New member from South Carolina

dewclaw · Jul 17, 2016

I'm a firefighter that is 14 months away from retirement. We bought 18 acres next to our house and have decided to pursue our dream of having a self sufficient farm. We already have six chickens and are averaging 4 eggs per day which is just right for the 2 of us plus we sell the extra eggs which pays for our feed. So we are getting free farm fresh eggs! I have 3 tractors right now. I bought a brand new Mahindra 5530 4wd tractor with a loader. I bought several implements with the tractor. They are a 84" root grapple made by Everything Attachments , a forklift attachment with the skid steer plate and 72" forks, A Mahindra 84" box scrape, Mahindra 84" heavy duty bush hog, Mahindra 84" tiller and a 72 " scrape blade. I also bought a 1975 John Deere 450C track loader I found on a family farm near Greensboro NC that was selling off all their farm because the grandfather passed away and no one in the family wanted to keep the farm going. It has a 1 1/2 yard bucket with teeth and new extra set of teeth. It has a 96" root rake on the rear. It runs and operates great. The latest tractor is 1984 Ford 545 industrial tractor with a backhoe attachment on the rear and a 1 1/4 yard bucket on the front. The deal is that if I can move it off his property I can have the machine. It is in decent condition but the engine does not run due to an electrical fire that burned up most of the wiring and all the fuel lines. I've never owned tractors before but it has taken only a few short months to get me hooked. Looking forward to chatting and learning from everyone here. Charlie

Wagtail · Jul 18, 2016

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

Enjoy the site.

Ed of all trades · Jul 18, 2016

Yep I would saw you have the tractor bug,

Welcome to TBN Ed

JD15302155870 · Jul 18, 2016

You are exactly where I was 30+ years ago except I was only 37. We moved from Atlanta back to the ancestral home place that's been in the family since 1883. We built a home and immediately bought a tractor (MF35). We then got chickens (30 or 35). In a few years we also had goats, pigs, cows and a horse. It's been a great adventure. Our 3 childen remark what a wonderful place thy had to grow up. Now it's just Mama and I. I'm very glad We did it while we were younger. We both retired in 2012 and in february 2013 we planted every bit of open land in Pines. We did it to reduce the work but I worked harder on those trees in the first two years than anything I ever had. Now It's just look at em and how much they grow. For us, the good part of Pines is: they don't eat and they don't get out of the pasture and most importantly we don't have to stay here all the time. I too, have three tractors now all JD. My newest is a 98 model 870. Each of them have a function. I keep the bush hog on one, the finishing mower on one and the third does the garden. I read a lot of posts here about how hard it is to hook up the 3 pt hitch. All you need to solve that problem is more tractors.

Walt 2002 · Jul 18, 2016

Welcome,

Walt Conner

mguitas · Jul 18, 2016

:welcome:

TBN Support · Jul 18, 2016

Hi Charlie. :welcome:

It sounds like you'll fit right in. :tractor:

mddorange · Jul 19, 2016

:welcome:
To the TBN forum Charlie. You don't show where you are in SC. Were you living out of the city since you said that the 18 acres were next door? I was living in Sumter when my son was born in 1974. Glad you joined us here.

69 SS · Jul 20, 2016

Welcome y'all. Native South Carolina for 60 yrs,just joined this site now my wife has to tell me to not read the IPad in the bed,so much to read and learn here!

dickfoster · Jul 20, 2016

dewclaw said:
I'm a firefighter that is 14 months away from retirement. We bought 18 acres next to our house and have decided to pursue our dream of having a self sufficient farm. We already have six chickens and are averaging 4 eggs per day which is just right for the 2 of us plus we sell the extra eggs which pays for our feed. So we are getting free farm fresh eggs! I have 3 tractors right now. I bought a brand new Mahindra 5530 4wd tractor with a loader. I bought several implements with the tractor. They are a 84" root grapple made by Everything Attachments , a forklift attachment with the skid steer plate and 72" forks, A Mahindra 84" box scrape, Mahindra 84" heavy duty bush hog, Mahindra 84" tiller and a 72 " scrape blade. I also bought a 1975 John Deere 450C track loader I found on a family farm near Greensboro NC that was selling off all their farm because the grandfather passed away and no one in the family wanted to keep the farm going. It has a 1 1/2 yard bucket with teeth and new extra set of teeth. It has a 96" root rake on the rear. It runs and operates great. The latest tractor is 1984 Ford 545 industrial tractor with a backhoe attachment on the rear and a 1 1/4 yard bucket on the front. The deal is that if I can move it off his property I can have the machine. It is in decent condition but the engine does not run due to an electrical fire that burned up most of the wiring and all the fuel lines. I've never owned tractors before but it has taken only a few short months to get me hooked. Looking forward to chatting and learning from everyone here. Charlie

Welcome. Where in SC?