Best tractor for 120 acres

[highlandlaw]

I've been able to acquire 120 acres of Ozark land in Missouri. I've got roughly 60 acres of open pasture, the remainder heavily wooded in oak and hickory. I've been shopping around, and am torn between green and orange. I was originally looking into a JD 3000 series or a Kubota L3800, but the topography can be rough, and I'm worried about the stability of a smaller tractor. I plan on using it for general farm work, brushhogging, mowing and hay moving. Suggestions?

 

[jeff9366]

You need minimum 50-hp tractor with FEL and four wheel drive to deal with 60 acres. You need to be able to pull 6' - 7' - 8' implements in order to get tractor work done in reasonable time. In the Ozarks the soil is tough stuff and the fields slope. You need POWER and TRACTION.

John Deere and Kubota both make good tractors, as do others. Do not get hung up on colors/brands.

Stability is increased by moving the wheels out and partially liquid loading the rear tires, which lowers center of gravity. However, moving out wheels will restrict entry into your wooded acreage and require wider implements for field work as you must cover your tire tracks.

Have you operated a tractor and mounted PTO powered implements?

Besides hay, what are you going to grow?

How far away are the four nearest tractor suppliers?

What is your tractor budget? What is your budget for implements?

 

[newbury]

As jeff wrote - lay out your needs and resources.
Do you plan on moving logs? If so you'll probably want to be able to lift a minimum of a ton.
Do you plan on going thru the woods on narrow trails? If so you won't want the biggest cabbed tractor.
Do you plan on a lot of loader work, thus needing HST?
How much wrenching do you plan on doing? Unless you live next door to the dealer it's expensive to get to repairs. You generally can't just drive it to the dealers so they can look at something.

Without getting into brand wars
JD is green and burns your money, but it's reliable and supported.
Kubota's are often a little light for the HP, but has a great support network.
Kioti is similar to Kubota, but often heavier for the same HP.

And very often used is worth it.

 

[ddivinia]

In the John Deere line you should consider a 5 series.


D.

 

[wolftree]

highlandlaw,

We need more information of your intended uses and needs. Given what information that you have wrote of says to me that you need a larger tractor than you are currently considering.

 

[highlandlaw]

highlandlaw,

We need more information of your intended uses and needs. Given what information that you have wrote of says to me that you need a larger tractor than you are currently considering.

Thanks everyone, I just realized that I really should have posted this in a different forum, but I appreciate the advice. My JD dealer was recommending the 5000 series, and I thought he was pushing for a bigger sale, but I think he was spot on.

I've got extensive tractor experience, except that was 25 years ago when I worked for a farmer in Kansas! And those were tractors that were of the "duct tape and bailing wire repair" vintage. Things have changed a bit.

 

[TripleR]

Thanks everyone, I just realized that I really should have posted this in a different forum, but I appreciate the advice. My JD dealer was recommending the 5000 series, and I thought he was pushing for a bigger sale, but I think he was spot on.

I've got extensive tractor experience, except that was 25 years ago when I worked for a farmer in Kansas! And those were tractors that were of the "duct tape and bailing wire repair" vintage. Things have changed a bit.

Not to worry, chances are the moderators will move it to Buying Pricing Comparisons or you can maybe contact them if they don't.

As mentioned acreage and use will determine the right size with use often more important than acreage, we have our smaller tractor on our largest acreage.

We have a L5740 HSTC and M8540 HDC as our primary tractors on two farms, both of which have some significant slopes as well as flat land, the M8540 is more comfortable on cross slopes and has a smoother ride in rough areas in addition to puling a 10' cutter for larger areas while the L5740 is a bit more nimble.

With a complete description of your intended task, the members here will be able to more closely tailor suggestions for several tractors that will meet your needs. My initial thoughts were an M Series Kubota or 5000 John Deere and equivalents in other top brands, but I might change that with ore information.

Good luck and enjoy, 120 acres is a nice piece of land on which to enjoy all things outdoors.

If you haven't already, you might want to check this forum: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/midwest-great-lakes/228416-missouri-roll-call-show-me.html

 

[jeff9366]

It would not hurt to start an improved, fresh thread in BUYING/PRICING/COMPARISONS with your land described, what you intend to use the tractor/loader for regularly, your tractor experience and how adept you are with tools for repairs and maintenance. You might ask: Is 50-hp enough tractor for my needs? And, what implements and attachments should I consider, given my intended uses?

