What do I need now? What do I need later?

[Egon]

Nice soil in your area.

You may find more uses for the tiller than anticipated. If you are making some driveways they really help loosen the topsoil for loading and removal. The garden,areas where trees will be planted. Getting rid of the mole hills and so forth. They are also very usefull for leveling lawns.

Also pick up a section or two of diamond harrow. You should find lots of use for them.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[mark4Jesus]

Welcome! As others have said, make sure you get the tractor that you will be happy with first! Other stuff can come later. I got a MF 1433v (33HP) last month. A year ago in January I got a Kubota 2150 (24HP), it was a '91 model with 1850 hrs and fit my budget. It was however two small for my needs, although it was an excellent tractor. I am very happy with the larger tractor. I did a lot of research before making my purchase of the M-F and in my opinion, if you are looking at Kubota's go with the L series. The size/weight/power are a plus over the B series for what it sounds like you want to do.

Happy Hunting!

 

[IslandTractor]

I would like to point out that with only 10 acres and with a staged approach (you are not going to touch the back 5 for years), there is nothing on your list that cannot be done very efficiently with a 20 hp tractor. More power lets you use bigger implements, that's about it in your situation. If you are not needing to bush hog lots of saplings (you mentioned it was a hay field) then mowing the non lawn area a few times a year will not be a great burden with a 48" brush hog rather than a 60". If the land really was a hay field you could run a 60" light duty flail mower or even a 60" finish mower with the 20hp machine. Larger implements (for a 30hp tractor) will save a bit of time (like at very most an hour when mowing 5 acres) but they will cost more and be bulkier to store. For mowing the lawn portion (say an acre) the time savings will be trivial because the time to setup the tractor and put it away will eat into the 15% potential time savings of having a 72" rather than a 60" finish mower.

There is a common mantra on TBN to "buy more horsepower" but it is important to be reasonable and not buy too much. A recent post discussed an adage that went something like: get a tractor that will be overpowered for 20% appropriate for 70% and underpowered for 10% of your intended jobs. I agree. Save the money and operating costs to spend on better or more implements.

 

[jbrumberg]

Chris_T: I agree with Ed in that you can get the job done with a smaller tractor (cheaper) if you accept the fact that you have to move slower and take smaller "cuts". I got by with a very small Ford 1100 (13/11HP, 4WD with a front blade), a 40" rotary cutter, 42" tiller, and single bottom plow on 12.5A in western MA for 20 years. I did not have to rely on others; but to put it in perspective what took me 4 hours (snow plowing) I can now do in less than 1.75 hours (F/NH TC29DA 29/23+ HP, 4WD, and FEL) and I am doing more snow moving. I might add that a tiller (or plow) can function as a BB if you till/plow "shallow" and use the FEL or rake as needed. There is no "perfect" tractor and/or attachment; you have to make the best use of what you have. Jay

 

[canoetrpr]

Egon:

What is a diamond harrow and where does one find one?

Is this the same thing as a 'chain harrow'?

 

[flusher]

Here's what I have for my 10-acre spread (square, 1 furlong sides, flat, weeds, 30 almond trees grouped near the center of the parcel, 1/2-mile of farm fence, hard-packed gravel driveway 20'w x 260' long, 24'x42' garage/shop on a 6" thick concrete slab):

Kubota 21HP B7510 HST with LA 302 FEL ($12,600 plus tax last May)
KK rotary mower (brush hog), 4-ft, TSC, $675
KK box blade, 4-ft, TSC, $375
KK middle buster/subsoiler, TSC, $135
Yanmar RS1200 rototiller, 4-ft wide, used, $300

I bought all of these implements last summer, within 3-4 months of the tractor purchase.
Will probably get a post hole auger later this year when I replace 1/4-mile of rusty farm fence.

I rent Ditch Witch walk-behind trenchers from Home Depot when I need that kind of work (electrical, landscape watering, etc).

My neighbor has a nice spray rig that he uses to spray his 10-acre place and mine for star thistle. I pay half of his Transline cost (~$110 bucks) and supply the beer.

I'm landscaping about 3/4 acre around the house. Bought a $1000 18HP Huskee 42" mower plus a 3-year service plan for about $180 from TSC to handle the fine mowing. The The B7510 has a mid-point PTO and will handle that type of mower but I would have to invest in turf tires for the tractor. My Kubota has ag tires and will tear up the lawn.

I'm rolling the dice on the Huskee, hoping to get 4-5 years service out of this low-end thingy made by MTD. Couldn't justify $2K or more for a JD, Husqvarna, Toro, etc.

So far the little Bota and these implements have done everything I need. But I always have my eye on other tractors/implements and I have some space in the garage for more equipment.

 

[Chris_T]

Thanks for the continued advice. From what I can tell the size of the tractor (20-30 hp) is going to be a question of how fast do you want to go as much as anything.

That said, are there some minimums I should be considering if I look at a smaller machine? PTO hp?

I have to get my head around model numbers now. Was trying to read the classifieds in the local agricultural paper for used equipment and my head started to spin!

Chris

 

[flusher]

My 21HP Kubota is a good size for someone like me with a flat 10 acres of weeds, no brush or saplings. As you say, it just takes longer to mow, dig, haul, etc. with a small CUT. Being retired I have the time and like driving the tractor. Good therapy.

My neighbor on the West fenceline has an identical 10-acre parcel as mine. Raises horses. He chose a 28HP New Holland with FEL (about $18K).

My neighbor on the South fence line has 10 acres and uses a 23HP gasoline-powered 1941 Ford 9N without a FEL (cost about $2K and some elbow grease to get it running). He mows his weeds with a 4-ft brush hog that he borrows from a neighbor.