Utility tractor advice needed

[BarryinMN]

Welcome to TBN.

Do you have a business plan or budget to work with? Any background with ag? Are your fields wide open & flat or hilly, bottomland (mud) or?

Do you plan on building structures and digging dirt - creating/maintaining ponds, etc?

The reason I ask is because mowing 50 ac's on an open tractor gets old fast as in long days in the seat. New machinery to handle hay can easily consume $100K, used is a fraction of the cost but maintenance & downtime can become a timing issue.

Anyway to answer one of your questions weight is king with Ag right along with PTO HP. Generally more = faster on the tasks.

With tires: R4's get the machine closer to the ground, easier to highcenter on downed logs, rocks, various holes, spin out in mud. Have these on a 60 hp TLB so it usually can free itself. R1's on my 10,000 lb ag tractor definitely imprint the lawn.

 

[Soundguy]

Do compair all of the big '3' brands.. that is.. CNH, JD, KUB.. and of course.. MF.

Don't overlook other 2nd branded tractors in that hp range. At the end of the day when the work is done.. any quality tractor tractor will do.. and the biggest difference is price, once the barn lights go out.. ( unless you plan on reselling it later.. then brand will pay a role.. )

I'm a bit of a ford man.. so I am kinda partial to CNH.. but.. I'm also a tad colorblind when it comes to hp : dollar ratio on pretty even machines...

Do some research.. get some prices.. get a feel for the dealers.. look at warranty details.. factor any freebies in last ( delivery.. services.. etc.. ). Sometimes a dealer that is a few bucks more.. but closer ( service ).. is a better deal..

Pretty much.. none of the major brands will let you down in quality. And if you size your job to the tractor correctly.. and don't abuse it.. the 2nd and economy brands can work out well, as long as you know what you are getting into at the beginning.

Soundguy

Hi,
My wife and I recently purchased a 110 acre farm in East Tennessee with about 50 acres of pasture/fields and the remainder forested. The property has mostly been used in the past for hay/cattle production. We have roads, trails, fields and pasture to work/maintain.

I think we need something like a 70 HP 4wd utility tractor and there are quite a few choices out there to confuse things. So far I've looked at the kubota M series and the new holland TN series. The new holland dealer suggested that I only consider the "big two" tractor companies which are new holland and john deere according to him.

The kubota dealer said it's roughly $25k for the 7040, $27k for the 8540, and $29k for the 9540. So, with only a $2k difference between models is there any reason not to jump up to the 8540 or 9540 models?

The new holland dealer said I could get a 4wd TN70 with fel for $30k. I don't know anything about the john deere tractors yet but plan to visit a dealer soon.

How important is tractor weight (the new holland dealer said the kubota was light)?

Are R4 tires OK for all around use instead of R1?

Any other tractors that should be on my "short list"?

Thanks,
Chip

 

[piller]

Thanks for all the responses so far. Tractorbynet is an excellent site/resource.

Someone suggested the power shuttle, the kubota dealer also mentioned that the highway mowing crews were switching from mechanical to power shuttles and that they did not have any problems in 3 years with the hydraulic units where before they needed to replace clutches every few months with the mechanical shuttles.

Kubota catalog lists the M8540 4wd weight at 5401 lbs and M9540 4wd at 5512 lbs.

Multiple tractors would be ideal, perhaps in the future.

I was planning to get a ROPS model tractor, not a cab model.

Our fields are gently sloping, no muddy bottomland, one road does go through a creek though.

As for business plans, I met with the county extension agent and did an "enterprise analysis". Not much money in farming, I don't plan to quit my day job anytime soon!

Any big dozer/excavator type jobs that might come up will get hired out.

 

[Doc_Bob]

Any big dozer/excavator type jobs that might come up will get hired out.

You are a wise man!
Bob

 

[Agro-oti]

Look around for Deutz-Fahr AgroLux or AgroPlus,or the 700 series made by SAME,sold by Farmtrac. The CIH JX series is another choice. For your needs I'd definately look at Ag-tires no questions asked.

