Shopping for CUT for Small Ranch

JerryG · Jan 15, 2005

On sidehills or slippery ground with slopes forget it you are a goner. To safely handle that kind of terrain and in the middle of winter you are going to need to step up to a utility tractor.

As Richard said, slippery and slopes don't go with a compact and round bales. It sounds like you need a 50-60 horse utility tractor. How many acres are we talking about here?

bugstruck · Jan 15, 2005

Doug, The others here forgot more than I know about round/square bales but here's a thought... A co-worker of mine bought a Case 2 wd tractor this summer with 57 HP and FEL for just under 21,000.00 new. I don't know about 2 wd for what you are describing but chained up and off the asphalt it might work???

You do need the larger tractor for what you are asking of it.

Good Luck,

glawall · Jan 15, 2005

Doug, As Chris was saying, a 2 WD Tractor may do your job. The attributes you need in a tractor, to do the job you want, are weight, and a wide stance. Not necessarily horse power. Weight and width will increase your traction and stability. I don't know if you are near a Mahindra tractor dealer, but the Mahindra 4500 4WD is a 5742# tractor with 45 horsepower, 3968# lift at the 3 ph, and 2480# lift at the loader. This tractor should be able to be found near your price range. Any tractor brand with weight and lit capacities near the Mahindra 4500 specs should do the job for you. Hope this imfo has been helpful.

glawall
Your Mahindra Tractor Dealer
Batavia, NY

Keith_B · Jan 15, 2005

( New to the forum, lot of great information on here to review.

I have a small piece of property that I will have horses on. I will also be leasing access to adjacent property, 2 Sections, for running a small herd of cattle. In SW Colorado I will have to feed them in the winter. So I will need to move around some round bales or large squares. The terrain is a little difficult and I have a steep graded road to get down with the bales to where I will winter the cattle. Around me is a very large Kubota dealer and a smallish JD dealer. So I am focusing on those brands. I don't want to spend over 20k for the CUT with a FEL, and a small manure spreader (<30 bushel).

What would you recommend? I am totally open, hoping to buy in the spring.

Your input is appreciated

---Doug )

I noticed you talk about steepness in relationship to the road you will be using. If you are not going to have to be traversing along the sides of the hills with the round bales then a larger CUT should work fine. Your post doesn't say you will be doing this, so I am going on that assumption.

FWIW, I have been researching the purchase of a larger CUT and the information I am relaying is what I have discovered in my research.

You should be able to pick up a used ground driven manure spreader that would service you just fine.

In regards to the CUT I would look at a Kioti DK45, which is more like a utility than a CUT, a Mahindra 4110 if you want the most bang for your buck in the CUT lineup for around $20K. Mahindra also sells the 4500 utility in a 4WD, which Bill's Tractors in Texas has listed a few months ago in the $20K range.

A New Holland TC45D would likely work OK, and would exceed the $20K cap unless you find a good used model. A TC45A, TC48ATC40A, which is the no frills version of the New Holland Boomers, may be close to the $20 range.

It will be difficult to find a John Deere that is anywhere near the $20K range in a CUT to do what you want. The 990 is going to be there in price, but unless you use a 4X5 round bale the loader may be hard pressed to handle bigger bales over the long haul. Perhaps some 990 owners could speak to this issue.

Deere does sell a series of value priced tractors. They are no frills units that come only in 2wd. You should be able to get a larger utility with a loader for your $20K that will handle the bales easily enough.

The Kubota lineup's largest CUT is the L4330 (new one is the L4430?) or the L4300/L4400. They are essentially the same, but the L4300/L4400 is the no frills gear version. The L4300 or L4400 may be had for your price range, but I haven't seen any prices for the L4330 that are close to $20K.

I am not familiar enough with the Kubota line of utility tractors to know their prices for the utilities.

InThinAir · Jan 17, 2005

Yes, I mean 2 sections. total 1200+ acres. I will not be doing anything with the 2 sections except trying to find my cattle on horseback. I will not be doing any haying, the cattle are free range.

I appreciate everyone comments. I think I will have to look for something big and used. I do believe that I don't need a lot of horsepower, and that is the issue, because to get a big stance it seems like you need a bunch of HP.

The grade I need to go down has a road cut into it and is pretty level, but is steep off the side for about 100 feet. And gets real greasy in the mud season(s). Getting a semi load of bales down the road is probably too much to ask a delivery truck to do. Otherwise I would just have them set down there and put up some fence around the bales and not have too far to move them.

I haven't looked too much outside of the the 2 makes since I can't seem to find a dealer anywhere near me. But I will widen my search to look at all makes in 50-60 HP used.

---Doug

MMM · Jan 17, 2005

I'd be on the lookout for a verifiably restored or low hour utility or industrial from late 80s 0r early 90s. You can find some really nice power and stability for $8-$15k.You might have enough left to buy a little tractor to clean barn and mow yard with. A little exxtra hp isn't going to hurt you since your not plowing or doing much "grunt work" to worry about fuel. You didn't give the size of ownrd property (small... compared to 2 sections?), but a big cutter might come in handy.