100 acres - What to buy?

HayDR · Mar 11, 2006

I challenge anyone here on TBN to prove that a 85 PTO HP 4 wd Tractor would not do any of the chores mentioned. Also Kubota makes 120+ tractors. I have McCormick and JD tractors but there are many good choices out there theses days.

John_Mc · Mar 11, 2006

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ... Buy a tractor that will perform the tasks you do every day well. If you need a larger maching for a job now and then it's a lot cheaper to hire it done than to work overpowered equipment every day. )</font>

Excellent advice. With all the recomendations for 70+ Hp and multiple tractors, I hope Ugh is not planning on having his haying (and possible soybean) activities on this 100 acres pay for itself. Personally, I'd be inclined to figure out how much time I wanted to spend on this operation and work backwards from there in sizing a tractor. Get a tractor that can handle most of the tasks he'd like to do, even if it's a bit small for some activities, then pay the farmer down the road to come in with the "big guns" as for the jobs that are beyond the capabilities of your own equipment (or beyond the time you have available to spend with your equipment). With the right equipment, the farmer can knock out the toughest tasks on that 100 acres quickly.

John Mc

tjkadar · Mar 11, 2006

If you need to reclaim the land, you might be looking at doing some work with un-compacting the soils. If you intend to hay, and money is not an object, I would look at something in the 90 ~ 110 hp range with a cab on it. CCI can probably help you out with exact implements. I would look at a pasture renovator, a brush whacker (you'll need it initially and then probably sell it after you get the fields under control and planted in hay), a good mower (disc mower/discbine/mower/conditioner), a tedder, a hay rake, a baler (round and/or a square baler), if you are doing squares - a stack wagon, a good sized sprayer, a FEL, a round bale hay spear (front and rear), and that is all I can think of at the moment (well, not really - a grapple would be nice too).

You can get it done with smaller equipment, but something larger can help get it done quicker and with less fuss. Ideally, you would get two tractors. One in the 90 ~ 110 hp range and another around 70 hp. That way you can leave the mower or stack wagon hooked up to one while you use the other for the tedder, hay rake, etc., on the other. Of course, the above is kind of what I would consider a dream scenario. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

jazzdaddy · Mar 11, 2006

I raise cattle on 118 acres and have been getting by with an L3830 for the last three years. For serious farming, this is just too small a tractor.

If I was making hay I'd consider 50-60 hp minimum for doing round bales. But I also need a loader for moving and stacking 1 ton pallets and round bales. I need to pull a 4 ton lime wagon over some hills and I don't feel comfortable doing that without a substantial tractor. I've got a Kubota M105 coming next week.

Folks do get by very well with tractors in the 70-90 hp range with what I'm doing. I just don't want to make the same mistake I did before and be underpowered on our hills.

One other factor for me is that there are fewer and fewer farmers in this area. There is very little support network and I have to do things myself or they don't get done.

Don't just think about the tractor. Consider all the implements you might need to use. Hay equipment, liming and fertilizing, brush hogging, loading, plowing, disking, seeding, etc.

ugh · Mar 13, 2006

Thank you all for the great advice. What's the meanest badest brush hog I can get? My neighbor's it too wimpy and can only do small sections at a time. I gotta clear this stuff asap.

Jason

Big_Cajun · Mar 13, 2006

In spring 2006 I will be purchasing a tractor with anywhere from 50-60 pto horsepower. That tractor will be plenty to work the 65 acres or so that need to be worked. I plan on buying another tractor, around 90-110 horsepower later on for tougher jobs and for when (hopefully) I can get more land. Right now, the land is taken care of with a 130hp MF and a 20ish HP farmall--and we're doing good, but it is time to put those units into retirement.

All in all, I will attempt getting two units instead of compromising with one inbetween unit (providing I can afford it) because it offers more versatility. But that's just my opinion on the matter.

Good luck.

BC

tjkadar · Mar 13, 2006

I really like Bush Whacker rotary mowers. They are built tough and will last a long time. We have the T-104 8 foot offset mower and couldn't be more pleased. Top notch product without breaking the bank.

froggy · Mar 13, 2006

Rhino is one of the best you can buy: Rhino

daTeacha · Mar 13, 2006

There's Bush Hog, who started the whole thing, or else is good enough at it to have their name become almost generic to describe the implement. Mine is a Huskee brand from TSC. It's only a 4 footer, but weighs enough to keep my B7100 from lifting it. It mows anything I can run over with it, including small saplings and multiflora rose clumps. Some of the rose clumps are big enough that I literally drive over them, getting the entire tractor off the ground. Spinning the blades of the mower will cause it to chew it's way down to ground level.