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I have a ford 2610 8x2 gear drive with loader. Use it a ton. You geat really good with the clutch

Looks like you’re using a skid steer. Entirely different conversation. I presume you’ve used a tractor mounted front loader before and you know the drastic difference in visibility of the work area. I suspect that your skill in juggling rocks and placing dirt is more related to the machine and...

Does your tractor have an adjustment knob to sloth the engagement? A lot of tractors that size range have a dial that will increase or decrease engagement time. It makes a difference. Those clutches are all electronically actuated

I second this. I don’t have and have never had an HST tractor but I do have a barn full of gear tractors. My main heavy tractor is 100 hp, 12,000 pounds. It is gear drive with clutchless shifting between gears, a hi/low selector (think torque amplifier) that is also clutchless, and a clutchless...

I like Ag-Wx the best. It seems that the ECMWF forecast is the most accurate. I also look at NOAA for shorter term and WeatherBug for casual weather. I’ve spent a ton of time looking at weather reports this year. Finally got a three day window here in the upper peninsula of Michigan to get some...

I’m not sure where this post fits best so I stuck it here. What do you all use for a liquid transfer pump? I need to transfer liquid hay preservative from the storage tank into the tank on my baler. The liquid is more viscous than water but less viscous than oil. It is not really corrosive...

I am on my second season with A Del Marino 6 foot flail with hammer blades. My experience thus far is they are not great at cutting at a high cutting height. I would say 4 to 5 inches tops. I will try the trick of tilting it backwards with the top link to see if I can get a higher cutting...

I have a 40 acre farm with about 15 acres fenced into a total of nine smaller pastures. I run sheep and cut hay and this set up actually works very well. It was fenced when I bought the property, but unfortunately it was fenced very poorly. Low quality fencing With t posts spaced way too far...

Yes. Bought a beautiful very low hr (1700) Farmall 856 via live web auction and an old haybine - same auction, different date. The key is that it is a very reputable consignment auction that doesn’t take junk.

Take a look at the LS MT7 101. I love mine. Very nice hay tractor

In a former life, I was a trauma surgeon. Late one night in the middle of winter, a guy came in in rough shape. He had been running a manure spreader and had gotten off the tractor to check something near the hitch and his winter overalls got caught up in the PTO shaft and flipped him around the...

I do the same, but I also go through it again in the spring. No telling how much moisture accumulates in the grease over winter. One thing I learned real quick was to pull all the hay out of the baler before the end of the season. One year I didn’t and I spent hours with A Wire wheel getting...

Where do you get your ag tires from? My Haybine needs a set.

I am of the mindset that I would prefer to do things myself as well. Better job, done exactly the way you want and not depending on someone else’s schedule. Of course, time is a limiting factor and you can only do so much. We’ll see how it goes, but I think I’m gonna try and do, it myself this...

I’m actually looking forward to seeing how well the driver works. Like you, I see the post as the hardest part. I have one of those tractor supply fence enrollers that goes on the three-point so that will make the hanging in the fence easier. And all my runs this year will be straight, so I will...

I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a thoughtful response. This farming stuff is tough when you do it solo. I think the fundamental problem is while my guy is an excellent worker – hard worker, all around nice guy and a stickler for detail, he is a lousy businessman, the bill I...

Thanks - i appreciate your reply. I am well down the road with this project. Same two guys have put in 1600 feet over the last two yrs and it is perfect. I believe in over building. Straight as an arrow and very stout. The property was fence 10 yrs ago with t posts, every 20 feet in some...

So about $10/foot all in?

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Great information. I am very happy with the fence install (see my previous response) but the labor charge I thought was exorbitant. I have just picked up a Danuser Post driver and I’m going to finish it up myself.

Thanks. Wood posts, 5 inch line posts spaced every 8‘. 6“ corner posts. All posts 0.60 cca. H Braces every hundred feet. Red brand sheep and goat, fencing, 48 inches with monarch knot. Rolling land. Sandy loam with some rocks. Looking for price per foot. I’m asking because I was just...

