Tractor recomendation for my new farm

[Verticaltrx]

I'm doing most everything you describe with my two small tractors, a Kubota B3200 with a loader (24hp PTO) and a Ford NAA (32hp PTO), it's a 1953 model BTW. The farm we are on now is 200ac but about 150 of that is wooded, and only about 40 ac of the remaining land is farmable. We make about 20-30ac of hay depending on how much we have grazed, run a few cattle and milk two cows. We put up quite a few square bales and my father bales the round bales with his equipment (in exchange for some of the hay.) I mow with my Ford tractor using a 7' New Holland sickle bar mower, ted and rake with my little Kubota, and bale with the Ford using a 268 New Holland square baler.

I use a 5' bush hog on either of the two tractors for mowing around the farm. In the winter both of the tractors get used for hauling in firewood, taking round bales out to the cows (small 4x4' bales, about 700lbs), and plowing snow. I could get by with one larger 40hp 4wd utility tractor, but having two tractors really makes things easy, especially when it comes to making hay.

I think you could benefit from a similar setup, get a small 4wd tractor with a loader to use around the farmstead, and do light field work, and a larger 2wd farm tractor to do the field work. The larger 2wd tractor only needs to be about 40-50hp at the PTO (for square bales), and you probably wouldn't need a loader on it. Buying a good used tractor would be an option for that.

The smaller 4wd tractor will get used A LOT, and I would probably get something new. Something like a Kubota B or L series, or JD 3000 series would be about right. It would also be small enough that with a rear finishing mower you could mow the yard with. I have found that my B3200 is the ideal size for use in and around the barns, in the garden, in the woods and for misc. tasks around the farm. I put over 200hrs a year on the Kubota and less than 100hrs per year on the Ford.

Hope some of this info helps...

 

[texasjohn]

Self sufficiency...farm paying for itself...nice dream....hope it comes true for you.

Gotta be realistic.....moving to new place, getting tools and equipment, fences, animals, feed, building pens, trailers, pickups, sheds, shops....all these things take $$ and lots of time to put together....talking years here.

And, things move in a cycle with the sun....there is a time for everything...and if you happen to miss the right time, then you gotta wait for the next cycle. Point is, you must be ready with your time and equipment and whatever is needed to do the task when it is "time" to get it done, else wait for the next round. Drought, flood, storms interrupt the best plans.

Best advice is to make good contact with your County Agent and Soil Conservation Service, glean all you can from them. You'll need a well thought out plan realistically scheduled to make things happen.

Example, I'd forget mowing....doesn't build anything for the future, just takes time away from fencing, etc. and uses equipment and fuel. Build fence and let animals do the mowing.

Overall, there will be a net cash flow INTO the property for at least 5 years IMHO, unless you find some extremely innovative niche that actually works...and, raising hemp doesn't count:laughing:

 

[jenkinsph]

Self sufficiency...farm paying for itself...nice dream....hope it comes true for you.

Gotta be realistic.....moving to new place, getting tools and equipment, fences, animals, feed, building pens, trailers, pickups, sheds, shops....all these things take $$ and lots of time to put together....talking years here.

And, things move in a cycle with the sun....there is a time for everything...and if you happen to miss the right time, then you gotta wait for the next cycle. Point is, you must be ready with your time and equipment and whatever is needed to do the task when it is "time" to get it done, else wait for the next round. Drought, flood, storms interrupt the best plans.

Best advice is to make good contact with your County Agent and Soil Conservation Service, glean all you can from them. You'll need a well thought out plan realistically scheduled to make things happen.

Example, I'd forget mowing....doesn't build anything for the future, just takes time away from fencing, etc. and uses equipment and fuel. Build fence and let animals do the mowing.

Overall, there will be a net cash flow INTO the property for at least 5 years IMHO, unless you find some extremely innovative niche that actually works...and, raising hemp doesn't count:laughing:

I agree that it takes money to live the lifestyle, nothing self sufficient about it. Most of us enjoy this and spend the money where possible. Lotsa work and lotsa fun.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Self sufficiency...farm paying for itself...nice dream....hope it comes true for you.

Gotta be realistic.....moving to new place, getting tools and equipment, fences, animals, feed, building pens, trailers, pickups, sheds, shops....all these things take $$ and lots of time to put together....talking years here.

And, things move in a cycle with the sun....there is a time for everything...and if you happen to miss the right time, then you gotta wait for the next cycle. Point is, you must be ready with your time and equipment and whatever is needed to do the task when it is "time" to get it done, else wait for the next round. Drought, flood, storms interrupt the best plans.

Best advice is to make good contact with your County Agent and Soil Conservation Service, glean all you can from them. You'll need a well thought out plan realistically scheduled to make things happen.

Example, I'd forget mowing....doesn't build anything for the future, just takes time away from fencing, etc. and uses equipment and fuel. Build fence and let animals do the mowing.

Overall, there will be a net cash flow INTO the property for at least 5 years IMHO, unless you find some extremely innovative niche that actually works...and, raising hemp doesn't count:laughing:

I agree with most of what you say, but how much money it takes and how long it takes is completely different for different people. I recently built a small run-in shed for a few cattle, out of pocket expense was less than $100. I used locust posts, milled my own pine siding and used some nice standing seam tin that we salvaged. It's not the way I would build a structure for one of my customers, but it's sturdy, looks good and should last many years.

Also, all of my haying equipment cost me a grand total of $2000. It would be $5000 if I included the cost of my Ford tractor. At $5.00 a bale for good quality square hay it doesn't take long for it to pay for itself.

As for the land paying for itself, it's not likely to for a very very long time, and even then it would require very management intensive farming on the scale we are talking. Buy land to live on and raise your own food, rent it if you plan on turning a profit on a small acreage.

 

[tessiers]

I too am doing a similar thing. I am a little further along in the process and have some infrastructure. Don't let people deter you, I hay 15 acres off the farm just to keep peoples fields mowed for them (I pay nothing but keep all the hay), you will be surprised if you just ask around. I run a JD 790 gear 27hp and I love it. I do everything I need to do with it and some things I never believed possible. It is real economical on fuel and works well in tight areas. I would like a tractor in the 50-60 hp range but realisticly I don't need one. I also run a 53 Ford NAA (30 hp), and a 41 Farmall H (25 hp), both of which are primarilly used haying. I hay with an old sickle bar mower, bar rake, and new holland 67 baler. I think if you get to the point of haying you will want to consider another tractor, but there are lots of older ones that are real workhorses for cheap money. For the main all purpose tractor I would look at the 30hp range. There are very few times when I needed more HP, more often than not I would like more lift power on the loader though. I chose the basic gear tractor because they are simple and less things to maintain later, I think of it as a long term investment. Not too many days go by that I don't use my tractor and that, in itself, is a testiment to its versatility.

Good luck!!!

 

[texasjohn]

The first post in this thread has a video link to a 4 person adult family in the middle of town that is "self sufficient" . It gives specifics of what can be done..and the lifestyle commitment they made to achieve it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/181082-amazing-family-lives-off-their.html