With 25 acres to mow...

[reacham]

I am new to the world of compact tractors. The biggest thing I have driven is Toro Z! I just signed the contract on a small farm with 25 acres of hay and grass to mow. Its very flat and dry land. I have a 900 foot gravel driveway to clear of snow. I might want to do some landscaping near the house. Which model would you recommend and why. Thanks for this wonderful board. I am learning allot, but I must admit this is a little scary.

 

[BeeBop]

If it were me I'd opt for a used tractor but like new condition if I were just getting started in the Landscaping Biz. Contracts can kill you just as fast as the low bidder so never buy BIG for one job. If you do buy used you can let the new buyer absorb the initial loss which will help you by putting that $aving$ back into your Biz. I would probably look along the lines of a 2900/3010 and up. Remember a FEL is a must, you can't get along w/out it. Good luck w/the mowing. Just one more thing, you can carry a med duty 6' rotary cutter w/the models I listed and save time which is $.

 

[djradz]

Probably not the answer you were looking for, but why not let some of it grow up? 5 acres alone is quite a bit to keep mowed.

 

[MDSteve]

I have a L3710 and got it because the dealer belived it was the minimum to run a hay baler. If most of the property is for hay you only cut and bale it once or twice a year. If you plan on cutting this every month I would make sure my tractor could pull a large bat wing mower 12'-15'. The drive way can be taken care of by any tractor with FEL and your choice of the following rear blade, box blade, landscape rake.

Steve

 

[chrisjbell]

Lots of mowing - it will keep you nice and busy. I tend to let my place die off during the summer so that I don't have to mow (we get no rain during the summer so if I don't irrigate it doesn't grow).

But I'd suggest that getting a new model might be your best bet. Interest rates are very low and one thing I found is that a good tractor is "worth what it is worth" (as Dad would say). By that I mean that an old one does exactly the same thing as a new one which is why tractors hold thier value like nobody's buisiness. Anyway, I got mine new and paid it off in 4 years at 3% interest, which was a great deal (financed by the folks in orange).

Of course, if you just picked up 25 acres money is probably no object /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif...Chris