What use do you foresee for the tractor in your forested 60 acres? Game food plots? Firewood? Sell timber?

Do you have a driveway and/or private road to maintain? What surface? What about snow removal?

It helps us to know available $$$$. We are really good at spending other's money on here T-B-N, to infinity.

The more input you provide the better quality and more relevant advice you will receive.

 

[thatguy]

Four words.. CAB, A/C, suspension Seat

that is all. lol

Brian

 

[rmorey]

Highlandlaw,

First of all :welcome: to TBN!

I have 200 acres and do just fine with my Kioti DK40SE (the other orange). As Thatguy suggested, I also have a Cab, AC and suspension seat. I have found, that weight is a big factor to counter sloping land. Heavy and wide is better than light and narrow on a slope. Try lots of tractors, get some seat time and choose the one you like the best...enjoy.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Yes to 5000 series JDs. It can be set wide as shown and is very stable in the woods on hill ground. If two trees are less then eight feet apart one of them needs a trip to the wood pile anyway.

 

[Briana03]

Welcome to TractorByNet!

I moved your thread to the Buying/Pricing/Comparisons forum.

 

[econometrics]

I have about 100 acres here in East Texas. Around 75-80 of them are pretty heavily wooded. I have about 1800 feet of gravel driveway to maintain, with about 140' in elevation drop from the top of the property to the lowest parts.

I have been running a 2007 JD 5103 2wd w/512 FEL. It's a really good little tractor, but I have been in too many circumstances where MFWD and a little higher HP would have helped get some jobs done a lot quicker. So...

A couple weeks ago I ordered a new 5075E. Here's the thread with the specs and a few pics of it: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/291299-new-john-deere-5075e-open.html

+1 on the fact that 5000E series tractors are the best bang for your buck on the market right now. Especially since you can order them with the new PowrReverser package!

Have your dealer quote you on a 5055E / 5065E or 5075E.

Make sure you get the most HP you can for your budget. You will never regret paying for more HP.

 

[Bluegill2]

I've been able to acquire 120 acres of Ozark land in Missouri. I've got roughly 60 acres of open pasture, the remainder heavily wooded in oak and hickory. I've been shopping around, and am torn between green and orange. I was originally looking into a JD 3000 series or a Kubota L3800, but the topography can be rough, and I'm worried about the stability of a smaller tractor. I plan on using it for general farm work, brushhogging, mowing and hay moving. Suggestions?

We have 400 acres in the Ozarks and the L3800 works for me. Not moving any hay, but mowing, FEL work and a bunch of logging/firewood production. Sure a larger rig would be nice sometimes. but I like the size of the 3800 in the woods. You don't "need" a minimum, or certain size. Smaller just takes a bit longer to do some things...

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Make sure you test drive the tractors. Your dealer should have an area to do that in, including some slopes. Otherwise, ask them to bring it out to your property for you to test on it.

 

[wmonroe]

The details of what you will be using the tractor for will determine the size. As others have said acreage doesn't necessarily correlate to tractor size, it all depends on your intended use.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Are you going to bale hay? If so, let us know. Balers require a good amount of Hp... about 40 minimum I think, but others will know better. Also are you going to put in fence posts or build a pole barn? Ive had some problems the last few days using a pto auger in getting it stuck with my 26 Hp Kubota. You really want to consider the weight you need to lift with both the 3pt and the loader. Also consider rear remote hydraulic requirements and a quick hitch front loader. I'm going to add remote hydraulics for top and tilt on my 3 pt hitch which will probably cost me $1000.

 

[PapaPerk]

John deere 5083 or similar.


Also big kubota is nice. 8540 I think is model

 

[flusher]

I've been able to acquire 120 acres of Ozark land in Missouri. I've got roughly 60 acres of open pasture, the remainder heavily wooded in oak and hickory. I've been shopping around, and am torn between green and orange. I was originally looking into a JD 3000 series or a Kubota L3800, but the topography can be rough, and I'm worried about the stability of a smaller tractor. I plan on using it for general farm work, brushhogging, mowing and hay moving. Suggestions?

Worried about stability---get a tractor in the 50-70hp (pto) range with the widest stance (widest rear wheel track) and fill the rears half full with beet juice (Rimguard). You can increase stability by going to rear duallies or by changing from the tall rear wheels (generally around 30" dia rims) to smaller diameter rims (16" dia). The smaller dia rims are OK for mowing, discing, etc. For plowing you need the traction of the taller rears so there's a tradeoff to be made here.

Good luck.