New here and in the market.

[Vineyard Dave]

Welll, there ya go then...

I should have known... My Bro-n-law has one on his place ....

My bad.. (I still don't want to deal with livestovk)..

Thanks.

 

[gwjd]

Mule---as in the Kawasaki 610 Mule. Real handy in a vineyard.

2009 Kawasaki Mule 610 4x4

hey from my exsperiance (worked in a large state park 50 acres green grass/ picnic area, beach, + 25 miles of trail) 1800 acres total. we had a streem of utv workthere way threw the seystem we had an old mule 610 had 1200 hours and was done, the service was frequent and exspensive, then we got a jd gator 6x4 deissel with 2000 hours this machine was incredable would go threw any of our mud spots could move about a 1000 lbs spec but it will do more than that, ours was manual dump i would have gone with electric, polaris rangers are good to. matinace on the gator was non exsistant in addition to that it had jd suport structure

 

[polo1665]

I own a Branson 3510h. I've put 170 hrs on it so far without any issues. It is a well built, heavy machine, and I would not hesitate to recommend the brand. The issue with purchasing lesser known brands generally boils down to dealer support. Do your research when it comes to the dealer you choose. If you can get a warm fuzzy feeling that your dealer will be responsive and around for the long term to service your needs, I would not hesitate in buying the Branson.
Just remember; it is all about the dealer. You can buy the biggest, fanciest, most main stream brand, and if you do not have a decent dealer you will most likely not be happy in the long run.
Good luck with you search and your vineyard.

Mark

 

[teg]

I was at one vineyard that had a Montana (about the same tractor) it had a cab on it since it's used to spray chemicals. Talked to a couple of people at the vineyard and I think they said that they spray 12-18 times for different diseases/insects. The sprayer was pretty hefty. I don't think they used that tractor for much else. So you may want to check out what other vineyards are using in your area. I would also find out about compaction in a vineyard... your Branson, would be heavy, over 5000 pounds. Just something to think about.

 

[Carykong]

Since you will be cultivating rows of grapevines. Tractor width will be a factor. If you eventually transition to 5ft row spacing,you will kick out many of your options with tractors over 30hp. If you want to go with a tractor above,say 30hp, I would consider vine rows 12ft on center with an ultimate spacing of 6ft on center. Even with 6ft spacing,your tire width will come very close to your vine trunks and root ball risking soil compaction and mowing collateral damage. Yup, I am thinking small and agile for managing your grape vines. You may be a candidate for two tractors(small and agile/large and fast) eventually to mange your 30 acres with aplomb.

 

[Reg]

There is a Zetor, Branson, Century Forum here - check it out.
They are in fact made by Kukje in South Korea and were also sold as "Century" brand a few years ago.
There is a slightly smaller frame Branson as well, with 3 cylinder engines.
The "large frame" 4 cylinder ones are something like 38, 42 and 47 HP
the smaller frame 3 cylinder ones are 28 and 35 HP.
Engines are variously Yanmar, Mitsubishi, Cummins and I think Subaru - but I'm not very sure about that.
Loaders are by Amerequip and Humpolec, back hoes are by Amerequip.

They are quite a bit heftier than some other tractors of the same HP range, e.g. the small frame ones are about 3600 lbs, the large frame 4,000 to 4,100.
===================================================
What LITTLE I know about vineyards is that drainage MATTERS ! (-:
I have read of the need to sub soil or chisel plow to 2 or 3 ft., which MIGHT require a tractor with some MASS.
Not that you yet know whether that would be needed and if it is you might be best off to hire that job out as a one time need.

So, yeah I would look into the smaller ones as well.

 

[Reg]

PS The weights I quoted are TRACTOR weights, add about 1300 lbs for a FEL and bucket, making the 47 HP tractor about 5400 lbs --- then add a driver.
Root compaction is now a real possibility, review those row spacings again (-:

Don't even THINK about adding 100 gallons of RimGuard and an 1100 lb hoe.

 

[Vineyard Dave]

All great information guys, keep it coming. I really appreciate it.

The soil in the area is quite rocky/clay mix. Drainage is very good with all the rocks from what I hear. The area is an AVA recognised grape growing region now and apparently the soil and weather conditions are very favorable.

Carykong, you may be right, two tractors may be in order, I'll tell my wife you said so..

 

[Robert_in_NY]

First question, what size/type sprayer are you using? I wouldn't want anything less then 30 hp if your pulling even a small air blast sprayer. If your going to be spraying you will eventually wish you had a cab so consider that at this stage before you buy a tractor. If you go with a cab look to at least 35-40hp. The rest of the work on maintaining a vineyard isn't too demanding unless your harvesting mechanically and pulling 4 ton of grapes behind you in which case weight is a major issue.

I currently use a Ford 1920 for my vineyard and it does the job but spraying is where I wish I had a better tractor. When I get more acerage in vines I will be adding a dedicated vineyard tractor (75 pto hp with cab and Front wheel assist) from either John Deere, Case-IH, New Holland or possibly Deutz. Kubota has a new vineyard tractor now also that interests me and I will look into them but that dealer is further away then I would like.

If your talking potentially 5' rows then you will have to figure out how you will maintain under and between the rows as well as spray. You will not have very much room between the vines once their growing to run any machine through there so the majority of the work will be hand labor and that is not a lot of fun. Do you have an idea what variety you will plant and how you will train it? Once you know the varitey and type of trellis you will use you can figure out a good row width to allow you to get the most vines per acre and be able to use equipment to maintain in the vineyard.

 

[Vineyard Dave]

I have not fully committed to a variety as of yet, but in speaking to the local winemakers there is demand for Seyval. They all seem to be coming up short with locally grown Seyval, so I thought with a ready made market that would be a good choice.

Good point on the use of a sprayer as well. I just e-mailed Branson to see if they offer the 4720 in a cab version. I'll let you know what I find out.