Tractor Sizing Tractor for small hobby farm

[Yander]

You haven't mentioned what you are going to do with the fields. Is someone farming them for you? If not and you are maintaining 15 acres. I agree with the sentiment to get at least 40hp. so you can run larger cutters.

If most of that is being farmed by someone else and you are really only maintaining a few acres with it, then your tractor choices are fine. You also don't mention your budget but if the budget allows, get a bigger tractor.

If your at that max of your budget at $30k, any tractor with loader is better than none and you can do an awful lot with the tractors you have listed.

 

[Beeenvenue]

I have 14 acres of pure pasture with a home. I do just fine with my ck3510. I pull a 1000# 72” flail, and the loader does whatever I want. Power is not an issue at 35hp. I also till; in heavy clay soil I can struggle to pull a 5’ 8” depth tiller (either go slow or two passes at partial depth).

I was a lifetime surburbanite snd this is my first tractor. I bought value and features for the $, not “the dealer”. I’ve only been back three times - once with the tractor early for a hydraulic leak, once for them to do my 50 hour service, and once to pick up parts he ordered when a part of my 3-point broke. I did my 200 hour service myself. I disagree with those who say dealer is most important - I don’t “need” my tractor to make a living, so as I said I bought value and $; after 4 years and 350 hours I have zero regrets

One final note. I can pull my whole tractor loader and flail with a 7000# trailer at max capacity behind my 2005 f150. Had I gone bigger I would have needed a bigger trailer and bigger/new truck. So if I had gone to the kioti dk series I would have not only spent an extra 3-5k for bigger frame but 3-5k more for trailer and 20-50k more for a truck. It has to stop somewhere….

 

[Ryan81]

Really greatful for all the good tips and information in your responses. A couple of things I should clarify.

I do not currently need to maintain 'the hay field' which makes up about 7acres of the 15acres. We have a very experienced rancher next door who cuts and bales this field each year for us, and takes 90% of the hay for payment. I chose to include the full acreage because I can't predict the future. This arrangement could come to an end, or we may decide on a new use for this space.

Our budget is 30k or less. I plan to purhcase some used additional impliments when they pop up. For now it would likely be just a rear blade and a small tiller.

I think everyone who's responded so far has suggested I go with the larger L2501 or CK2610. I feel most comfortable with these options but my only issue with these is that they're pretty wide for tilling our small garden rows. I'm thinking maybe we could run a narrow tiller (3 feet?) that fit between the rear wheels and run the wheels in the paths. Is this method common?

Those two tractors I mentioned are very similarly priced locally, but any addons like rear remotes and implements are 1/3rd the price from Kioti (can't figure out why that would be...). I'm wondering about quality and resale value. Anyone have any comments on differences between Kubota and Kioti?

Thanks again for all the thoughts. I get the feeling I'll be asking more questions here in the years to come...

 

[Yander]

You have 15 acres why do you have a small garden?

 

[two_bit_score]

Everybody needs two, one small one and then "the biggest you can afford".

 

[jeff9366]

Every respondent has suggested I go with the larger/heavier L2501 or CK2610. My issue is they are pretty wide for tilling our narrow garden rows.

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[tacticalturnip]

You'd do well with either the L2501 or CK2610; they're both excellent machines, with similar capability. I'd recommend you visit both dealers a time or two prior to deciding on a machine; meet with the sales, service, and parts staff, and get a feel for the place. A local dealer that won't lift a finger is far more useless than a distant dealer that provides support after the sale. A dealer is responsible for assembly, prepping for sale, and inspecting the prior to delivery; a good team of wrenches and techs are important, they're your first line of defense against a bad time. Now should you have a bad time and need warranty work, you want a dealer that is willing to step up to bat for you against the manufacturer.

Now, a good dealer won't make up for the wrong tractor, so be sure to get a feel for ergonomics. Drive them around, operate all the controls, and make sure it's comfortable for YOU!

Obviously, I'm biased in favor of the Kioti, but both are great machines.



Oh, and R-14 tires, you want them.

 

[Ryan81]

You have 15 acres why do you have a small garden?

Ha! I mean what is small? It's all how you use it. By small I mean around 10,000sqft. It's currently just feeding two couples. Improving food storage and 'staples' production are in the works.

My focus for the rest of the property, aside from the hay field, is reforestation.

 

[jeff9366]

If you enter your LOCATION into your T-B-N PROFILE you may receive suggestions as to alternative tractor brands and dealers closer than 2.5 hours away.

 

[hornett22]

Something else to take into consideration is the Kubota only comes with two transmission options and no live pto on the manual gear. Kioti offers the shuttle shift and a live PTO on all models.