Farm/Retreat Soon - Then Tractor - Help

[sbakf]

Come Jan 4th, I should close on a long held dream - 40 acres in the country. After working our way through college, 40 years of marriage, raising 5 kids and sending some through college, it's time for me and the misses to have some fun and relaxation. I want to develop the land into a show piece, build a big front porch with a house in the back, a large divided barn-style shop for the service and restoration of British sports cars and some space to work a little wood. Would also like to put in a shooting range. My wife just wants some walking trails, pond (or 2) and perhaps some chickens and a garden. Our 8 grandchildren and 5 big dogs just want a place to run free and have fun.

A tractor is going to play a big part in this endeavor. Unfortunately, I have no experience with these beasts and the implements that go on them. I have, however, operated a few big track machines in the past - like 35-40 years ago. Doubt that these long lost skills will help me now.

I've pretty much set my sights on a Kubota L5740 with cab. A FEL (with teeth) is a given add-on. A bush hog (brand unknown) type rotary cutter is a must - there will be a big need for this. What comes next is way up in the air. The more I read, the bigger the list gets. Front blade, back blade, box blade, post hole digger, grapple, pallet forks, disc harrow, backhoe, rotary tiller, landscape rake and the list goes on. With the tractor/FEL buy, I'm not going to have much left in my pocket. Besides, I have fence lines to clear, underbrush to clean out, tree stands to thin and nearly 2 miles of perimeter and interior fencing to install. Add to this, underground utilities, building site work, interiors roads/trails - wish I had a million dollars. I have to prioritize the tractor implement list - I can't afford all of them. Ask me questions and I'll answer the best I can. Your feedback will be a big help in my selections - I'm sure.

The L5740 with FEL should cost somewhere between $30K-$35K - probably closer to $35K. What I've found strange about tractor shopping is there isn't any published pricing on these things. Ain't like cars - why the secrecy? Even the model year seem to be held close to the vest. Will Kubota's no interest financing extent past 12-31-09? One dealer says no - another says yes. One dealer tells me the prices will go up - the other tells me the prices will probably drop. There's 2008 models out there that are being pushed as new - are they really? Where are all the 2009 models? When do the 2010 models come out? Are there big differences between the 2008's and 2010 models? So many questions.

 

[sbakf]

Aerial of my (almost) 40 acres with envisioned improvements.

 

[Samandothers]

Sounds like great plans. Where are you located? I originally purchased with 0 financing an L4240 with FEL and Backhoe and bush hog. Next I bought a grapple which is a great piece of equipment. If you will be clearing new land the grapple is priceless. The backhoe is a great tool to dig out trees and leave no stumps. I have used my backhoe to also install culverts and level land for a barn. FEL is great to move dirt but the backhoe will dig/loosen the dirt so it can be moved. If your land is not too rocky the post hole digger will assist with fence building for sure. I recon you gotta determine what do ya wanna do first. It is gonna be fun. By the way congrats on making it to this point in your life to bring your dream to reality.
Good luck and welcome to TBN. There are lots of folks here to help you spend your money.

 

[sbakf]

Samandothers - yes it is a great plan. Just hope God give me the time and resources to finish - wish I was 40 and not 63. The property is about 40 miles SE of Birmingham, AL, just outside Columbiana. My young red headed grandson fits in real well with this small town - Mayberry like, but in Alabama. A FEL almost seems to be required - not sure how much I'll use though. A mounted grapple (vs bucket) would probably see more use in the beginning. Would love to have a backhoe, but those things aren't cheap. I'm sure that I would put it to a lot of use (road construction/drainage, underground utility lines, removing overgrown privet and other ditch clutter). Add in a hydraulic driven 3-pt post hole digger and rotary cutter would be the ultimate setup - guess I'll have to pawn my house.

