old. Then there’s the ability to dig rocks out of fields…. Sheesh, maybe I just talked myself into one…. :oops:

Back at it this week and got into some chipping. I have a customer who will not under any circumstances burn so much as a twig. However, they have 128 acres that they neatly landscape, so all the years of brush, limbs, etc get dragged into a big pile. It is my job to do a bi-yearly chipping of...

Or maybe a rental unit?

No worries, Deere makes great stuff. Fendt is just the newest & greatest thing sweeping the Ag community right now. It all depends on the volume of farming. If you’re talking 50 acres or something, I’d be happy with slower & older to get the benefit of less complexity. Once you start getting...

Yep, and you ought to see what that looks like going 25MPH down the road.

Be better if it was red.

I appreciate that. I feel like just being in the business is risky. Then you throw in taking additional risks, like “can I make it across this field” and it gets worse. Sometimes I think the best rescue tool for a farmer is a backhoe or an excavator. Backhoe better because it drives faster...

You can’t lose money forever, but some sure as hell have tried!

LOL “Expenses” can be manipulated. I have never needed to do anything like that, but just like with any business, it can be done. Let’s say a farmer or any corp owner takes a $10,000/month salary for the first 10 months, then suffers a very expensive equipment loss causing him to show a loss...

I have a corporation and I can tell you it is extremely easy for the officers to draw a salary while the corporation has a loss.

Hmmmm. Well, I must have the “geter-done” or I won’t make as much money. Farmers are up against time because of weather and crop damage if they don’t take chances. If you don’t farm for a living, you really wouldn’t understand. I figure for every 10 risks I take with getting stuck, 8 or 9 out...

Krone is the Fendt of Ag attachments. I have a Krone baler. Expensive to repair, but built like a tiger tank. 38,000lbs of german iron. I might be buying a Krone tedder this year.

Yep. Soon it’ll be a few hundred corporate farmers with their kids posting pictures of big iron they don’t own. “You’ll own nothing” is a saying that is becoming more and more of a reality with each passing year- especially in farming. Of course, some of the older farmers have managed to own...

Yep

If you grease fittings on U-joints when they are warm, they will pull the grease into the U-joint better than when the U-joint is cold.

That would be great if I could do that, but with the volume of farming we are doing, and the speed it takes to get it done, those tractors wouldn’t be able to get 1/2 the work done. But I understand and support the basic fundamentals of what you’re saying. Although the bells & whistles and all...

Funny, ain’t it? It’s like a game of “pick your poison”. Take for example, a 150+ HP farm tractor. 1. Buy new: Payments that approach the purchase of a home. Repairs covered for a few years. Lots of bells & whistles. 2. Buy 5-15 years old: Smaller payments and some repairs, some bells &...

Neat! But I’m talking for heavy farming. Like 150-400HP. We actually have a few paces that do half decent restorations on big stuff, but they want crazy money for them.

🤪 😂 Just two, huh? Got it.

The concept of Farming comes pretty easy to me, but it is still hard to execute. I believe it is what God made me to do. It feels natural and I can do it 24/7 and still enjoy it.

Or “From the road, farming looks easy. It isn’t”

Agree. I also see farms where the adults who own it get dragged down by kids who keep crying for the biggest & baddest equipment. That’s right. The You Tube guys have to keep it interesting, or who’s gonna watch? Heck some of the women got some big taters to show off, just to keep you...

Also keeps the taxes down and generates income while they sit on it

The price at the store includes the middleman’s markup. What you see selling for $10/lb retail may have been bought for $5/lb wholesale. But I get what you’re saying. I started out selling small bales wholesale to a guy and he would sell them for 2.5X what he paid me. I said hell with that...

Think of it as spaghetti wire. Each little light is connected to a sensor. If the sensor gets out of range, the corresponding light on the dash lights up for you, ruining your day :) I guess it does have some advantages of warning you of big problems.

2012 added the most complexity of any one single year. That’s when exhaust after treatment systems became federally mandated. I purposely look for pre-2012’s, but even that’s getting on the old side now. I have one post 2012, but someone broke the complicated part before I bought it.

It happens. I have gotten stuck where you cross a wet spot and there’s a dry spot just a few feet ahead. You think you can make it But you don’t quiiiiiiiite get there :rolleyes: :oops: Arghhhhh 🤪

I get no subsidies and do better than some farmers that do get them. Of course they're row crop and I'm not. :oops: I don't want them

“If you want to make a million in farming, start with 2 million”.