Curious as to what you all might be paying to have a woven wire fence on wood posts put up? Thanks

Nothing but good news. The tractor has been terrific for me. It gets worked pretty hard with routine farm chores. There is not one thing that I am disappointed with. It has plenty of power, is very comfortable, and I have had zero problems. I have just over 400 hours on the clock. I would have...

My farmall 856 has a transmission lock instead of brake lock. Might be due to the weight of the tractor and/or presence of hydraulic brakes

I have a STIHL electric and a big giant gas powered monster. Haven’t fired up the gas one in over a year. The electric one does just fine for most of my needs. Much easier to pull out and use and then put away8

I too am happy with my LS. MT 7101. It’s a beast. Pull a new Holland 575 baler like nobody’s business with a thrower wagon uphills. Blows snow all winter long with an 8 foot blower. And I’m talking real snow. Upper peninsula Michigan. Zero problems in 400 hours. I can’t complain about the loader...

The author of this thread started their very first post with a question: “ Do i try for lucky #3 and get a kioti to replace the ls , or do i buy a used kubota or massey and live with the weaker loaders and deal with the crappy loader joy stick location?” Separately, as you can see from my...

I think you have answered your question

That seems to be sort of a smart@ss response, and assumes that everyone in the world shuts the PTO off when working on it. As a trauma surgeon, I can share with you a story of a farmer who got off his tractor with it connected to a manure spreader with the PTO running. Not sure what he was...

Thanks for the feedback. You are confirming my suspicions that it’s the right tool (cat).

i did mean the MT 5 73. MT573CPS - 73HP - LS Tractor USA Worth a look

We have been putting in literally thousands of feet of woven wire fencing on treated wood posts on my farm this year. That of course means drilling lots of holes in sometimes Rocky soil. My tractor supply post hole auger is not very heavy duty and it looks like the key on the main gear shaft has...

I have a 1997 John Deere gator 6 x 4. I love this machine, but the frame is rusted and I fear she’s not going to be with me much longer. I use my gator almost every day year-round for hauling crap running out to fix fences, hauling water to the pastures, etc. I am really toying with the idea of...

Before you pull the trigger check out LS TRACTORS. I BET THE MT573 would suit you perfectly. Loaded with standard options super comfortable. I had one for a year before I went up size, also LS. Only went up in size because I need a bigger tractor for a a big hay baler. Great quality, strong...

Great ideas and pictures! I do like the Amish built idea and was toying around with building one myself. I have about 30 sheep so need it to be on the large size. I might just go with the portable garage idea for this year and tackle something more rugged next year. They’ll be back in the barn...

The use is actually for a portable sun and rain shelter for my sheep. I rotate pastures frequently and I want something that I can drag from one to the next. Yes, I am worried about the wind. They do sell extra anchor kits. As far as snow, I would take it down and store it in the winter.

I wasn’t really sure where to post this but this seems like maybe the right place. Do any of you have experience with portable fabric garages? I am looking at one from portable garage Depot. The prices seem very good but want to make sure the quality is there as well. I’m pretty sure I would...

I agree on the overreactions to DEF. I have several non-DEF diesel tractors and a large DEF tractor as well as truck and the difference is amazing. I can warm up the DEF tractor in the shop no problem, but I can’t idle the diesel non-DEF tractor for more than two minutes before I can’t see my...

The 2024 hay season is now behind me. Pretty rough first cutting with all the wet spring weather we had but second cutting turned out very nice. Just sharing a few pictures of my hay weapons. The haybine looks pretty crusty, but it is pretty trusty. The baler did not miss a tie this year.

How much diesel do you go through in a year? I graduated from 5 gallon cans to four 12 1/2 gallon flow fast containers to an overhead 300 gallon tank. About 1000 gallons a year across three diesel tractors and a gator. Fueling from the overhead tank is a dream. There is no delivery charge from...

We do the work we need to do with what we have. The OP is considering a new tractor and has specified the work they need to do. Best to get the right sized tractor at the outset, not the bare minimum. We all know that we ask more of our machines than we originally thought. I started out with...