The visible crop/pasture land on this property is well over a 100 years old and has been used for such up until last December. The wooded areas were also once crop/pasture land - about 50 years ago. I've walked nearly every inch of this parcel and I've only seen one rock bigger than a golf ball. The soil is a clay mixture, but not much clay. After a big rain storm, it doesn't feel like you've just stepped in dog poop and it won't clog or stack the bottom of your boots. Patches of pasture grass that haven't been overtaken with weeds is lush and thick. Beside bush hog work and weed control, I will have soil samples and core plugs sent off for analysis - spring is near. I do love that back pasture - as do the deer and turkey. My new neighbor tells me, he often takes his young daughter back there on full moon evenings to watch the deer play - I'm looking forward to the same with my grandkids.

Back to tractors - Kubota is my choice, but there is a multitude of choices when it come to attachments. What name brands can one depend on as far as quality and warranty coverage? What brands should one avoid? What brands give the biggest bang for the buck? BMW makes a quality car, but if one wants quality, dependability, long carefree transportation, manufacturer and dealer backup, I would go Toyota - I own both.

 

[bp fick]

Congratulations on your property and your vision.

Kubota's zero financing has been a blessing to many in similar situations to you. We certainly fell into that category. It allowed us to keep the cash for other needful projects on our property. Laying out the few hundred per month was much easier to do.

The responsibility of the buyer is to bundle, at the time of purchase, all the implements he thinks he needs. There are a lot of us here who could testify that we wish had put this or that implement into the bundle. That's not an open invitation to buy something you don't need, but don't overlook something you must have.

You asked about "left over" models. Yes, from time to time, an older model allows a dealer to sweeten the deal because he purchased that unit prior to many price increases. Funny you should mention Toyota, as I often think of Kubota as the Toyota or Honda or the tractor world. Best Wishes

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

You appear to be the man that 0% interest was implemented for. Get the essentials up front to use the 0% and probably the other non essentials at one whack. Essentials from your description. FEL, Bush hog, pto powered post hole digger and box blade, some will also add back hoe here but I'm not sure unless you want to do all of the work your self over the next 15 years. Since you operated some heavier equipment in the past you recognize the benefit of more specialized equipment. A big dozer can do in minutes what will take you hours(days) in the woods and for pond digging. A trencher or bigger dedicated back hoe can do the same. You've got a plan that almost looks over whelming to me since I'm 62 and think about the years it will take you to accomplish your dreams. I bought my land, bought my first tractor (BX2200) and built my own home with the help of my wife and brother plus some subcontracting work that could be done so much faster by others. I spent a month cutting down trees and had a dozer come in and level out my building spot (in almost solid rock). While he was there I asked him to push down the remaining trees other than a few I asked him to leave. In 2 or 3 hours he had the job done with a big burn pile, burning. It would have taken me another month or more to do what he did plus I would have had 30 stumps still left to deal with. I enjoy working on my tractors, doing stuff myself and not waiting on someone else to come do it at their schedule but time waits for no man and it seems to be limited and it seems to be more limited the older I get. I started with a tractor, fel and mmm and have since added ratchet rake, over seeder, fertilize spreader, landscape rake, box blade, tiller, post hole digger, rear finish mower and forks. Had tooth bar and rear blade and got rid of them because they didn't work for me or provide me any benefit. Have considered back hoe but haven't been able to justify cost with benefit for me. Also have bought and been through 9 Kubotas in 6 years to come up with the 3 I currently have for my particular need. My brother in law has a machine shop and does English cars only. He manufactures parts for them and ships them around the world in his spare time.

 

[Egon]

it's time for me and the misses to have some fun and relaxation.

Boy's oh Boy's after reading the plans part Your relaxation and fun will appear in 12 hour days planning, supervising contractors and sitting on the tractor. Forget about lunch time, coffee time and holidays. There will be no more days off either as the new Boss will be a TASKMASTER!

