Since all you old hands here are so patient...

[BradGad]

... I'll tax that patience a bit more and put my scenario in front of you.

I've been reading and thinking about this for a while, but it's just this week -- when we made an offer on a specific property -- that I have the particulars I need to ask answerable questions.

We're looking to buy 20 acres in NE Georgia. It's 2/3+ pasture and 1/3- wood lot. The wood lot suffered *major* windstorm damage recently, and I'd say 75% of the trees are down. And some of them were darned big. And most of the that part of the property is quite steep. It needs to be cleaned up and healed.

My fiancee and I are in our early 50's. She can retire now (or not, if we need money more than we need her time); I need to keep working for a while. She's a real modern pioneer woman with lotsa hands on experience (though on a much smaller scale); I'm a suburb-raised guy with lots of book learnin' and a long-standing and long-suppressed desire to live life on the land.

We want to build a small agribusiness to feed our souls and make an actual profit. We have multiple scenarios we've been working out, but they were all totally hypothetical until we knew what kind of property we had. Right now, our (tentative) plan is 8 - 10 acres as orchard, and -- possibly, and when we can both devote enough time to it -- 5 acres as market garden.

Chickens and bees will also live on our land, but I don't think I'll need to base my tractor decisions on their needs... but... possibly also goats.

Goats + baby orchard = scary/disaster-waiting-to-happen ... If we get goats, I will be doing a good deal of fencing.

So...

Short term projects:

* Work on the wood lot (that is, as much of it is safe and sensible for me to work on... there may be parts that are too steep or trees that are too big)
* Keep the pasture under control (in a way that makes good use of the grass... we have plans for that)
* Prepare one acre for the orchard (we're going to do it 1-2 acres per year, I think)
* Build a new gravel driveway (with the tractor if I can; contract if not) and then keep the driveway graded... this would be a long, curving driveway up a significant slope.

Long term tasks:

* Expand the orchard
* Till up to five acres of row crops
* Possibly a fairly large-scale fencing project
* All the other stuff that will come up

We have a Kioti dealer locally, and New Holland and John Deere dealerships nearby. (And probably some others I haven't found yet.)

I've looked at the Kiotis, and like them. I like the dealership (though that's based on intangibles). I drove a Kioti CK-27 around the dealership lot.

Right now, I'm thinking I'll check the other dealers to see what they have, but am leaning strongly toward a Kioti CK-30H with a FEL, rotary cutter, boom pole, and <some plowing/tilling implement(s)>.

I don't need to finish mow. I have no first-hand experience with this soil, but Georgia is famous for clay, and a good deal of the property is steep... and I may need to pull some large logs. So, I'm thinking ag tires.

The above list is within our budget, I think. There may be some elasticity, up or down.

So... after all that throat clearing... here are my questions...

A) Is the Kioti CK-30H a sound choice for my situation? Are there other specific brands/models I should be looking at now, while I have time to comparison shop?

B) Is that a reasonable selection of implements to get at the outset? (Which leads to... )

C) We're going to need to do a lot of log splitting and wood chipping... should I look at stand-alone units for these, or PTO implements?

Thanks for any help.

 

[johnrex62]

BradGad, the type of ground work you describe makes me think you might be happier with a little more HP. You can certainly get what you want done with 30HP, but 40 or maybe even 50 would make it faster.

The clearing of the woods will need some traction and pulling power to drag out most of the downed trunks. 30HP MIGHT get it done, but 40 will do it better. You get the picture.

I chose my dealer based on the intangibles and have been very happy so far. I went with Kubota, but if you find any dealer that gives you a good price, has the size tractor you want, and you like the tractor; then I saw you found your brand. It is a lot like buying a car in that respect. They all do the job, but some do it more to your preference than others. Nothing wrong with picking the one that "FEELS" best to you.

I am gonna suggest that you strongly consider the FEL lifting capacity as well as the PTO HP and buy as much as you can afford in those two areas as principal considerations. The other features are less important than those two with respect to what you will be able to accomplish.

