30 acre farm. What tractor system do I need?

[Gonner3]

Hello all. This is my first time posting here though I've been reading you all periodically for a few months at this point. I'd love to pick your brains (figuratively speaking) about how to care for the 30 acres my wife and I just purchased. Here is our scenario.

We are utter novices regarding living on a small farm and any response should keep that in mind! Of the 30 acres we purchased 23-25 is in pasture heavily grazed by neighboring cattle. As of April 15 the cattle will no longer be grazing there. The remaining acreage has a mix of various tree species of various ages gathered in pockets around the property. We are building a home, building a 3000 foot gravel driveway (of which the first 1500 feet is shared and completed), have just completed cutting in and graveling our private driveway portion (I purchased a late 1980s Case 1150c crawler loader and did the work) and will break ground June 1 on our home. We are not going to raise crops but may raise livestock at a later time. Currently we are needing a tractor to mow and grade the driveway primarily, potentially split wood and sink fence posts, and whatever other tasks I'm unaware of. I could use a backhoe attachment also.

Given our needs, here are the issues regarding a tractor and implements, and where I need your help:

** Price is paramount and the leading concern. How can I purchase what I need for the least amount possible and where can I do it?
** What range of tractor hp do I need?
** What implements would you suggest?
** What method of attaching implements to the tractor do I need? What pto hp would you suggest?
** Is there an older model of tractor where implements are available and an appropriate grouping can be created? I don't care what the tractor looks like...it can be ugly as sin...only that it is functional.
** What questions am I not asking that I need to be asking?

Thanks you all. I appreciate your input.

Phil

 

[Bwana64]

Here are my suggestions. First off, you should look for a diesel, not gas tractor, in the 30-45 hp range. Craigslist is a good place to look. Many times you can find someone selling the tractor and several implements together. At least in my area there are plenty to go around. I know of at least 10 nice looking tractors in my area right now for under $7000. New is going to cost you over $15,000. Just because a tractor is from the '70s or '80s does not mean it is not perfect for your needs. It is not like a car. Tractors do not get used every day, and diesel engines last much longer than gas engines. Most tractors made after about 1960 will have a "Category 1 3-point hitch" assembly. This is the standard and almost all implements and attachements have them. The 3-Point Hitch or 3ph has 2 arms extending from the rear of the tractor which hydraulically lift or lower the attachment. The PTO connects by a shaft from the tractor to the implement in the same area as the 3ph and a speed of 540 is standard. You are going to need a mower. A good rule of thumb on mowers is 5 hp for every foot in width of mower. I'd go with a 5 foot mower(rotary cutter, shredder, brush hog). These are different from finish mowers which are for a very groomed look. Plan on $500-900 for a mower. You will need a box blade for the driveway, around 5 feet wide. That is the basics, you can get into post hole diggers and log splitters later. Tom

 

[Foodplot]

Congrats on your purchase. My recommendation would be to attend a large farm equipment consignment auction with someone who know what they're about. You can see many of the implements you might want, and get an idea of tractor sizes and prices on the used market. It's a bit of a drive for you, but there's one coming up 20 April down in Barren County.
For your pastures, there are cost-sharing options for converting active ag/pasture land into wildlife habitat if that's of interest to you. Just contact your local private lands biologist with Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. See http://fw.ky.gov/kfwis/viewable/privatelands_biologists.pdf. The type of equipment you may need will really depend on what you want to do with your property. Tree farm? Wildlife habitat? Row crop? Pasture?

 

[newbury]

<snip>
** Price is paramount and the leading concern. How can I purchase what I need for the least amount possible and where can I do it?

Getting the "best bang for the buck" requires a LOT of research, which by your following questions it seems you haven't done yet. At this point it might be best for you to visit all the dealers in your area. Also check out renting a tractor from some place like Sunbelt rentals.

** What range of tractor hp do I need?

Probably 30 to 40 HP

** What implements would you suggest?

Box blade, pallet forks, rotary mower, PHD, trailer

** What method of attaching implements to the tractor do I need? What pto hp would you suggest?

3PT, a few HP < than the engine

** Is there an older model of tractor where implements are available and an appropriate grouping can be created? I don't care what the tractor looks like...it can be ugly as sin...only that it is functional.

That would be a dealer until you get experience/knowledge, I'd recommend Home | Barlow Equipment

** What questions am I not asking that I need to be asking?

TONS
Based on the fact you have the Case and can operate it you are halfway there. Things like HST vs Shift, what brand, etc. will sort themselves out.