No on the disc. Hard stop. If you do some looking around, you’ll see recommendations of 5 to 10 hp per foot of disc. The TN 65 has 48 drawbar hp. On top of that, the tractor doesn’t have the weight. Fully ballasted it specs out at 5700 pounds. You would be looking at an 8 foot disc tops in...

Are you sure that’s not the way it’s supposed to be? I have a John Deere 670 and it has always been that way. non-synchronized. I can sometimes speed shift going up but I always have to stop going down.

Update on the precision ag system: I have done two applications of fertilizer and No till drilled a 40 acre field. All I can say is wow! Before the system, my fertilized fields would be striped where I overlapped too much in some areas and missed in others. Perfect application this year. And no...

It sounds like you have tons of experience. I am nowhere near that level in volume or knowledge. I bale 10 to 20 acres a year for my own sheep. Mostly grass, some alfalfa, and I’m seeding in some trefoil. If I didn’t bail at 20% moisture, sometimes, it would be all stems by the time we had...

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. Keep them coming! I feel really stupid. I actually have a three pin AMP connector in the cab. I didn’t know what it was. It looks like I can get a pigtail to put on my equipment and a connector to convert one outlet to two. I think I’ll start there.

My tractor is 101 hp engine and 85 hp PTO. About 11,000 pounds ballasted. I also run a 575 baler. That thing eats hay like nobody’s business. Where we are it’s hard to get first cutting at the right time because it’s still cool in June. I’m hoping that the preservative system will help me with...

Thanks for the offer, but I actually just installed my system today and have two drums of preservative. I am in the upper peninsula by the way.

As I get deeper into this farming thing, I’m adding more powered equipment in the cab. I have a nav system, camera system, bail thrower controller, and now a hay preservative system. Everything takes power, and I don’t want a rats nest of power leads coming from the battery into the cab. How...

I just bought a flail mower and have no problem getting a nice clean cut with it. Raised up to 12 inches off the ground. I know they are designed to run with the roller on the ground, but I use it to clip pastures that I rotationally graze and I don’t want it cut that low. You need to make sure...

I bought a 6 ft Delmarino flail mower. Well built machine I ran it through 4 foot tall orchard grass and it cut it down nicely. So much better than a rotary cutter. I had it behind my Ford 2610 and in that grass it used every horsepower the tractor had. it would’ve done better on my IH 656 in...

Raven was another brand I looked at. Honestly, didn’t really know where to go. Happy with the Trimble so far.

I farm on a very small scale - 10 acres of hay to feed a flock of 20 sheep, plus a little custom no-tilling for friends but still have some of the same needs of larger farmers. These include efficiency and cost effectiveness. I upped my game last year with the purchase of a Great Plains NT...

I just spec’d out a Kubota M5 111 on the Kubota website to as equivalent as possible as my LSMT7101. The Kabota price is $92,000 versus 69,000 for the LS. Yes, there are some differences. The Kabota has a higher three point hitch lift capacity but doesn’t have 1000 RPMPTO. It doesn’t have a...

“ Prefer JD or Kubota”. I would be interested in knowing why. Is it that those are the only dealers nearby? Limiting oneself to those two brands is like saying, I need a car, daily driver, no heavy use needs to haul a few passengers and groceries. Prefer BMW or Mercedes. It will certainly be...

Another vote here for pulling the trigger. I Have a 1982 Ford 26,10 which is a smaller version of what you are talking about. It is a durable workhorse. I paid $12,000 for it five years ago. ( price included a trailer, brush, hog, and spreader.). It has been virtually problem free. I have only...

And be realistic about your travel speed. 5 mph might seem like you’re passing along but in a rough field, it will beat the crap out of you and your equipment. I have decently smooth hayfields, and I am most comfortable at 4 mph and that’s on a 10,000 pound hundred horsepower tractor.

