I NEED ADVICE HELP

scottf92 · Nov 21, 2009

Just bought 106 acres of ground that is split half wood and half pasture, the pasture was being cut for hay by a neighbor farmer and previous owner received about 1000.00 a year to let him do this, we plan on building our retirement home there and live there full time. I need a tractor, but have no idea of what type, kind, size etc there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the ground mostly brush hogging and moving brush piles etc so I am thinking of a tractor with a bush hog and loader but would mabey want to get a bailer to go with, but I see those are expensive also, any recomendations on type and size of tractor any word of wisdom LOL Thanks for your help

Scott

whistlepig · Nov 21, 2009

Do you need the hay?

MarkV · Nov 21, 2009

Scott welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new property. I think you need to narrow down your plan a bit before deciding on equipment. If you are wanting a general maintenance tractor for 100 acres and someone is haying half of it then something in the 50 hp range will work well for you. It will run up to an 8' rotary mower and have a loader capable of most all you will need. Now if you want to do the hay work yourself I would not consider anything smaller than 70 hp for baling 50 acres of hay and you may well want another tractor for raking and helping to move bales.

MarkV

flusher · Nov 21, 2009

scottf92 said:
Just bought 106 acres of ground that is split half wood and half pasture, the pasture was being cut for hay by a neighbor farmer and previous owner received about 1000.00 a year to let him do this, we plan on building our retirement home there and live there full time. I need a tractor, but have no idea of what type, kind, size etc there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the ground mostly brush hogging and moving brush piles etc so I am thinking of a tractor with a bush hog and loader but would mabey want to get a bailer to go with, but I see those are expensive also, any recomendations on type and size of tractor any word of wisdom LOL Thanks for your help

Scott

New or used tractor? What's you're budget for tractor(s)? Which dealers are in your area?

two_bit_score · Nov 22, 2009

Scott, where are you located?

scottf92 · Nov 22, 2009

I am outside of st louis about 50 miles and don't need the hay now but if I decided to run some cattle the hay would be quite handy. I an not set on new or used but trying to narrow down what I need, would like to stay under 20k. I have seen some kubotas reasonable, are they good machines? Thanks for all the advive it really does help me to start understanding what I will need better.

MtnViewRanch · Nov 22, 2009

You can get a lot of good info here, but we really need a lot more info about what you are going to use the tractor for.

What type of farm work, grading a driveway, maintaining that drive, snow removal, grade your lot for the house? Do you want a cab, or do you like the great outdoors and enjoy braving the elements? All questions that need to be answered along with a lot more to be able to get you some useful information.
Look at and sit on as many tractors as you can. They are all good machines these days, but you need to get what fits YOU best and find a dealer that you are comfortable with based on what you might need from the dealer.
Good luck with your research.

flusher · Nov 22, 2009

scottf92 said:
I am outside of st louis about 50 miles and don't need the hay now but if I decided to run some cattle the hay would be quite handy. I an not set on new or used but trying to narrow down what I need, would like to stay under 20k. I have seen some kubotas reasonable, are they good machines? Thanks for all the advive it really does help me to start understanding what I will need better.

I'm a transplated MO boy (grew up in STL).
For $20K you can buy a new Kubota L4400 tractor with FEL (6-ft wide bucket). My neighbor has one of these (shuttle shift gear tranny) and it's nice.

I have 10 acres of flat pasture, 6 acres in oat hay. My new tractor is a Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, power steering) with the ML250 FEL (6-ft wide bucket, 2950 lb lift to 10.5 ft height). I bought this in Mar08 for $17.9K.

I think tractors in this hp range are what you should be looking at. They'll get your mowing and toting jobs done now and, in the future, if you want to go haying, they'll handle that type of equipment for small square bales. If you want to do large round bales, you may need to step up to the 70 hp range.

LBrown59 · Nov 22, 2009

scottf92 said:
I have seen some kubotas reasonable, are they good machines? .

One of the best.

Soundguy · Nov 23, 2009

scottf92 said:
Just bought 106 acres of ground that is split half wood and half pasture, the pasture was being cut for hay by a neighbor farmer and previous owner received about 1000.00 a year to let him do this, we plan on building our retirement home there and live there full time. I need a tractor, but have no idea of what type, kind, size etc there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the ground mostly brush hogging and moving brush piles etc so I am thinking of a tractor with a bush hog and loader but would mabey want to get a bailer to go with, but I see those are expensive also, any recomendations on type and size of tractor any word of wisdom LOL Thanks for your help

Scott

making hay is more than just a bailer. you need a specific type of cutter.. like a disc mower.. or sickle bar.. then you need rake, and a bailer.

for that task.. I'd reccomend a MINIMUM of 50hp.. more if you are making lots of rounds.. 50ac should make a good useable amount of hay.. .

if you are needing to maneuver in the woods.. then a small er tracor is in order.. thus I see you needing a large scut/smallish cut and a utility or ag tractor fo rthe big stuff. you can get used utility/ag tractors for pennies on the dollar.

soundguy

scottf92 · Nov 23, 2009

What is an AG tractor? And Pennies on the dollar? And unless I am going to make use of the hay myself for livestock etc, is there enough money to make it worth while to make hay? It goes for about 25 a roll around here, at some of the costs I have seen on baling machines etc, that would take a lot of hay balin to make any money

Diamondpilot · Nov 23, 2009

Not to speak for anyone but, I think when he is talking AG tractor he is talking the 75 to 100HP units. In my area they are worthless to a real farmer, just not big enough. Too big for most guys on this site. Because of this they sell cheap. My friend bought a 100ish HP Case with a cab and duals for something like $5500. He also got a older 70's Farmall Diesel in the 70 HP range for $3000. A lot of tractor for the money, hence the pennies on the dollar comment.