Hang around and read A LOT. You are looking at a $10k to $30K investment. Getting one to save a few dollars may result in EXPENSIVE repair costs. Spending a few extra $K for a tractor from a reputable dealer may save a LOT of worrying and money.

You've found this forum and started and as long as politics don't get involved most of us here LIKE to assist other soon to be tractor addicts.

Good luck

 

[remington270]

Having owned both types of tractors, I would HIGHLY recommend a hydrostatic transmission (vs the more traditional transmission). It is much easier to maneuver and drive in my opinion. I would also get a good quick hitch system (Pats easy change or JD imatch etc) and get implements compatible with that. I use Pats easy change and makes a huge difference.

 

[Bob77064]

Welcome neighbor

 

[kebo]

Good advice has already been given but I will add in my 2 cents worth.... Since the OP seems to be on a budget with this, I would suggest that he doesn't have to make the big $$$$ "end all" purchase up front. It might be better to start out with something relatively low cost and old, and yes "ugly as sin", to get used to operating tractors and gain some experience with them. Later on, he could sell that one (and probably break even or lose very little on that initial purchase) and then move up to a newer tractor as the budget permits, and after he's had time to learn more and figure out what his real needs/wants are.

He indicated initially he's only going to need it for grading, mowing, splitting firewood, and digging post holes. An old 8N or MF 35 will do all that except for operating a 3pt log splitter. So, that would come in as a bit of compromise, but stand alone log splitters can be had for $1k or less and used to solve that problem, and it may be that he decides to not go with a 3pt log splitter in the long run anyway. The only attachments needed up front would be a box blade, a mower (or two if rough cut and finish cut are both needed) and then a post hole digger. That would get him going, and probably for under $5k for used equipment, with some prudent shopping. Suggesting he spend $10k to $30k didn't seem to be anywhere in his post, at least that was the way I took it since he said price was "paramount". Well, he did mention a backhoe which would significantly increase the expenditure but it didn't sound like a BH was an initial req't.

I would also suggest that the OP start visiting a few tractor dealers and look at both the used inventory, and some of the new ones as well. Drive them around the lot some, if they will let you operate it. Ask lots of questions, get lots of prices. But, be wary of getting sucked into the 0% financing lol!! Also, start watching craigslist, the deals are out there, just have to be the first one there.

 

[bubbu55]

Get a hydrostatic, you will not regret it. Any kind of shifting gears on hilly terrain or slopes can be a pain in the you know what. Box blade for leveling and adding stone in driveway. Livestock will keep the field down, and as far as post-hole digger, how much would you use it? If only to do one big job, then I would rent one. Bottom line, get the tractor that you want, which requires homework, testdrives, etc., etc. As a previous post said get a diesel. Good luck!!!!

 

[murphy1244]

:welcome:

 

[murphy1244]

How soon you need one? My advice is to read this forum and other tractor blogs for awhile before you start shopping so you will get an idea of what you need not what sales wants you to have.

 

[wolftree]

Gonner3,

Give serious consideration to 1970s era utility tractors, 30-50 pto hp (John Deere 1010/1020-2010/2020 and International Harvester 424-444). Certainly you will want a front loader. If you can find one of these tractors with less than 2000 hours, grab it. Used implerments for this size tractor are fairly reasonable.

 

[dntfxr]

Your spread sounds very similar to my property, in fact we just started on our home. I'm going to second the last post and suggest you look for an older tractor with at least 40pto HP. With the amount of mowing you have, I'd look for a 6' brush hog. Trust me the 6' will cut the mowing time by quite a bit. 6' box blade for dirt work and driveway. If you keep looking there are deals out there on good used tractors and implements. A late 60s to early 80s model Deere or IH diesel will serve you well.

 

[medic0648]

There are a lot of industrial Massey and JD tractors available that have the capabilities you're looking for for good prices. Just make sure they have the Pto option. The industrials from the 60-70s are mostly beefed up popular ag models with good parts availability and around here I've seen them for the same or less than the ag version and usually have a HD bb and sometimes a brush hog included.

 

[6011Artist]

wolftree, I think he already has a tracloader so that covers his loader needs. I find a loader on my tractor would be in the way most of the time when doing non loader chores. Yes, they are nice but myself, if I only had 1 tractor, I'd want one without the loader.

I agree with the others. Something in the 8N Ford Or Ferguson 35, MF 135 range would be cheaper and do a good job for bush hogging, pulling a box blade, post hole digger and other light tractor chores. I'd suggest whatever you buy have a high/low transmission and a 2 stage clutch. The 2 stage clutch is a necessity if bush hogging. You can make do with a single stage clutch and an added slip clutch but that's what you'll be doing, making do. Spend the extra for a 2 stage clutch.