Great videos - thanks for sharing. I noticed your preservative system - good to have here in the UP! I looked at one this year but they wanted $7k! Bought a no-till drill instead

Talk of making hay often leads to comments about “bad customers”, especially when discussing small squares. This amuses me - if you don’t like a customer segment, don’t sell to that segment. Making hay is hard, and marketing is too. I would rather sell a thousand bales of hay to “bad”...

I wouldn’t be afraid of an LS. I have a big one that is extremely well-built and well thought out. I believe that the quality and proximity of the dealer for the brand you choose is critical.

I am not familiar with vp tanks. One thing that would have to be accounted for is the length of the pick up tube which varies from tank to tank. It is a great system!

https://flofast.com/ I seriously debated going with both tanks, but by the time I got the tanks, purchased the pad poured the pumps installed and wired the price was going to be ridiculous. So I went with flow fast and it is a great set up. I have four 7 1/2 gallon diesel tanks and four 7 1/2...

I am to the east of you over in Alger county. We’re supposed to get some snow in the next couple days so we will get to play with our snow toys. Tractor in my profile pic is my “big snow” machine

Yes. Very much like that. Mine is a 2009 with a 750 cc engine. I will try and get some photos in the next couple days. We’re supposed to get some heavy snow so maybe even some action shots!

Does anyone else have an Argo that they plow snow with? I recently picked up an avenger 8 x 8 with a plow on the front. Damn, that thing is a beast pushing snow it has tracks and a 7 foot blade and can really clear some space. I used it tonight to clear a foot of snow out of the barnyard, and it...

I have a 790. Mine is 2 Wheel Dr. with no power steering and no loader. I use it only to pull a 5 foot finish mower. What I like: the Yanmar engine is awesome. Problem, free, always starts, plenty of power for that size machine. I also like the maneuverability for getting around trees and such...

It’s sad to see all that beautiful hay being chopped up

I have no comment on brands except to say that I am very pleased with my LS. My question for you is, do you think the tractors you mentioned will be heavy enough and powerful enough for what you want to do? Each one of them is in the 5500 pound range, give or take. Load up the tires and you’re...

I don’t see much out there about the larger LS tractors so I thought I would give you an update on mine. I currently have 160 hours on my LSMT7101. I bought this last October after a bit of frustration with an MT 573. I had electrical gremlins that just couldn’t be fixed and the dealer bought...

Thanks. That’s what I have. The just such a pain in the butt and don’t work all that well

The balls are actually tight and there is no slop in them. The problem is no stabilizer system other than the bar that connects from a pin under the axle to the implement lower pin after the lower link is attached. It is a big pain in the butt and does not work well. And does not work with a...

No, no turnbuckles or telescoping arms. Never came with those

That is for sure not the problem, speaking as a woman

Hello. Does anyone have a stabilizer solution for a Ford 2610/2810/3910? The hitch sways side to something awful. I have a stabilizer bar but that doesn’t work with a quick hitch. The restraining chains are in place but that just keeps it from swaying all the way over end of the tires. My...

I have a buddy seat I took out of my mt 7 101. I’d be happy to sell it for a lot less than $600! My MT 573 had the mounting lugs but no seat. Even though The seat flips up automatically it always seem to be in the way. If anyone Is interested send me a message

A local farmer was over at my place helping me out with a hay baler and he saw my 7 foot Homestead pinnacle rake. He asked if I ever used it turned around backwards to grade a driveway. He said it works great that way. I tried that out tonight and he was absolutely right. I made two passes each...

Hi there. I recently picked up a new to me NH 575 Square baler. I went through and got it ready for the field and hooked it up to test things out. Everything went fine, thank goodness. I do have one question: with the PTO shaft attached, there is 7 inches of shaft exposed and 5 inches still in...

The problem with a plow is the banks it puts up. My weather is similar to Western Minnesota and the wind can blow out of the north or out of the south or out of the west. No matter where I put a bank it would become a wind break to drift behind. When the wind blows at 40 miles an hour for hours...

I looked at an Erskine front mounted blower but just couldn’t deal with not having the front loader all winter. It turns a multipurpose tool into a single purpose tool. Also, while most people don’t mention it, a rear mounted blower is much more maneuver wall because it is much closer to the...

