Tractor size for 80 acre corn and bean farm

[Smallplot]

2wd will do everything you need it to. I have planted thousands of acres of corn beans and wheat. All of my row crop tractors are 2wd. I agree that 4wd is helpful on a compact loader tractor but really not a necessity for what you plan to do.

+1

with 100-120 HP tractors the weight issue is not a big problem so you have traction. Get a set of duels with the tractor and you will be in fine shape with a 2wd. They are cheaper than comparable 4wd and if traction is a major issue, your pulling to big of an implement. Oh yea, and the front tires last a lot longer!

P.S. We never had any problems with our IH 1066 and it's TA. Over 10,000 hours and still going strong. Never even been rebuilt yet.

 

[JasG]

Thank you all for your replies. I too was thinking 100 HP size but was thinking about 2wd so I should rethink that since you all were thinking 4wd. Any advice on where to begin searching? Web? Dealers? Farm auctions? Any recommendations for the SW Michigan area? Thanks.

As I said before if you are going over 100 Hp 2wd will do, 4wd would be great but not needed. 4wd would allow you to pull similar sized tools with a 85 hp tractor. Duals would help to a degree, I would put duals on though even if 4wd.

Machineryfinder.com is a deere web site
Fastline.com
tractorhouse.com
craigslist.

Check for local auctions.

 

[dieselscout80]

One thing to think about tractors with less than 100HP seem to cost more on the used market.

If you step up to 120 - 140 HP 1086IH or 4440 JD or there newer versions you may end up speeding less.

If its in your budget CaseIH 7110, 7210 or 8910 is a great tractor. I loved to run the 7250 and 8950 my Father in law had.

 

[art]

I'd think that 2 wheel drive would be okay for you if you bought the 100 horsepower. MAny people buy the deere tractors but they are fuel hogs especially with the power shift transmissions.

We have many types of soil here in central Ny and the one thing that I found in clay soils. It does not move fast!!! Tillage speed is normally limited to about 4 mph and horsepower doesn't really make that much difference with it! Or I could say to overcome it, costs a lot!!!

 

[pjbci]

100-125hp duals are debateable. We did not run duals on our 966 IH but we did on a JD 4440. One thing we did notice was the 4440 seemed to have a lot more power when the duals were off the tractor in the summertime. It does take hp just to roll the extra tires. I personally dont think they are nessesary but like I said, its debateable.

 

[flusher]

Hi want to start farming 80 acres of corn and bean ground. It is clay soil so will pull a little harder. Plan to start with conventional farming. I need to buy a used tractor probaby 15 - 25 years old since I don't have any equipment and need to buy all my equipment. Can anyone recommend a good tractor. My farm is in SW Michigan so I'd want a manufacturer with a good parts and service presense in my area. Thanks.

Several IH 1066 tractors sold for $7K on eBay last month.
A nice IH 1086 with cab and air went for $8100.

Case/IH has the parts as do several second sources:

products,1066 (International\Farmall),International\Farmall on Steiner Tractor Parts

International Harvester (IH) 1066 Used Parts - Farm Equipment Directory - Bootheel Tractor Parts

Good luck.

 

[Creamer]

I would definitely go over 100HP just because the resale on tractors and equipment is much less. IH 1066 or 1086 are good choices along with the Deeres mentioned. The Deeres are a little handier, i.e. easier to shift, better power steering, quicker hydraulics, etc. for non-tillage items but they are a little thirstier and the green paint usually adds more than a little. Some of the actually newer Deeres are not holding their value as well as the old 40, 50, and 55 series. IH's 436 diesel is a super solid engine (in the 1066 and 1086) and we ran a 1466 and a 1586 and never had any issues. Duals are not necessary if they are radial tires on the 10 series of tractor, if they are still bias ply you will need duals. Our 1586 was such a wonderful tillage tractor and the only reason we got rid of it was that we went much bigger, i.e. 350 HP 4WD.

With this size of tractor you can buy equipment that is too large for the common gentleman farmer but not used by many farmers anymore, i.e. real cheap.

My real question is - do you really want to do this? With the new planters and other equipment the larger farms can be so much more efficient that it can be real tough to make money on this operation. If you want to do it for fun that is a different thing but you will not get any breaks on fertilizer, chemicals, seed, etc. and that will make it much more expensive per acre than the big guys.

 

[Foxtrot08]

International 806 with a turbo will do everything you want and then some. Can be picked up for under 10k if money is a concern. We have one right now and we have 100+ acres. When my grandpa was alive, we had 660 acres - all the work was done with 2 806's and a smaller (50hp) John deere for many-a-years.

Then we picked up a John Deere 4440 and a 75hp ford. (Kept the smaller John Deere's, traded the 806's in for... reasons I don't know.)

But they could pull a 5 bottom plow no problem, especially if you have dual's. Here in NE Ohio, all we have is clay - so I know the feeling.

 

[D7E]

I would be looking at two tractors . A cheap pulling tractor like a ford 9700/TW20 for tilling planting etc and something more nimble like a JD2130 / IH 674 on narrow tyres for spraying /row crop cultivating .

 

[cowski]

80 acres, a 8n ford has done that much.i guess anything 8n or bigger.