 

[davemhughes]

I know where a m6800 66hp diesel Kubota 4x4 is with a FEL on 120 hrs and a year warranty for $24,800 in missouri plus he will deliver it. I almost bought it......don't think anyone would say Kubota is not a good tractor.....well made and the diesel engines are bullet proof. Look at the engine/trans/hydraulic specs of all the tractors you might be interested in. Most to the American tractors in the hp range you are looking at are largely foriegn made, US assembled, or re-badged imports. I did not buy it because I really did not need one that big so I bought a 41hp SAME 4x4 diesel. Let me know and I will give you the guys number. I get absolutely nothing out of it if you do end up buying from him other than knowing its a good tractor and he's a good guy.

 

[mike tritt]

Hi,
My wife and I recently purchased a 110 acre farm in East Tennessee with about 50 acres of pasture/fields and the remainder forested. The property has mostly been used in the past for hay/cattle production. We have roads, trails, fields and pasture to work/maintain.

I think we need something like a 70 HP 4wd utility tractor and there are quite a few choices out there to confuse things. So far I've looked at the kubota M series and the new holland TN series. The new holland dealer suggested that I only consider the "big two" tractor companies which are new holland and john deere according to him.

The kubota dealer said it's roughly $25k for the 7040, $27k for the 8540, and $29k for the 9540. So, with only a $2k difference between models is there any reason not to jump up to the 8540 or 9540 models?

The new holland dealer said I could get a 4wd TN70 with fel for $30k. I don't know anything about the john deere tractors yet but plan to visit a dealer soon.

How important is tractor weight (the new holland dealer said the kubota was light)?

Are R4 tires OK for all around use instead of R1?

Any other tractors that should be on my "short list"?

Thanks,
Chip

Chip, We're in Oneida!! Before you buy call Steve Barlow farm equip. in Somerset KY we just saved over $2K below quoted price in Knoxville and $3k below quote price in KIngsport

 

[MarkV]

Hey Chip, welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new land.

I am still unclear as to what you plan to do yourself with your open land. Do you plan to hay it yourself, mow it a few times a year or lease the haying to a local? I ask because for me the tractor requirements and implement requirements would be much different if I wanted to hay, mow or just maintain the roads and trails. If I were mowing and maintaining then something in the 50hp range would be enough for me and still be small enough to get into the woods and around the farm building. Now if I were haying then the more hp and weight I could afford would be important. The thing about haying is the related equipment cost is just too much to pay for itself in a timely way with only 50 acres of hay. If I were feeding critters and buying hay the pay back might be worth it.

All the tractor brands mentioned offer good equipment. Local support of your chosen brand is almost more important than the brand to me. I don’t like dealers that start bad mouthing the competition personally. And also keep in mind that not every brand advertises weight based on the same criteria. Some list field ready weight and others list the shipping weight of the tractor.

Good luck and have fun.

MarkV

 

[HEC]

I have 110 plus acres also.half woods half fields and own the kubota 5700 4wd. which is about 55 eng. hp and is plenty big enough for my needs,mowing fields,hauling out wood ,plowing with a 3 bottom plow ,cultivator work,and taking care of snow in the winter.I have owned a few tractors over the years and always had ag tires but went with r'4s this time and like them alot.I was afraid I wouldn't get the traction I needed but they work just fine for my needs.The reason I went with them is we have small trees up here with briars about 2 or 3inches long and they will go right through the softer ag tire and will not penetrate the harder r'4s. I have also cut the ag tires a few times while working the tractor.If I were going to be in a muddy area alot I would go with the ag tires as they do have have better traction for sure.As mentioned above go with the power shuttle it is just great,this is the first tractor I have had with it and is a very nice feature.My wife loves it also,all she has to do is get on the tractor and work the lever and never use the clutch as I put it in the right gear for her at the start.It is also a wet clutch system which will probably last you a whole lot longer.

 

[ander26]

You may also want to look at the new Challenger mt300 series of tractors 45 to 75 pto hp very nice looking tractor and has some very nice options.