Another long time lurker

Dan0602 · Dec 15, 2016

I've been reading these forums for about 4 years now. We started with 15 acres, sold that and bought 90 acres. Then we bought another 34 contiguous acres along with house, barn, well and tenants. Will be letting the lease expire in 2 years. In the mean time we are working the property. We have 10 cows, 2 horses and a lot of fish. I have been attempting to mow 50 some odd acres of pasture with a 6 foot brush hog. I'm looking to expand that to a much wider (12-15') bat wing this spring. Also, when we finally move to the property, in addition to moving hay around, grading our road and mowing, I may start to cut and bale hay. My Ford 5900 open station has 72HP 60HP at PTO. I have enjoyed using my ford and, frankly, since I am new at this, I would rather have broken it numerous times learning what not to do than breaking a brand new tractor. I am not a mechanic so I would prefer to have a tractor that my mechanic can work on easily.

However, the wife and I are getting a tad older so we were thinking of a 4wd, cab tractor with something in the region of 60-80hp in order to operate the equipment I mentioned above. I know everyone has their own pet tractors - what I have learned over the past 4 years is that it tends to be what you don't know that can jump up and bite you. So besides HP, 2 sets of rear remotes, a comfy seat, possibly a second seat - what else do I need to consider? What are "must haves" vs "it would be nice"? Also, there seems to be a break in the tractor designs at around 65HP ie 65 and under seem to be on smaller lighter frames and 70hp and above can be (although not always) on heavier, beefier frames. My Ford weighs about 5,800 lbs with nothing in the tires. That weight seems to do OK for me. Am I better staying over 65hp? While I could buy new, I have been advised that I may be better off with a slightly used tractor as some of the new doodads and doohickeys tend to break a lot and in some cases make your tractor a very expensive pile of metal. Any suggestions?

holeycow · Dec 16, 2016

Kioti DK90

Only suggested because I own one and it has been a decent haying tractor for a decent price.

Ideally, you would want a high/low and declutch button to make operating really slick. More hydraulic flow might be required for modern cutting equipment. For me the DK works very well without those features. I moved down about 30hp when I got the DK. It is perfectly sized for me. I still own the bigger tractor. It doesn't get used much for haying anymore. I would not want anything lighter than the Kioti.

Your question is a little tough because you already own a midsize utility tractor. A good all-around unit. Anything smaller will severely restrict your haying equipment choices. Much larger will be harder to manage in tight spaces.

I certainly wouldn't go any smaller than what you have for haying. Many do. Not me. You definately need some weight in your tractor. Some of these new tractors have a lot of HP for their weight. Pretty useless in ag applications, IMO.

I vote for min70 to 80pto HP thereabouts. And at least 9000lbs of weight (more is better). My Kioti is supposed to be 8905lbs. This wasn't enough. Loaded rear tires and the FEL add up to somewhere near 12000lbs. This is a comfy, safe weight for any kind of hay making/handling chores. Rounds, squares, whatever. It can be done with less, but once you have run with more you appreciate the weight.

Then you also need a 30-40hp tractor for around the house, lol.

Someone else...?

Dan0602 · Dec 16, 2016

holeycow said:
Kioti DK90

Only suggested because I own one and it has been a decent haying tractor for a decent price.

Ideally, you would want a high/low and declutch button to make operating really slick. More hydraulic flow might be required for modern cutting equipment. For me the DK works very well without those features. I moved down about 30hp when I got the DK. It is perfectly sized for me. I still own the bigger tractor. It doesn't get used much for haying anymore. I would not want anything lighter than the Kioti.

Your question is a little tough because you already own a midsize utility tractor. A good all-around unit. Anything smaller will severely restrict your haying equipment choices. Much larger will be harder to manage in tight spaces.

I certainly wouldn't go any smaller than what you have for haying. Many do. Not me. You definately need some weight in your tractor. Some of these new tractors have a lot of HP for their weight. Pretty useless in ag applications, IMO.

I vote for min70 to 80pto HP thereabouts. And at least 9000lbs of weight (more is better). My Kioti is supposed to be 8905lbs. This wasn't enough. Loaded rear tires and the FEL add up to somewhere near 12000lbs. This is a comfy, safe weight for any kind of hay making/handling chores. Rounds, squares, whatever. It can be done with less, but once you have run with more you appreciate the weight.

Then you also need a 30-40hp tractor for around the house, lol.

Someone else...?

I guess I should add I normally keep the FEL on, unless using the hay spike and either the brush cutter or Road grader on the back to keep the back end down with a large round bale up front. Hydraulic flow is advertised in GPM but some of the attachments refer to the PSI of the system. It doesn't seem easy to find that sort of information.