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all tractor, and I think your immediate and long term plans both want a bit more tractor than you are looking at right now. I can tell you from experience that once you get started, you will find a lot more stuff you want to do with it and your needs will grow. That is why I recommend buying a little more than you think you need as long as it is still small enough to do what you want to do now. (Some folk like the tractor to handle the yard stuff too)

 

[sandman2234]

I agree, that moving fallen trees is the work of a larger tractor (and I don't know anything about the tractor you mentioned), but size (hp)and weight are your friends in this area. Since Georgia clay is extremely slick when water is applied, and your first range of tasks could use the extra pulling power/traction of 4wd, it would do you well to consider that option. Add in the terrain you mention, plus a snow every now and then and you are getting to be a good candidate for 4wd.
Unless your tractor choice has a large hydraulic pump, the standalone wood splitters are typically faster by nature. However, if you plan on using one for limited use (after the forest has been cleaned up) but not enough to warrant keeping a standalone engine in good running shape (they sit too much for the amount southerners use them in most cases) it might be better to go with a pto splitter, as there are few moving parts to keep going. It will just slow you down on the initial job, but be less of a headache in the long run. Another option if you don't plan on burning massive amounts of firewood each year, would be to buy a standalone for this cleanup, then sell it, as it sounds like you will have enough wood for a couple years of burning, and then when you run out of wood, buy a pto splitter to run off the tractor.
David from jax

Footnote: I don't push 4wd as a normal posting...

 

[DAY]

It sounds like you don't have too much experience with ag machinery. Driving around the dealer's lot is a far cry from 4WD'ing across soupy ground with a load of stone in the bucket!

In this area equipment rental outfits have day,week, and month prices. Maybe that dealer you like has a used tractor similar to what you want, and will give you a good price on a month or two rental, with an option to buy. Or apply the rental fee to a new unit.
Better to spend a little on a small mistake, than a lot on a big one!

 

[dodge man]

I'm not sure I can help you with your tractor choice but I do have a question for you. Why do you want to clean up the storm damaged woods? The reason I ask this is you may get by with a 30hp tractor if you don't have to worry about moving a bunch of large downed treeds. If you feel the need to clean up the large trees, it might be a job for a larger, construction type machine that you rent or have hired for you.

 

[BradGad]

Thanks everyone.

Day said...

>It sounds like you don't have too much experience with ag machinery

... and that's right. I don't (as I said). That's why I'm picking your brains.

dodge man said...

>If you feel the need to clean up the large trees, it might be a job for a larger, construction type machine that you rent or have hired for you

... and I'm totally open to that option. If I should contract for that project, and base my decision on what tractor to buy based on what's left after that's off the table, then... ok...

It's not OK with me to leave the six acres in front of the house as a (micro) vast wasteland that will become obnoxious scrub on steep ground over the next few years.

But, if committing to doing that work myself would commit me to buying a tractor that is not right for everything else, I'd be glad to contract that work to someone with the right equipment.

~

C'mon guys... you know know I'd love a good excuse to get a 50 hp Massey Ferguson, or some such... Who wouldn't? But... the down trees are a one-time job. If the 50 hp machine would be overkill and overcost after the the downed trees are off the table... well... tell me now?

~

Day said...

>It sounds like you don't have too much experience with ag machinery

... and that's right. I've been lurking on this site for a while, and a really appreciate the attitude... the willingness to share, the lack of flaming.

I am -- let it be said upfront -- a total gormless noobie. I'm very excited about this next chapter of my life, and I'm smarter than I look (online at least), but yeah... I'm a noob... I got lotsa noob questions.

(Speaking of... I also like the way you guys talk about safety... that's been an eye-opener.)

 

[tmajor]

The property, you are considering, sounds quite "challenging". Might there be a better location in the area?

Steep hills are not one of my favorite things.

 

[flusher]

That Kioti you like so much is pretty much a run of the mill 30 hp (engine)/24 hp (pto) CUT--all the tractor brands have equivalent models. You should broaden your search and check out other brands to see if you like one of these better.

Larger hp = larger/wider implements = generally less seat time to do a specific job.

Don't know how much time you plan to devote to tractor work, but. if I were you, I'd check out larger tractors with pto hp in the 30-40 hp range.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I would say higher out the clean-up and get the 40hp 4x4,let someone else put the wear and tear on there equipment,woods will take a toll on a small tractor. I just suggest the bigger tractor cause your gonna need to do alot of Disc and tiller work..........

 

[SandburRanch]

That's just about the right age to start a second life but there are two things that scares me about this. Those two things are steep hills and a tractor with a narrow stance. They just don't go hand in hand.

Something else is that we always want our property to look good and clean and I can understand that but at the same time steep hills can easily equate to soil erosion. If you'll allow them to, your county extension service can help you with that since they have experience with that in your area and can come out to your property and see it first hand. You are paying for that service so I suggest using it.