Chris

Soundguy · Nov 24, 2009

diamondpilot nailed it. big older hp is usually cheap because the hobby farmers with 10-20 ac don't want a 70-100 hp machine.. thus you see them going inthe 3000-7000$ range.. which.. compaired to a new unit of the same hp.. is pennies on the dollar.

as for hay.. it's a big investment.. unless you need it or plan on doing it for quite a few years to recoup expenses.. I'd let someone ELSE bail it.. then take some hay or money in trade.. that or just MOW it.. etc.

soundguy

Diamondpilot · Nov 24, 2009

Sound Guy is right about the hay work. We have a guy down the road, a retired farmer, Old Man Timmins. He will cut, rake, and bale your field for $.75 per bale dropped on the ground. Our 8 acre field yields about 275 bale per cut and sale depending on the year between $2.50-$3.00 per bale.

I always laugh at how cheap he does it. I guess it keeps him away from the wife and on the tractor.

Chris

scottf92 · Nov 24, 2009

All good points!! especially the staying away from the wife LOL, Are the AG tractor dependable/reliable just dont wanna spend a boat load on repairs maintenance too but I like the 10k or less range alot better! And as far as the hay I dont need it and dont have time to mess with it now until after retirement which is still a good ten years away

MarkV · Nov 25, 2009

Scott a used AG tractor is a good way to buy inexpensive hp for your mowing projects and future hay work. What you will find though is not many of them are going to come with a loader.

MarkV

Soundguy · Nov 25, 2009

scottf92 said:
All good points!! especially the staying away from the wife LOL, Are the AG tractor dependable/reliable just dont wanna spend a boat load on repairs maintenance too but I like the 10k or less range alot better! And as far as the hay I dont need it and dont have time to mess with it now until after retirement which is still a good ten years away

as with any machine.. do your research.. find one in good condition and with good parts support.. don't buy an orphan. MF and ford have great parts support as well as many older JD's.

something like a ford 5000 or 7000 , both with with an 8spd ( no DP ) is a good strong basic tractor .

soundguy

GPintheMitten · Nov 25, 2009

Here's my advice. Continue the arrangement with the neighbor farmer for the hay. You don't have the time now. Ten years from now when you retire, you'll be much more familiar with tractors, your desire or need for hay etc. Don't buy a tractor today for haying in ten years. Hay bailers are complicated machines. Who's going to fix it when it breaks down and you have 50 acres mowed and windrowed and the rain is about to come and you have to go to your real job?

With 3 cuttings of hay, you might produce close to 100 bales an acre. That would be 5000 bales. Then you need to store them or sell them out of the field. That's a lot of work and a big storage barn. You'll kill you self trying to get that done on weekends and the weather does not necessarily match your work schedule.

At least, that's what I would do.

Then consider, you need to build/maintain a driveway, so a heavy duty back blade and front end loader. Are you going to make a garden area with the tractor? Are you going to grade the land or your build site. Are you going to use the tractor for mowing lawn around the house or have a separate riding mower?

Depends on your budget, but I would look at 30-45 Hp compact utility tractor, with a front end loader, heavy duty back blade and a rear mounted finish mower and a brush hog type mower. Then trim with a walk behind mower... get the wife to agree to the trimming. A mid mounted mower would be more convenient for the mowing task but it depends on how much other work you will need to do in the mowing season. A midmount mower while using your fel in the woods is likely going to wreck the mower.

Of course the mowing situation depends on how much real lawn you plan on having compared to rougher field mowing. And you could buy a small riding mower for the lawn and not use your tractor for that.

scottf92 · Nov 25, 2009

I got about 60 acres to cut, grass or hay, I already got a 26 HP rider with a 54 inch cut, but that would take me a month to cut goin 24/7with that so what ever I get I need a loader for sure, and something to run a good sized pull behind cutter bush hog etc. I been looking at a 2006 kubota 50 hp with loader and 6ft bush hog, but it is 20k with the accessories and will I need more HP if I decide to do hay later, will it run a bigger cutter behind it? Or is the AG one the way to go but then I gotta find a loader and cutter and may be pushing the same price range by the time I buy the add ons. I cant find any dealers close to me that have anything to even look at. PLUS If I dont move there for a few years I will have to haul it back and forth (which is only 18 miles each way so not too bad) but I would imagine an AG tractor is pretty heavy and difficult to move back and forth, the Kubota seems to be the middle ground and already has what I need to get started, but the question is what will the Kubota not do that a AG will??? what are it's limitations. Thanks to all who are giving advice!!!!