Couple things to keep in mind when buying a flooded cell battery...
1. Never buy a battery from a retailer without first looking at it. If it's dusty on top, don't buy it. Flooded cell batteries (and AGM's) begin their useful life when the electrolyte is added at the factory so the longer they sit waiting for you to purchase it, the LESS time the battery has before it fails (usually from sulfation of the plates and shorts out internally).
2. Lift the battery before buying it. The heavier it is, the more lead alloy it contains and the more lead alloy, the better.
3. Always TRICKLE charge a new battery before installing it at less than 2 amps, preferably at one amp, at least overnight. Batteries like to be fully charged before using and a batter sitting on a shelf waiting to be purchased will always discharge while sitting.
4. Always clean the terminals on the battery with a terminal cleaner (Harbor Freight sells a nice one for about 3 bucks) and brighten the cable clamps too inside before installing. After installing and tightening the clamps, apply an anti corrosion to both terminals (I use di-electric grease myself).
If you can see inside the cells, make sure they are full and if not, top up with DISTILLED WATER, not tap water. Tap water contains minerals that will cause internal shorts.
One thing I do and that is, if the tractor sits for a long time unused, I disconnect the battery from the electrical circuit, using a battery disconnect knife switch on the NEGATIVE terminal of the battery. If you remove the battery from the circuit, the internal discharge rate is very small and it won't freeze in the winter anyway. A fully charged battery is good to minus 30 (f).