dmay: You said that a cab tractor "offers marginal protection from the woods or falling objects." I did a post with pictures of a outbuilding collapsing on my JD 4520 cab tractor. I was pretty amazed at how it held up. There are four posts and metal connecting them at the top. The protection is probably as good as my open station Kubota
B21 with four posts and FOPS protection. So I'm thinking the focus here is not cab vs. OS, but, FOPS vs. ROPS.
I love my open station Kubota
B21 TLB because the sorts of things I do with it tend to require my getting off the tractor a lot. It's low to the ground, and one-step with no ducking to get in.
I love my cab JD4520 which I use for mowing, typically 3 hours sessions about every two weeks or so. I also do some box blade and grader work, and get out of the cab a bit more then when mowing but it's worth it. Got the cab because I could afford it and the older I get the more I wanted it. Now when I mow, I can do something with the rest of the day and not have my eyes filled with crud for 24 hours. My mowing time is cut in half, and the difference in the seat (air cushion vs. seat on my JD 318 garden tractor) is a real life saver.
So once again here in tractor land it's what do you do, what can you afford, time and money trade offs, and do what works you you.
But I suspect no one will believe me, after all I'm a Kubota and Deere loving Cab or OS transplanted yankee weekend warrior tractor user :laughing:.
Pete