You can still buy 35+ year old tractors that are simpler, but they are pretty wore out by now. You’d have to hope you can get parts for them.

Oh heck yeah. Mine looks a lot like that. Sensors for everything. Each sensor costs money to replace and might even stop the tractor from running. Don’t forget the baler monitor and the armrest ISOBUS monitor!

There’s no shortage of people trashing farmers out there. And some are deserving of it. But for every judgmental person who trashes farmers, I can tell you there’s unscrupulous doctors, lawyers, realtors, engineers, scientists, builders, corporate execs, pastors, rabbis, etc. Only a very naive...

Fendt is green, too. Deere make great stuff. Kubota is a joke compared to Deere in Ag. Funny how brand wars always make their way into like 1/2 these threads.

Yep. $10,000 left in the account is susceptible to taxation.

Coming from the Lord, it works best for me. Coming from anyone else I know, I’d view it as advice. Coming from someone who I don’t know, I kind of shrug it off. Let’s move on to how do farmers make money, shall we?

I’d rather have a down year, with abnormally low expenses, than work my tail off make record crop, and have it all wiped out by repairs & expenses. Say what you want about all the farming platitudes (doing the Lord’s work, keeping the family farm going, etc.) to me, it’s about doing the right...

Overdramatized. Fake.

Me, too.

Could be, but that rail line is very short. I think the other side has a different number on it. Another interesting RR comment: About 300 yards up the track there’s a farm where I bale hay. The son of the owner of the farm told me on the side of the RR berm, there’s a steel door with a padlock...

I’m not speaking for LHF2019, but it’s easy to have big (gross) profits and no money if your expenses were really high. If I make 200K gross profits, but equipment payments, inputs, expenses (repairs, fuel, insurance, etc) were abnormally high, like $150,000, you could have little “money” left.

Thanks. Sounds a bit “judgy”, but if you go back and read, I didn’t put them in any order of priority. Enjoy the Day.

Your guess is as good as mine. If there was a “-“ between the numbers, I was going to guess “4 - 6 MPH”.

I had my best year this year as well in terms of tonnage/GP, too. My accountant told me to use it or pay taxes on it. However, I had a lot in repairs & parts. I find that equipment, specifically balers & tractors are too complicated and need too much repairing when you buy them used. However...

I pity your wife ;)

We’ve had face to face meetings at the Conservancy about putting it back into hay production and me making a donation to pay the extra tax owed. Its a really small amount, probably in the hundreds, but they still dont want to do it. There’s $8,000 worth of hay in that big field alone, so a...

Thanks. Yes cab tractors with HVAC are amazing additions to productivity and safety. PA actually pays them more (better tax break) if you leave the land as natural grasslands. The Conservancy assigns the land as “vacant land” and there’s little to no tax.

Ok smartass I missed it by by 2 seconds 🤡 🤪 By the time the gatorade hit the ground they scored….

Yes. I think they actually dumped the Gatorade on Sirianis head, then the Chiefs finally scored. 😂 2nd string Defense was in for the Eagles. IMO, they won 40-6, even though the score says otherwise.

Don’t know, but he has soft supple hands when I shook his hand on the deal. At least he gave me full price…..maybe he felt bad that he makes 10 times what I make and still gets to farm?????

What worries me the most ^^^^^ A sudden $25,000 repair. I had a $13,000 repair to my big truck last year. Really took a chunk out of the bottom line. Head, head gasket, exhaust manifold, new radiator and a lot of small parts. Chit’s gettin real salty….

John Mc, If you don’t need both, I’ll give you $42 for one, but you gotta do free shipping. 🙃

Well they must be all gone cause now theyre back to $192 😁

Well its Thursday and the equipment really needs greasing, fuel and the blades are really dull on the CX-15. I’m just leaving the property for the day. I took this picture of these downed cherry tree logs. Funny how they just cut them barely wide enough to egress the driveway and don’t even...

It’s Wednesday now and I’m still on the same mowing project. This is a smaller field, maybe 10-12 acres I am now mowing. The weather is deteriorating and snow is expected momentarily. The house you see in the woods is an art studio from about 50 years ago. My town is rich in history, but thats...