You didn't say if you wanted it to be backhoe attachment ready on your first buy or if you want to start small and work up to the backhoe. In order to be backhoe ready you'll need to buy a little heavier, more expensive tractor with the plug in style hydraulics already attached and ready. But you'll spend more money to get this. To do the other chores you can buy a cheaper tractor. I like having more than 1 tractor, can have different tractors set up with different implements, not as much switching implements when doing a job. A good for instance would be to maybe have a tractor set up with the post hole digger and another pulling a trailer loaded with posts and other supplies. With 30 acres you'll have a need if you can afford them, buy small now and add a bigger one as you see the need.

With not having any tractor experience at all, if you have any oppertunity to visit someone that has a tractor that will show you his and how things work, how he does different tasks, talk to him and get a feel of what he's doing vs what you need to do. That would be time well spent and a good beginner course in tractoring. Ask on this forum if anyone is close by that would be willing to give you a Tractor 101 crash course. If you were close to me I'd offer myself.

Different people have different ways of doing things but I use mine to pull trailers for cutting firewood and general yard maintenance. I hate using a pickup to maneuver around trees (got lots of trees) and find it so much easier to do that with my tractor. So that's another plus on having more than 1 tractor too. I'd say start small and add larger when needed.

 

[flusher]

First, bookmark TractorData.com which is your resource for tractor specs.

TractorData.com - information on all makes and models of tractors

Next, since you probably aren't in the market for a new tractor, camp out on eBAy and Craigslist for a month or so and look at prices on 40-50 hp (pto) tractors of various makes with diesel engine, power steering, shuttle-shift or hydrostatic tranny, front end loader.
Also set up searches for implements--brush hog mower, box blade, rear blade to start.

Then post back here with more questions and comments.

Good luck

 

[6011Artist]

The comfort of having 2 tractors with 30 acres will be a big plus for you. With me, I have a tiller on my Yanmar right now, I'll till my garden once more before it comes off. It's a PITA to hook and unhook, atleast for me it is. It goes on and stays on til I'm finished with it. I have the other tractor do do my other chores with while it is hooked up. Sometimes it stays on most of the winter, mulching in leaves and other stuff into the garden while it is not planted.

In a few weeks I'll hook my bush hog to my Ferguson and it pretty much stays on all summer. I only have 5 acres but seem to constantly be cutting the back section and small pastures. Too much and too tough for my lawn mower. With your 30 acres you'll get lots of seat time while bush hogging. And having it already hooked up is nice. By then the tiller will be off my Yanmar and I can use it to do any other chores.

So my suggestion for you now would be to be in the market looking for a good "bush hog tractor". It can do the rest of your chores but not every tractor in that size range is capable of being a good bush hog tractor. You get what I am saying? That will be a big part of what you'll be doing right now.

 

[Creamer]

I will provide a different opinion than most of what is here. 40 hp should be minimum. It isn't much more expensive but with the haying work you will appreciate it. A front end loader is a must, I use mine almost every time I use the tractor. you will be moving lots of stuff from here to there and sometimes you will want to load things. the tracloader is just no near as convenient.
I have driven hydrostatics and regular tractors in many applications. Hydros are nice but they have some disadvantages mainly power consumption and cost. If a tractor shifts well a standard transmission is fine. Two features i would not compromise on are hydraulics flow and pressure for use with loader, backhoe, mowers, implements, logsplitter, etc. and live PTO. Having the PTO stop when you push in the clutch is a pain especially if you are trying to be careful mowing around something and want to clutch it a little for a moment. Diesel is good.
Bush hog type mowers are great but with one big blade they really do not cut behind one set of tires so you effectively lose a foot or so. With 40+hp go for 6 ft. I prefer a sickle bar mower as it leaves the grass laying flat and does not bunch it like a bush hog. You can also get a full 7 or 9 ft cut which means a lot less mowing time.
Blades of various styles are relatively inexpensive and very handy. Nobody has mentioned a landscape rake but I would not be without mine. Once I got I was hooked. A box blade is very handy especially since you are going to build a house and probably a lot of landscaping. I like my regular blade with angle capability for grading the driveway, pushing snow, and lots of little clean up tasks but i would think you could get by without on if you have a landscape rake and box blade.
If you are going to garden get a rototiller - otherwise no. Tillage equipment can come down the road but in general it is not real useful with today's no-till farming techniques should you want to grow crops it is so much easier and I believe better.
A set of pallet forks is a must. You will use them a lot for moving things around. I have a multipurpose toolbar that most of the time is connected to my pallet forks but I also use disc hillers on for my garden. One of the big uses I have for my pallet forks is a large box I carry as a carry-all - whether it is firewood out of the trees or tools for a job.
A trailer is a must as well. A small dump trailer will serve many purposes over the years.

