I just got rid of my 50hp Kioti DK w/ cab & HST, bush hog, box blade, loader, pallet forks and back hoe. I owned it for 5 years and it had less than 80 hours. Wrong equipment for my 36 acre farm which is at least half wooded. In place of the tractor, I purchased an Avant 528 compact articulated loader. I have 3 attachments currently: 4-in-1 bucket (can lift over 2,000 lbs), pallet forks and fingerbar cutter with electric angle adjustment control (the latter is scheduled to be delivered end of August). This weekend, I moved 3 compost piles using the new dirt to mitigate areas of erosion including ruts from washed out goat trails. I plan to purchase a hay grapple which will require a mini-skid steer adapter as Avant does not offer one.
Why I went with the Avant: The 50hp Kioti was too big and cumbersome to use. Instead of the bush hog (only used 2x), I just used my zero turn (61" Husqvarna) to mow the pastures when it was needed as I already had to use it for the fence-to-road, driveway and around the house areas anyway; I would just keep mowing. We have many slopes on the farm. The Avant's center of gravity and the much smaller size and nimbleness (woods) make it possible to use where I would never try to use the big tractor. It will also fit inside my metal building overhead door making it possible to automate stacking of the square hay bales we purchase every year for the goats. There are over 200 attachments for the Avant. It would be very easy to spend more on attachments than the machine. The one thing it will not be good at doing is mowing large pastures. Largest flail mower tops out at 1.5 meters in width and requires a larger machine than the 528 I purchased. If you need a bat-wing, you need a tractor. I went with the 528 for the price and the no diesel emissions 25hp engine. It does not have hydraulic flow for attachments like the stump grinder and largest flail mower. Future attachments I would like beyond flail mower include power hoe (cultivator), seeder (both for food plots), rake, leaf blower and timber grapple (4-in-1 bucket can pick up logs and carry them).
The Avant is also more likely to be used by anyone in the family. My oldest daughter already drove it. My wife is 5'3" and ~120 lbs petite. She said she would never use the tractor. She said she would use the Avant. Again, important considerations as you age while managing a farm. (Total knee replacement put all burden on my wife for a few months 2 years ago.) The hydraulic/electric coupler and quick attach is super easy to use. It takes a few minutes to swap out an attachment.
So far, I'm convinced I made the right decision in redeploying the capital from the tractor to the Avant. It will be used much more than the tractor and will help me to manage this farm with more automation as I grow older. However, I think I should've got the industrial type tires as the standard tires (like rear tires on a zero turn) don't have much traction in fresh composted dirt when you're trying to smooth it out. But, they absolutely will not tear up yards or pastures!
I also considered a mini skid steer but didn't think it would provide the utility I wanted and was more overkill for what I need. When I discovered the compact articulated loaders, I thought it was perfect. (Vermeer, Cast and Bobcat also have competing models. Compact loaders aren't cheap. Bobcat advertises the price on the web. I negotiated and got a "reasonable" price on the Avant.) My plan B would've been exchanging the 50 hp Kioti for a 25 hp CK with 2,000 lb loader lift capability. Kioti designed that tractor to be diesel emissions free with maximum capabilities within that constraint and mechanical/electrical simplicity for DIY maintenance. (Diesel emissions make a reliable diesel engine and unreliable machine and harder to maintain for DIY.)
