Do it all advice

[Bncrshr77]

Hello,
Kind of new to the tractor scene so I'm looking for some solid advice..

I own a 160 acre farm that I plan on doing tons of work on...Land is everything from flat to steep hills... In SE Ohio so I get plenty of rain as well..

I will be doing everything from rough brush hogging, digging out lots of stumps to just moving lots of dirt in general...

I'm looking for a tractor that I can have a bucket up front and also a good strong backhoe attachment out back for stump digging, trench digging, etc...I need to be able to remove the backhoe for brush hogs, disks, etc..

4wd is mandatory and I'm guessing I would be ok with something in the 50hp range?? I have no problem looking at bigger but do not thing smaller will suite me from what I've read..

Any advice will be welcome...

 

[Depmandog]

You mentioned "160 acre farm", are you planning on growing any row crops - ie plowing? Also mentioned "rough brush-hogging" - all 160 acres..including the hills?

Since you didn't mention row crops...I won't automatically suggest full size ag tractor, but rough brush-hogging 160 acres is quite a task for a 50hp machine. With a heavy duty cutter in heavy stuff I personally wouldn't use over a 7' machine hooked to 50 HP. It will take a lot of time to mow that many acres pulling a 7' RC.

Plus you mention hills..pulling a heavy large brush hog on hilly ground makes me think full size ag tractor.

Do you have a few stumps, or acres of stumps? If you have acres of stumps then consider a dedicated backhoe with a grapple bucket.

From the limited info thus far - I am thinking you would be better suited with a 75 - 100 HP ag tractor.

Respond back with more info. You will learn (quickly) that everyone on TBN loves to talk tractors and offer suggestions.

Dean

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Bonecrusher77,

I'm going to echo Depmandog here and say you need to think BIGGER.

I've got 51 acres and I'm doing everything you describe except the back hoe, and while I love my 50hp Kioti, I can already see it will eventually be my "small" tractor.

Just reading your post made me imagine looking for a used construction TLB when I need a hoe (which I will when I start building my REAL house...

Honestly also if I were looking at the 75 to 100 hp range (which is the correct target for you I believe) I'd likely be looking at Case IH, Deere, and not at ANY of the CUT brands.

Lastly, I'm jealous. I love my 51 acres. Everyone who comes to visit loves it too. But I'm already itching for more... Trying to figure out how soon can I buy the 17 acre wild overgrown parcel next to me, or the 57 acres with forest and high voltage power next to mine, or... 160 acres sounds AWESOME! :licking:

PS - Depmandog is 1000% correct, we TBN'ers love talking tractors (& related stuff)... It is like a university I have learned SO MUCH here in just a few months.

Be well,
David

 

[DAY]

Yes, you will get MORE than enough advice here!

I suggest you do some "field work" as well: Talk to local land owners/farmers, look at their equipment, ask their advice.

"Kind of new to the tractor scene"- so were we all at one point! One way of learning without the wallet pain is to rent something for a week/weekend, and try it out.
Good luck!

 

[Bncrshr77]

Thanks for the replies and sorry for not giving more info....

Only about 35 Acres of the land is field but it's OLD field that the previous owner had started reclaiming a few years back... He rented a dozer and went to town leaving the ground super rutted and he left all the stumps as well!! Not sure about the actual number of stumps but there are a bunch in every field and some are big trees...

In his defense his goal was letting the briars grow for deer habitat...

I also have old logging trails all over the land that need to be maintained with several creek crossings that need re-worked as in dug out and culverts put in..

My end goal is to get all 35 acres back to good field status and I will be planting corn and soy for the deer!!

 

[TripleR]

About all I can do is echo the excellent advice given so far.

Yes, you can "do it all" with a 50HP tractor, but we have a L5030 and I sure wouldn't want to, not even with the more robust M5040.

There are any number of ways to accomplish your tasks and we have tried them all including buying a used dedicated backhoe to use along with a tractor/tractors and/or paying for a dozer to do the heavy work and finish up with a tractor. We have also rented an excavator and backhoe.

What is "best" for any one individual is going to depend on how much you can or are willing to spend, how much time you have or want to spend in your initial work and then maintaining it, your physical condition, available help and thing I am sure I am forgetting.