Just a few things.

 

[6011Artist]

I just reread your original post and looked over the replies again. Nobody seems to have talked about implements that much.

Implements will all pretty much be used on the 3ph (3 point hitch) system, it's pretty much standard unless you get into the 140 Farmall 1 point fast hitch. But that pretty much is a "cultivating" tractor, not what you need. They come in different sizes know as "category". Catagory 1 is pretty standard for the smaller tractors and you will find will be less expensive when buying. I suggest you go to a good implement dealer and look and get prices. Have him show you category 1 and category 2 implements so you can see the difference in what is offered and what it will cost. You'll get a feel of what you think you might need as far as how wide. With the tractors we've been suggesting, 5' wide will be pretty standard too. You may see where you want to go bigger/wider. The wider the implement, the faster you get a job done...BUT...it doesn't fit in small areas as well and costs more. If you want a 7' bush hog, a 8N Ford or MF 35 won't pull it. You'll need more tractor. So go look at implements to decide what size you'd like to have and then get whatever size tractor is best for that implement group. And remember, as said above 5hp per foot of bush hog is pretty much standard.

Not only will you decide what size, you'll also see prices too. Then if you see something on Craigslist, you'll have an idea what it costs and if it's a good deal. Most probably he'll have used tractors too. Talk to him to get a feel on prices on them too. Tell him you're in the looking/deciding stage and don't get talked into anything on your first visit. It's a pretty good way to get a feel of whats going on and give you lots to think about while deciding.

Don't start buying implements until you've found your tractor. The tractor will be the most costly. If you buy several implements in category 1 and find a deal on a category 2 tractor, you've mixed the sizes and it won't usually work out good. So buy the tractor first.

Hope all this helps and feel free to come back asking lots of questions. We didn't get off our bicycles knowing everything about tractors. We all had to grow into it, just like you're doing now.

 

[Gonner3]

Thanks so much you all. You are sharing such helpful information, suggestions and experience. Having a sounding board like this forum is, as you all know, extremely beneficial. I have so many thoughts and questions running through my head that I don't know where to begin. So, I'll start here. In an effort to minimize cost I'm boiling down our property needs to what is absolutely necessary: mowing the pasture and grading the drive. Therefore I'm looking for a diesel tractor of at least 45 hp and 40 hp pto. I would prefer hp as high as feasibly possible. Would there be any reason to avoid tractors with hp over a certain amount other than the physical size limiting access to certain parts of the property and potential increase in implement cost? I'm looking for hydrostatic tranny (though that's flexible) and live pto.

Regarding implements my crawler loader has a clam bucket so I can actually grade the drive. It seems to me though that starting the loader to grade the drive would be unwieldy and, since a box grader would also grade around our new home, a brush hog and box grader (in that order) are the two implements needed sooner rather than later. Knowing that preference plays a role, how many times an average central Kentucky season might I need to brush hog the pasture? Asking it another way, how tall can a field grow before a brush hog, or other mowing implement, has trouble cutting it?

I've been on Craigslist quite a bit, use TractorData.com frequently and will attend an auction soon. Like when I researched buying the crawler loader I'll spend way too much time combing this and other websites before pulling the trigger and buying a tractor. If you guys wouldn't mind briefly commenting on the following tractors I've spotted on Craigslist I'd appreciate it.

IH 784
Long 460
Ford 5000
NH 3930, 1999 year, 2900 hrs
MF 135

Thanks.

Phil

 

[foreman Etexas]

I'm going to say that the ag.exemption the place probaly has you have to either do hay twice a year or have a working livestock farm for atleast 6mnths out of the year,you may won't to work a deal out for a couple more months or if you think your going to be set up before year runs out,just in case may lose the exemption. As other have mentioned 40hp to 60 depending on really what your going to deside to do on it,if going to buy your own cows and graze it,then a 6ft mower will just be used for alittle clean-up here and there,weed spraying will cut down on a lot of weeds,can either do it yourself or maybe local place can do it for you. I like having loader on tractor,lots of stuff can find a need for one and I also like 4x4 but it may not be needed on your place,I dunno. Most the 40hp+ can easly handle a 4x5 round bale,I would suggest a box blade that will cover atleast your tires tracks on whatever tractor you deside. If you don't deside to bother with round bales pallet forks are nice to have but my double hay fork can double as a pallet fork. Auctions are a good place to start or a new package deal,some brands even have 0-84mnths finacing.