A little background: my wife and I grew up in farming/ranching families. We formerly had about 45 acres that we ran cattle and horses on. We had a Kubota M9540 and liked it very much. Our thinking has always been buy heavier duty than you think you need and don't work it so hard. We had an unexpected career change and move and sold our farm as well as the tractor. Now that we are settling back in a getting a new farm, we are going to need a new tractor. Our farm is smaller this time around, about 30 acres as we don't have as much time to live the farm life with a new business and new baby.
In hindsight, the M9540 was probably a little bigger than what we really needed although it made handling round bales and downed trees a breeze. This time around, I'm leaning towards a 70-75hp so we will at least be able to comfortably run a 12 ft batwing clipper and not feel tippy with big round bales. Open to any brand. Located in N Alabama and there is a dealer for just about every brand within about an hour of us. Open to new or used, budget 45k-ish. Will probably have this tractor for decades.
Must have:
Cab Yes
Front end loader Yes
4WD Yes
3 rear remotes 2 standard, 3rd available
3rd function on FEL Available
Buddy seat Standard
Hydraulic shuttle Standard
Would like to have (in order of importance):
No DPF Yes, uses DOC.
Self leveling loader I have the 550LU which is not. I think the 555LU is self-leveling.
3PH adjustable from rear of tractor Option available.
Thanks in advance for your opinions and advice. I've been looking, but feel like there are so many choices in that range that it's a bit overwhelming.