Our latest "best" solution is multiple tractors and paying for a dozer then renting a backhoe/excavator, but this is not for everyone.

For a one tractor operation, I wouldn't want anything less than a M7040 with my preference being the M95/8540.

My longstanding observation:

If you can pick a tractor with:

1. Just the right horsepower, no more no less.
2. Just the right weight, no more no less.
3. Just the right loader/backhoe performance, no more no less.
4. Just the right tires.
5. Just the right transmission for ALL of your needs.
6. Just the right price, no more; don't worry about the "less" part, won't
happen.
7. Just the right size; not too big and not too small, just right.

If you can do all this and more that you aspire to in your tractor selection, you can retire from your present job and become a very successful tractor consultant.


Good luck.:thumbsup:

 

[rbargeron]

All good advice so far. Reclaiming open land requires different equipment than maintaining it or growing light crops. I'd give some thought to having someone with a BIG ripper dozer and/or excavator come get the stumps out and bury them in a trench. Big machines with experienced operators get a lot done in a short time. It may cost a few $k but with a too-small tractor you'll spend years trying to do it. After the major stumps and rocks are out a 40-50 hp machine will be enough. In my case a 60 hp tractor with 11' backhoe will do a lot - but a 10" diameter stump takes repositioning 2-3 times to cut/break the roots. My friend's JCB commercial TLB can pop them out much quicker.

 

[gwdixon]

I'm with TripleR on this one. Multiple tractors are the way to go.

With 35 acres of crops to maintain you'll want a good gear-drive field tractor. One of the larger M-series would be great. That leaves 125 acres of timber, etc. that you will likely harvest firewood, maintain roads, and clean up now and then. A large tractor can man-handle that job. Dragging trees and such need a workhorse.

For the stumps (not knowing size) a TLB is perfect. It will also maintain streams, culverts, dig foundations, dig ponds, whatever. With a HST transmission it will do loader work in a jiffy. You can jump on it and go when needed and not have to deal with hooking up or unhooking a backhoe attachment. A TLB is made just for that job and does it well.

I was going to buy a Kubota M4011V backhoe attachment for the M7040 but for a bit more a used L48 TLB was picked up and it has performed magnificently for just the jobs you are looking to do.

The "baby bear" of my story is the BX2200 with a FEL. My wife uses it with confident freedom for all of the little jobs. It is worth it to have a "free" :laughing: helper when needed. Odd thing is, I find myself jumping on it and using it more and more for the things that just seem to come up and need a quick fix.

 

[samofsweden]

Bncrshr77,
Time is what its all about (more or less) If you going to spend all days long just concentrating on your land, doing it all by yourself, you could use a small 50-70hp tractor with a backhoe, and maybe need to get some local help with other type of equipment, for difficult tasks.

If you want to spend less time or dont have the time, you maybee have a... 8-17 work... for example buy bigger machines, or lets someone else do it. Dont get me wrong here, I really like small tractors very much and I use them for what they are designed for. (Yes I do sometimes bigger projects with them, but the only reason is because I have the time, or deside to invest that amount of time in the project.)
For example, I helped a friend 2 day building a road, I used his 17ton 360´Volvo for that, I could use my 6,5 ton 360´ Volvo, but I would take me 2-3 more days more and I would have some hard times with the reach of my small 6,5 ton Volvo.

So I think its all what you want spend your time on!
You will "buy" time by getting the right machine or machines, you probably need more then just one machine to efficient.
If its your new hobby because for example, you just retired, maybe you will be fine with one tractor?

160 acres farm! Wow!:thumbsup: Im really wishing you good luck and please post pictures here on TBN.

 

[Bncrshr77]

Thanks for all the great replies!! I guess what it will end up boiling down to is how my time I will want to spend playing on my tractor to get the job done...

The good thing for me is that I'm in no real hurry to accomplish what I want to do... I work away so when I'm home I generally like to just take my time and jump on whatever project I feel like doing that day... I wouldn't mind spending a bit of extra time on a regular tractor with backhoe attachment...

Knowing myself pretty well I will most likely end up with whatever I can get the best deal on as long as it's something that is up to the tasks I'm looking to do..

I sure like the looks of the M7040 though!!! Might be keeping a special watch for one of those!!