Need advise on tractor

JJester · Nov 23, 2005

I am cleaning up a 40 acre farm in Central Ohio that has been fallow for decades. The land is rich and soft with a gentle slope, but is very rough. I pulled old fence post this year by hand. A couple of wiggles and a good yank and they pop right out. I would eventually like to create an orchard, vineyard and vegetable patches.

I have 10 acres cleared with my DR. I will need to start mowing this spring. Any recommendations on what use to mow 35 acres of soft ground (5 acres are woods).

My neighbor brush hogs a path across the property with his big 4WD JD (6015 size), it looks like his tractor sinks a foot or more when he does this.

Soundguy · Nov 23, 2005

First question is how long do you want to mow.. and how often?

You could get by with a 4' mower and a SCUT.. but it would take you days to mow.

I mow 10ac with a 10' mower.. and have it done in about 2.5 - 2/75 hours. That same job used to be about 5.5 hours on a 5' mower.

You doing anything else with this tractor?

My first guess.. without any more info is that you get at least 50 hp.. and a 10' mower. My normal recomendation is to find a nice used older machine.. but you should also look at the JD 5103... priced right.. for a 50 hp machine.

For 10' mower.. i like my Howse.. cost me 2500$ last year... it's a beast.. super heavy.. built good.. no problems yet. I'm pretty sure it is the cheapest 10' mower you can buy.. even with that.. you are lookat at all day to mow 30 ac.. and I'm not sure about the 5 wooded... might keep the dr for trails.. or also get a cheapy 500$ 5' mower to go along with you to make trails..

Like I said.. if used doesn't scare you.. look at older ag and utility tractors.. they go for cheap $'s per hp.. Lease returns can also be good deals.. I'm a NH / Ford person myself.. etc.

Soundguy

JJester · Nov 23, 2005

How long do I want to spend mowing, as little time as possible. We do not live at the farm, so I am limited to working on the weekends. Mowing cuts into the time I can spend doing other work.

There are many trees and bushes to mow around. The land is so rough (4 to 6 inch high 'lumps'), walking across it is very hard on the ankles.

Do I want to do other things. In the short term there is a lot of clean-up to do. Piles of junk that need to be dealt with. Old buildings that have fallen down that need to be removed. At some point, the entire property need to be regraded.

My biggest concern is rutting up the ground as I mow. If I don't want to drive it across the lawn, I probably don't want to drive it across the pasture. I considered a big ZTR, but I am concerned the roughness of the land will be very hard on it.

MossRoad · Nov 23, 2005

You could also get a smaller compact utility tractor for the chores and get a couple of tow-behind self powered mowers like the ones offered here. http://www.kunzeng.com/

With two of the 5' models you could get about a 9' or so cut and easily detach one for doing trails, etc...

Since they are self powered, all you need is a tractor big enough to tow them, not power them. Pretty small tractor can do that. A smaller tractor could also get between any tree rows, etc... that you are planning on getting.

The down side is, they are self powered and that is another couple of engines to maintain. It also adds to the cost of the mowers, as you can see by the prices.

Soundguy · Nov 23, 2005

( My biggest concern is rutting up the ground as I mow. If I don't want to drive it across the lawn, I probably don't want to drive it across the pasture )

Unless you have baby soft ground... I don't see rutting as a problem... I drive my NH 7610s across my pasture.. heck.. I mow my pasture with it... it will print bare sant.. and a sharp turn with the brakes my churn a little... but that's about it...

Even my ford 660 with front end laoder and 600# counterweight on real agressive ag tires and some 6.5x16 tri-rib fronts isn't too bad.

Soundguy

Glenn9643 · Nov 23, 2005

My neighbor brush hogs a path across the property with his big 4WD JD (6015 size), it looks like his tractor sinks a foot or more when he does this.

Sounds to me like you're trying to avoid rutting up the pasture. I'm not familiar with your neighbor's 6015; is it a utility tractor with ag tires? If so, chances are that a smaller tractor with R4's (a wider footprint) will not rut so badly. Visit some nearby dealers and talk about your problem with them. If they are convinced that you're a potential customer I believe they'll arrange for you to try a tractor out on your ground, and advise you what they recommend for your needs. If it's soft because it stays wet year-round you'll probably just have to put up with ruts.

Kyle_in_Tex · Nov 23, 2005

Around here on our clay soil, we wait 3 days after a rain to venture out with our tractors to avoid rutting it.

Sounds like you need to have the land "disked" with a fine disk to help break up your lumps and chunks. Maybe your neighbor could do it for a fee. He has the right tractor for the job! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Look at a 30-40 HP machine and stay away from the heavier machines. You should be able to get this in 4wd at under 3000 lbs. With R4 tires, you shouldn't rut in semi dry conditions.

JJester · Nov 25, 2005

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will keep them in mind as I go forward. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

QRTRHRS · Nov 26, 2005

You will want a brush hog type of mower rather than a finish mower. The heavy blades will cut through 3 or 4" thick brush and will take quite a beating. You stated that you don't want to spend a lot of time mowing. Do you intend to regularly cut it? You probably want to go with at least a ten foot mower or more.

I mow 25 acres, mostly in horse pasture. I have a 40hp Massey and a 6' Woods mower. It takes forever and the radiator clogs with dust and debris and I need to clean it frequently.

Big power is cheap. I also have an 83' Case 2096 4x4 that cost me less than the Massey. I pull a 15' Woods 3180 wing mower and can zip through that 25 acres in ~half a day. That includes stopping to open gates, lift the wings, etc.

The Case weighs about 8 tons and I always mow when it is dry. My land is on a hillside with some fairly steep areas. I can go across areas with that big Case that will make your hair stand up with the Massey.