Congratulations on the new tractor. I’m sure you will love it. I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan and have the same problem with drifting. I can get the driveway done and have to start over again! I use a meteor 87 single auger blower with hydraulic rotation and chute. With 85 PTO...

I picked up a 7 foot Pinnacle series rake from Homestead Implements last year after much research. I was specifically looking for heft, build quality, and cat 1/2 compatibility. The Homestead product exceeded my expectations

I started with clamp-on forks and they were a PITA. So much lateral leverage out front that they wouldn’t stay straight. Plus too much concentrated torque on the bucket edge. Finally, limited lift capacity since the rear of the load is at the fron edge of the bucket. I quickly bought “grown...

I got in touch with a local fertilizer dealer. They will do a custom mix and Bagget and 50 pound bags for me. So I think that solves my problem. I’d rather not haul bunch of 50 pound bags, but I think that’s a reasonable solution without going to the big bags. Thanks for all the input

Thanks so much! Sounds like this might just work

hi there. I am new to hay production So please forgive me if this is a stupid question. I have 10 acres of orchard grass and alfalfa hay ground in the central upper peninsula of Michigan. With last year‘s drought it produced 1.25 tons of hay per acre. I did fertilize last year according to soil...

Chains and blower wont come off till may. We probably have a few more feet of snow on tap here in the central UP

I give another vote for rhino. Mine is a 7 foot heavy duty six way blade. I have hydraulics on the offset and the Horizontal angle. I hardly ever change the vertical angle so I don’t have a cylinder there. It is an extremely heavy duty blade. One thing I like about it is that it has both...

That’s a nice set up. Like you, I like to keep my loader on the tractor all season and so I went with a three point rear blower as well. I did look at the Erskine 87 inch model like you pictured but it was 10 grand and that wasn’t gonna work! I’ve been super happy with the rear blower. I think...

I run a 87 inch meteor single auger two stage blower With a 27 inch five blade fan on my LSMT7101. The blower weighs a tick over 1000 pounds. I have 87 hp at the PTO And the tractor fully loaded weighs 12,000 pounds. With an average snowfall up to 10 inches I can run 540 E in mid range second...

I just had this exact circulating coolant heater installed on my gas IH 656. Several days ago it was 15°F below zero and I plug this in for about three hours. Initially only the outflow coolant line was warm but after three hours not only was the output and input line warm but the entire block...

I just took delivery on an MT7-111. 8 hrs in and I am a fan. I had an mt5-73 and this is in an entirely different league. I payed 68k delivered to the farm with all options and filled tires. I just couldnt see a 30% premium for green or yellow paint. Critically, I have great dealer support

I had the same problem - same codes - with my mt573. I too had excellent customer service from a northern MI dealer (UP Tractor in Rock MI) but they could never get it fixed. At least I dont think so. He bought it back from me and I moved o an mt7101. What a beast! But the dealer has been...

Thanks. Yes-a good dealer makes all the difference in the world

That was actually the only problem I had with the tractor. Everything else was great. And when I was using the engine speed control it was a pleasure to hay with. The new tractor is pretty awesome. It is definitely in a different size class. I noticed tonight when I was using it that it is...

I moved to snow country a year ago and needed a big tractor to run a big snowblower. I am an hour from Kubota dealer, three hours from a John Deere dealer, and about 45 minutes from an LS dealer. Everyone speaks highly of the LS dealer, for good reason, so I went with an LSMT 573. Unfortunately...

Hi there, I am relocating from Southern Tennessee to the upper Peninsula of Michigan in September in the owner of the house that I am purchasing is selling an LS P7040 cps with a loader and an Erskine 925FM snowblower. Currently having a Ford 2610, Farmall 140 and JD 670, this is a big step up...

Hi all. I have been lurking here for a while and figured it痴 time that I contribute. I have been looking for a more convenient way to fertilize and apply weed control to my 1 acre yard as well as handle spot spraying duties. Since TSC is close to me I looked at their selection. I didn稚...