Are there any real farmers out there???

[MikePA]

you wont find many, if any on this site. i wish there was.

Click Here for the purpose of TBN. Specifically, "TractorByNet.com is an informational resource for compact tractor buyers and owners...". So, odds are, you're not going to see too many owners of 'farm sized' tractors on TBN. Having said that, there is an Ag Tractor and Machinery forum on TBN here.

 

[Mike120]

My montana can do anything a John Deer, or IH or NH of the same size can do and it is a lot cheaper investment.

The issue is not what it can do, but how long it can hold up and how long you can get parts. I looked at Montana before I bought my JD as a replacement for my old Ford. My concern was the dealerships and if they or the company would survive.

I still run my Ford because I can still buy parts at NH....I just can't rely on it. So I bought a JD because I know that after I'm gone, my kids can still get parts for it and there will still be JD dealerships. I usually put between 600 to 800 hours a year on my tractors. When they get around 6-7000 hours, I replace them. Show me a Montana with those hours, and I'll consider betting my livelihood on them.

 

[billbill1]

The huge farmers around this area actually use Stieger, Versitle, and Cat tractors. These are big flat fields that can be farmed with very large equipment. Most run 4WD tractors that have duals on both front and rear. The family farms from my youth are mostly gone or have expanded 10 fold. 50 years ago it wasn't uncommon to raise a family on 80 acres with the old iron that most on this site are restoring. Sadly, those days are behind us. In the 60's in this area, a 4020 John Deere was the top of the line machine, they brought more money used (with thousands of hours) than they cost new. Cabs were far and few between, only the wealthy had them. Grain prices haven't kept up with the rising cost of everything else and the poor farmer was forced to find work in the factories. Most milked a few cows (by hand) and kept a small herd of beef cows, growing grain and hay to feed them. Throwing hay was the summer job for high school boys, they excelled in the weight lifting class at school.

 

[jwcinpk]

How bout a million dollar poultry operation? Soon to increase by atleast half that. Is that farming? If so, I'm a farmer and I don't have any 100 hp tractor. I have a Mahindra 6000. We have Boer goats and beef cows. Cut our own hay and do custom work for others. I will buy a cab tractor in the next year and it won't be 100 hp.
Why is it that Deere guys think that only Deere will survive? Seems to me Deere feels presssured by all these new manufacturers so they have turned to telling folks these manufacturers won't be around. I'd say there is a very good chance that these new manufacturers will be around and that some will thrive and begin to take some of the Ag class away from Deere and others.

 

[gemini5362]

The issue is not what it can do, but how long it can hold up and how long you can get parts. I looked at Montana before I bought my JD as a replacement for my old Ford. My concern was the dealerships and if they or the company would survive.

I still run my Ford because I can still buy parts at NH....I just can't rely on it. So I bought a JD because I know that after I'm gone, my kids can still get parts for it and there will still be JD dealerships. I usually put between 600 to 800 hours a year on my tractors. When they get around 6-7000 hours, I replace them. Show me a Montana with those hours, and I'll consider betting my livelihood on them.

I agree with you 100 per cent. Not in this post but in other posts I have stated that if my livelihood depended on it I would pay the extra money and get one of the more familiar brands such as JD or NH. For someone like me that does not depend on my tractor I can afford to wait. The point I was making was that my montana can do anything the other brands can do and do it cheaper if you are not having to depend on it to live.

 

[Rara Avis]

How bout a million dollar poultry operation? Soon to increase by atleast half that. Is that farming? If so, I'm a farmer and I don't have any 100 hp tractor. I have a Mahindra 6000. We have Boer goats and beef cows. Cut our own hay and do custom work for others. I will buy a cab tractor in the next year and it won't be 100 hp.
Why is it that Deere guys think that only Deere will survive? Seems to me Deere feels presssured by all these new manufacturers so they have turned to telling folks these manufacturers won't be around. I'd say there is a very good chance that these new manufacturers will be around and that some will thrive and begin to take some of the Ag class away from Deere and others.

It isn't that only DEERE will survive...it is that you generally can get parts for Deere without major hassles...

I've got thirty year old 2640s and have NEVER been told that parts are not available...this is not the case for some tractor manufacturers...

 

[jwcinpk]

It isn't that only DEERE will survive...it is that you generally can get parts for Deere without major hassles...

I've got thirty year old 2640s and have NEVER been told that parts are not available...this is not the case for some tractor manufacturers...

Some manufacturers maybe, but are we talking known brands such as TYM, Mahindra, Kioti,etc? I have yet to need a part I couldn't get. Can someone provide specific instances where they could not get parts for something other than a big 3 brand tractor?

 

[gemini5362]

Some manufacturers maybe, but are we talking known brands such as TYM, Mahindra, Kioti,etc? I have yet to need a part I couldn't get. Can someone provide specific instances where they could not get parts for something other than a big 3 brand tractor?

Actually I think you are going to find people that have stories about trouble getting parts for even the big 3 brands. Depends on the part, the dealer, and what you consider a long wait. I had to get a part for my winch that I bought from Harbor Freight. It had to come from china and took three months to get here. I got it but if my living had depended on that part It would have been a big problem.

 

[gemini5362]

How bout a million dollar poultry operation? Soon to increase by atleast half that. Does that mean you are going to add one more chicken house ?

 

[WEJ]

Hey, This has been fun!!! Maybe I should not have asked if any real farmers are using Montana tractors.... Maybe the question should have been, Do any real farmers spend most of their day on computers.....