Bought the Farm- need a tractor

[Turbo5upra]

I bought a house with 140 acres in central NY... Never thought I'd say that but a foreclosure just fell into my lap-

Anyway- I spent the past 9 or so months rebuilding the house as it was let go for far too long... End of last year I borrowed my grandfathers case 300- gas and upper 20's for hp... I've mowed his 30 or so acres with it in the past with a very tired 4' rotary cutter- when I got it here the gearbox was leaking so I went and bought a 6' cutter with plans to upgrade the tractor this spring- the new 6' mower mowed SO much easier.

Anyway- I've got about 60-70 acres that I'm trying to reclaim for someone to either plant corn or hay so I don't have to mow it-I got about 20 of it done last fall.

The women who was previously here had a pig farm and I'm trying to clean up the fences and outbuildings and make the property presentable.

I know I want MFWD and with a loader I'm thinking around 50hp at the PTO should do the trick and as of right now I don't think I want a cab as I want to go in the wood for firewood and think it will create more issues than it will help

I'm thinking I'd like to go 10-15 years old to avoid emissions and other such things as I want to maintain it myself.

After I clean up the property I will be having someone else use the bulk of the land and just cleaning the tree lines and wet areas and doing firewood for myself.

After doing a bunch of research I and I think I've narrowed it down and I find common faults with the tractor of choice- what would you guys suggest as a limited frills work horse tractor?

Thanks!

 

[newbury]

something like this:

Kubota M4700, 4WD 50HP eng. 42HP pto.
$11,500 when I bought it w/ about 1400 hours on it in 2013

 

[jeff9366]

Easy answer.

No frills Kubota MX 5800: https://www.kubotausa.com/products/tractors/economy-utility/mx


You are seeking a modest sized tractor for the amount of land you have. If you foresee spending a lot of hours operating this tractor consider a model with deLuxe kit rather than no frills. Your body will thank you. Most of the deLuxe features increase productivity.

 

[Turbo5upra]

Orange Huh?

I have most brands within 20-30 minute drive of me but the local kubota dealer and mahindra have been the most welcoming. I was thinking green for ease of parts but the local salesman seemed to be a jerk since I wasn't looking to dump 30-40k on something brand new.

I know they are well established and not going anywhere but how are the parts for older machines to get?


thanks!

 

[LouNY]

go red

 

[Turbo5upra]

which shade of red and is there a particular machine you suggest?

 

[Tractorable]

Kubota MX5800 or Yanmar YT359 (they're red too!)

 

[Semper Paratus]

New Holland 3930 (blue) has about the right HP is substantial on the order of 7k pounds. But the real question is who/what is around you for parts and service. It does not matter the color if local service sucks you will regret it.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Figure out what you mean by "reclaim" and what it is going to take to reclaim it.
Disking, plow, what do the locals do and how far has the field gotten away from it?

If you just plan to plant something, let a local lease it from you if they have a big HP tractor to engage the hard ground. You might have to pay them to "reclaim" it but then lease it back as part of a package deal. this can get the land on agricultural tax base if that is how NY does it.

I personally wouldn't want anything less than 75 HP MFWD. More if you insist to reclaim and raise a crop. This will be your main machine. You will want a smaller tractor to be the "weed eater" for doing close in smaller chores. You should look at about 25-35 PTO hp and better if MFWD too. Front end loaders are a huge help. Can't stress this enough.

Pick your color by what dealer near you has the best reputation and their proximity to you. How many parts do they stock for common replacement items. What would they charge to do a service call to your place?

Good luck.

Post back with your thoughts and questions.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Orange Huh?

I have most brands within 20-30 minute drive of me but the local kubota dealer and mahindra have been the most welcoming. I was thinking green for ease of parts but the local salesman seemed to be a jerk since I wasn't looking to dump 30-40k on something brand new.

I know they are well established and not going anywhere but how are the parts for older machines to get?


thanks!

TBN consensus:
Deere and Kubota are generally consided to be the top tier for parts availability (for CUTs). That does not mean that all other brands are impossible to get parts for.

However, some of the Chinese and Indian manufacturers might give me pause.