what to buy?--compact tractor?

[rhall]

N.Y. I just bought land for deer hunting, And I want to plant corn and clover etc. There are 172 acres 12 acres are fields that I would like to plant and I would also like to have a front end loader and brush hog. I would like to go as small as is logical to be able to plant corn and clover etc. and also keep the price resonable for a" hobbie" farm. However I want somthing good that I won"t have a lot of problems with. Should I buy new? What size? What brand? What attachments will I need? Also what to plant for deer?

 

[wolc123]

I think around 40 hp would be about right, something like a JD-4120, NH-TD40, KUB-L4130. Not sure if the NH or KUB model no's are exactly right but I have the JD so that one is. I have also heard good things about Mahindra, they are a heavy tractor which would be good for your applications. I would get loaded rear tires (R1's), fwd, and a gear transmission. Other equipment you should have is a 2-bottom plow, 6-8 ft disk, cultipacker, and 2-row 3 pt corn planter. As far as what to plant, start with clover and brassica in August, rye in September (all late season plantings the first year). The following spring, put in some field corn on the rye ground. Future years try to plant the corn on ground which had grown white clover (kept mowed) 4-5 years to minimize fertilizer requirements. Over time, most of your ground should be in white clover - always plant after corn. If it were not for your front loader requirement, I would reccomend a Ford 8n as your first tractor. These old machines rarely depreciate in value, can handle modern attachments, and have the best parts availability of any tractor ever made. I would steer clear of used loader tractors, unless you are sure they are in good condition. Fwd and power steering greatly enhance the effectiveness of a front loader.

 

[nyBarTender]

There's a Mahindra dealer near you in Delhi , Swantaks just south of Oneonta . Very nice people to work with . Web is swantaks.com , they have a few used tractors as well .

 

[AutoUnionTypeC]

Swantak’s is mentioned above, I’ll try to do the rest. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
You have a good Kubota dealer right in Norwich with Norwich Implement; they’re on route 12 heading south toward Oxford. Also Springers in Oneonta deals Kubota. For New Holland there’s River Valley New Holland on Rt.7 just south of Oneonta and Springers again but this time in Richfield Springs. For John Deere there’s Valley Supply in South New Berlin, actually Cazenovia Equipment bought them out so they may go by the latter name now. For Massey there’s Catskill Tractor in Franklin. I highly recommend you give Kioti a look as well, you can do dealer search on their site.

Are you going to be upstate year round? If not, you might do well renting your property out to a local farmer.

Regards

 

[tude]

What has happened to all of the John Deere dealers? As a little tyke I remember my grandfather taking me to the John Deere dealer in Unadilla. In the 70's we went to the Afton John Deere dealer. In the early 80's I went to LANEWAY in Oneonta for parts to refurbish the pedal tractor I had as a kid. I also understand that Trout Creek had a John Deere dealership in the 50's. I guess the decline in the dairy industry must be one cause.