 

[MarkV]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new property. Here are a couple of thoughts for what they are worth. First I think you are looking at a real nice tractor. It will be more than big enough for your future needs but it isn't going to do all you have planned in a practical, timely way. Most of us that buy land have the desire to do it all ourselves and that isn't always the best way to go. Plan on bringing in an excavation contractor for the rough heavy work like cutting the roads, pond building, clearing, grading the house and shop sites and cutting in your fence lines. What they will do in a week will save you a years worth of work and there will be plenty of finish grading and clean up to satisfy your tractor fix.

Another thought is do you really need a 57 hp tractor? Once you are set up your biggest regular chore will be mowing pasture it looks like. You haven't mentioned crops or large animals. The rule of thumb is 5 PTO hp per foot of mower. A 40 to 45 hp tractor will run a 6' rotary mower just fine and will be more agile for your garden and trail maintenance. I mention this with the thought that the money saved might just let you buy a used full size industrial backhoe for initial projects. That type of machine can be bought very reasonably in this economy and resold when your big projects are done.

Also I would not worry about Kubota dropping the financing deal. They have offered deals for years now and I am sure they will continue to with all the other manufactures offering them.

MarkV

 

[TripleR]

JOHNTHOMAS said it better than I could. I have several tractors from 24 to 80 HP and right now I have a professional finishing a firearms range on one of our farms. We also paid to have all of our ponds done, but they are from 1/4 to 8 acres. Even with this, we had the dams fail on two due to extremely heavy rain immediately after construction and the rebuild was done by them.

I grew up farming and have operated tractors all my life, but there are a lot of things I can't do as well as professionals or at all.

We now rent a backhoe as like John, don't need one often enough to justify the cost. We actually have an older model, but don't bother keeping it running due to not needing it often enough to bother though this may change when my brother retires.

As to equipment, we use Woods and Land Pride though there are other good brands like Bush Hog etc. We even found some of the "off brands" to be pretty good.

I am 62 and have been retired for two years, been married forty years with four kids and eleven grandchildren. We live on a three hundred plus acre farm and have a couple of smaller ones. We have stocked ponds, firing ranges, roads and walking paths; lots of deer and turkey. My father in law, me and my kids have put in the last twenty-five years building it up, My father in law passed away a few years ago and he enjoyed every minute. You may not have the time to finish all you want to do, but you are going to have a blast doing it. Enjoy your "retirement" and give consideration to teaching your wife to operate a tractor, mine really likes it.

 

[lhfarm]

I started earlier but am your age and July 1 will be living the dream full time (retiring). We've had the weekend farm for almost 25 years (it belonged to my wife's family). I restore Willys jeeps and got my retirement tractor 5 years ago. We remodel 15 years ago and the major house feature is the front porch. I built a separate garage/shop when we remodeled and 5 years ago a pole barn. We have 50+ acres of mostly woods and pasture and a couple of ponds. Here is what I would suggest.

Tractor - I just purchased forks, but I wish I had done so years ago. They will come in handy for building projects and your hobbies. I have a 40 HP tractor and it is just the right size for mowing pasture and maintain trails in the woods. I got a BH and wouldn't be without it. It has already been suggested, but I'd look at a smaller tractor and more implements. The idea of a smaller tractor and a used BH is a good one too. Having a second tractor around is always good.

Garage/shop - Think big. I've got $30K vehicles parked outside because the bays are filled with rusted and (an occasional) restored jeeps. I hadn't started the jeep restoration when we bult the garage. Since you know that you will need space for family and hobby, plan for that now.

Barn - Think even bigger. The tractor and implements are going to need a home and, if you are like me, you will need a place outside the shop to store car parts and cars in waiting. I should have built twice the 20x40 barn with 10' overhangs on each side. Having a concrete floor and implements stored on dollies makes changing them a breeze (even the BH). I would have built second story storage along the side of the barn too. With loader forks and pallets, you can store some smaller implements and car parts up and out of the way.

Most importantly, keep us informed. This is a great place to get ideas, suggestions and solutions to problems. It is also a great place to share dreams. What a great way to start a new year!