It’s been a while since I’ve added to the thread! Admittedly, this winter has been a slow one. Been doing a little mowing this week, so thought I’d drop a few photos for anyone interested. Annually, I cut about 75 acres of Conservancy Land for a bigger customer. They won’t allow it to be hayed...

Don’t be so negative. Especially when you don’t farm. 4. You use your own money, take your own risk, and get zero handouts and still do ok farming. It’s not just your #1,2 & 3. Some people DO know how to manage a profitable farming business without being given a dime. Ask me how. Been doing...

I sold a farm tractor to a doctor about 5 years ago. He said he was “vineyard farming” down in Galena, MD. :rolleyes: In other words, he is growing grapes to make his own wine and receiving monstrous tax breaks to do it.

It’s nothing now to spend $5,000 on just fixing a few things on a decent size Ag tractor. Heck it’s $1,000 just to drain & refill a CVT transmission and replace the filters.

When someone asks me “hows the money in farming”? My answer is “Like soup through a fork” 😂 I took a “bottom line” approach to it. When I started for real about 20 years ago, I was given the opportunity to mow fields. I had 2 tractors and just dragged mowers behind them and did a lot of light...

Many of the operations you watch on You Tube make significant revenues from their You Tube popularity. One I have talked to said he makes almost as much off You Tube # of views as he does in crop sales. My son constantly urges me to do this.

I know one of the Amish farms well. Unfortunately, depending on farm subsidies is ingrained in American farming now. I don’t get subsidies, unless you count that I don’t pay state sales tax on farm machinery, parts, etc. I’m on my own and always have been. I don’t want any handouts……but they...

Im a farmer. I’m not a big timer, but enough to make a living. I gross about 200K in farm/year crop sales. I don’t have any more than I say, and don’t waste time posting pictures of millions of dollars of machinery I don’t own. I’m a moderate size farmer, and I’m proud of my worn out machinery...

I have large % of my SEP IRA in this one (FXAIX) Also have a decent chunk in GLD Fund which is killing it right now.

Most people around here recess their fences at least 10’ back from their property lines so they can maintain the “outside” of their fences without trespassing on neighbors property.

Yes that was a big story around Philly. Anyone notice the margins of victory for the Eagles during their playoff run? Pretty impressive.

Send him an invoice. Maybe he will pay you for mowing the outside of his fence? 🤡 😂

Why would anyone replace a battery with 12.7? A few years ago I thought I had dead batteries and here I bumped a switch with a heavy draw the previous day that was wired directly to the batteries. It was "on" while I was trying to crank the starter. Not enough power to start the engine. Try...

Before you start replacing expensive parts, try "free" easy solutions. Tap the starter solenoid lightly with a hammer or decent size wrench. Could be a sticky starter solenoid. Happens when it gets real cold. Then start looking at battery cables connections.

I installed a hot/cold freeze proof faucet outside my garage. When done plowing, I would simply hot wash the tractor, then drive it inside. This also got rid of the salt residue

I paid $8 for 24 brown cage free organic eggs from Costco. ($4/dozen) I thought that was fair

In my case it's all about the balance sheet. If I croak tomorrow, and my son sells everything, what's left? I'm fortunate that in my case, even if he kept 10% for his efforts (which is what he's been instructed to do), my family would do very well. Even with that, I'm able to take a good...

I'd guess since you use it more and probably in larger or harder woods, you are heating your loop up more and causing more wear that way than on your 250. Your 261 might rev higher than the 150, adding more to its heat

If I didn't need tractors and related equipment to make a living, I would probably have smaller stuff and do odd jobs for people. It can be a hobby all the way up to a way of making a living, but no matter which it is, the equipment has never been more expensive

We have an amazing legacy farm in my neighborhood where the father just passed. He was a former state senator. He had several children, all with varying degrees of interest in farming. Knowing he was dying and did NOT want the farm to go to the developer, he put all the land in a local land...

It also happens if we get a bird flu that kills 100 million chickens in the US

Check out the older Kubota 70 series. Looks similar to SAME Here's the Same "Aster" series

I think we can agree that probably 80+ % of the regular posters here are 50+, own property, and their hobby is land/home improvements. Most of us own a tractor, so we tend to get a little myopic in thinking we are like the average US citizen who couldn't come even close to buying a small CUT...

"You will own nothing" is the way we are going. I feel like the last 10 years everything has doubled in price (or more) but wages up maybe only 10-30% in most occupations? I mean go back 60 years ago, my dad was a mason and supported the whole family on his salary alone and we lived in a decent...

We had an International Harvester dealer, too. Only dealer in my little town. The owner was a good man. When he became elderly, he promoted his son in law to run the operation in the mid 70's. He was a gold digger and a piker. He took cash payments, pocketed them, and never took the units sold...

If you look at 90's larger Kubotas they had the same squared hood as Same Not many left around though

Geeze, we are gettin down to Hay Dude prices.

I'm lucky that anything I need through Messicks or any of the other local Ag dealers each has a delivery day. They are trucked directly to me in a box truck.

I don’t like things that are an assembly of small parts bolted together, but try it. Thats not a lot of money, but I bet they take it back if it doesn’t work. I have something similar and it’s less parts and welded steel

Thats because the price of fuel. Messicks doesn’t ship the products, UPS, Fed Ex, etc does. I live near Messicks HQ (Mount Joy, PA) and do farm business with them. They’re no different than any other dealer on shipping.

If it happens on cold days, try lightly tapping your started solenoid with a small hammer of a larger wrench. Your solenoid is probably sticky

I think SAME used to build some of Kubota’s bigger models 20+ years ago.

I think they stack up pretty well. Kubota either subcontracted with, or outright bought a tractor factory in France and started using Cummins and other brands of engines. The big K’s are not 100% made by Kubota as we have traditionally expected.

Are they just acting as a wholesale subcontractor for massey? In that case, Same Deutz Fahr would remain an independent company.

Back to your means/needs and buying budget: I know Fendt is waaay more tractor than you’ll ever need, but as I said before you seem like a guy who wants the best. If I am wrong, and money/cost is an issue, just buy a Kubota or case-IH/CNH with a CVT and equip it with the smallest available...

I owned one of these. It was my first 15’ Batwing rough cut mower. The primary thing I disliked about mine was the single deck design. If you got into rough stuff (thick brush) it would dent the deck. Where the deck got dented, the paint would crack. Where the paint cracked, rust would form...

Would a larger hydrostatic work for you?

Did you look at the CVT tractors in post #28? I can’t tell if they’re true CVT’s or just a hydrostatic

Have you tried Agriteer? They bring in about 50 million worth of Fendts a year.

That makes 2 of us. My 3 farm tractors altogether might be worth 200K. My smallest tractor new would be $200,000. My largest new would be $375,000. And that’s not Fendt. Thats like Massey or New Holland. I’m looking at a used 175HP for $70,000 with 7,000 hours on it! Thats the best deal I...

I “stole” a Stihl HT131 pole saw for $250 last year. Thing was barely used and runs perfect. I’ve used the heck out of it and made my money back at least 10 times over and it’s still in great shape. I think they’re about $900 new. The guy used it to trim trees in his 1/2 acre yard. 😂 Looks...

Another possibility might be an off-lease Fendt. They still have warranty coverage and factory discounted financing sometimes through AGCO. I guess if you can’t find a new one, it might be hard to find a used one. I saw this in Tractor House. New Holland claims these are CVT...

I have noticed similar. $500 seems to be close to what you need to spend for a quality, albeit older saw. I’m a good negotiator ;)

Could be sucking air through a crack in fuel line, too.

I see a lot of Stihls 362,392, etc that sell 400-500. How good they run may be another matter.

Fendt doesn’t say they’ll bring you the exact same tractor. They might bring you the next series up. Good luck with Deere. They haven’t been real receptive to farmers working on their own machines in the software parts. But you’ll never hear me put Deere down as a tractor brand. I don’t own...

Best NEW saw close to/at/under $1000…. Stihl 400? OK what is best used saw under $500 that looks/runs good and isn’t junk????

If you buy a Fendt and they can’t fix it at YOUR location, they will bring you an equal or larger tractor at zero cost. Ag dealers in my area also deliver parts for free or like $10 if you are an established customer. One of my local dealers told me they have $150,000/year tied up in one...

I liked Rocky Mountain National Park.

Little write up on the Vario 200 series. TractorData.com - New Generation Fendt 200 Vario