Blank Slate in Missouri

[gocards1177]

Just bought 80 acres this week for the future "dream home"/hobby farm for the family (we have two little kids). It's about 30% woods and the rest is pasture. It has spent the last few decades running cattle, but now that it is ours, my wife has dreams of orchards and vines. We will undoubtedly do this over several years, so now I just need to keep nature at bay on most of it.

For now I anticipate loader work, road grading, and and brush hogging once or twice a year. Eventually that will transition into mowing between rows of trees. There's two creeks and some gentle slopes on the property, but surprisingly mild by Ozark "mountain" standards.

I'm in the research stage now, but hope to buy something later this fall. There's so much information it is overwhelming. Hp, transmissions, 2wd/4wd, acres per hour,etc. Up until now my tractor experience is the 50's model Ford 8N we had as a kid to mow my parents' 4 acre yard. I know I'll need something a 'little' more advanced than that. The only dealer near me is JD so I hope to visit them in the next few weeks after I educate myself.

Thanks for any suggestions as I peruse the threads!
NR

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[Bird]

Glad to have you join us. A lot depends on personal preference, but it sounds like you've gotten a nice place, and just for starters, I'll guesstimate that you should be looking at 30 to 50 hp tractors, probably best to go with the upper end of that range, definitely want a front end loader, 4WD (or perhaps more accurately mechanical front wheel drive), and rotary cutter. My personal preference would be HST transmission for convenience and ease of operation. Have fun shopping.

 

[acme97]

Welcome. Always loved that part of the country. Originally from SE Louisiana, but will end up on our 20 acre in SC. I just got (actually will pickup the 17th) a new Kioti DK50SE HST with Cab, FEL, second rear remotes, root grapple, and 6ft rotary cutter. Of course had to get trailer to haul it from MD to SC. (Currently in the DC area). I also already have a box blade, 4ft rotary cutter, 4ft tiller, and a Kubota L35 with 4n1 bucket. So good luck on getting your toys! Looking forward to seeing your pictures and progress.

 

[k0ua]

Glad to have you join us. A lot depends on personal preference, but it sounds like you've gotten a nice place, and just for starters, I'll guesstimate that you should be looking at 30 to 50 hp tractors, probably best to go with the upper end of that range, definitely want a front end loader, 4WD (or perhaps more accurately mechanical front wheel drive), and rotary cutter. My personal preference would be HST transmission for convenience and ease of operation. Have fun shopping.

Same reccomendations here. I am down in Branson, more hills more rocks, less grass. I have the Kubota L3400HST. Gotta love that Hydrostat. Come back when you have researched a little more and ask all the questions you need to. We will try our best to help.

James K0UA

 

[Wooddust]

Oh the things you will learn....

Have fun with it, get the free help from Missouri Conservation on how to manage that old pasture, keep the brush from taking it, sericea lespedeza, musk thistles, and other nasty things.

In Rolla its fescue so any efforts with trees or vines will start with killing the fescue or you wont have a lot of success. Look into doing a conversion to native grass.

Buy more tractor than you think you need.

 

[gocards1177]

Thanks for the encouraging commments. There's definitely a lot to learn. I was wondering what MFWD stood for - thanks. I went and walked the property this afternoon. Really hot and lots of scrub and briars, but my wife and I are excited.

 

[flusher]

Just bought 80 acres this week for the future "dream home"/hobby farm for the family (we have two little kids). It's about 30% woods and the rest is pasture. It has spent the last few decades running cattle, but now that it is ours, my wife has dreams of orchards and vines. We will undoubtedly do this over several years, so now I just need to keep nature at bay on most of it.

For now I anticipate loader work, road grading, and and brush hogging once or twice a year. Eventually that will transition into mowing between rows of trees. There's two creeks and some gentle slopes on the property, but surprisingly mild by Ozark "mountain" standards.

I'm in the research stage now, but hope to buy something later this fall. There's so much information it is overwhelming. Hp, transmissions, 2wd/4wd, acres per hour,etc. Up until now my tractor experience is the 50's model Ford 8N we had as a kid to mow my parents' 4 acre yard. I know I'll need something a 'little' more advanced than that. The only dealer near me is JD so I hope to visit them in the next few weeks after I educate myself.

Thanks for any suggestions as I peruse the threads!
NR

Hi there--welcome to TBN. Rolla--went to grad school there when it was UMR 1963-65.

80 acres, huh. Rolling terrain I would guess. I wouldn't tackle your plans with anything less than 50 hp pto. Something like my 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, gear tranny 8F/2R, power steering) with the ML250 FEL (6-ft wide bucket, 2950 lb lift to 10.5 ft, skid steer quick attach option on the FEL arms). Cost: new, about $19K plus tax.



JD has one or more models equivalent to this 5525 if you like green and yellow.

That's a 6-ft Hawkline rotary mower (aka bush hog, brush hog, shredder, slasher) hanging on the back of the 5525. OK if you have 40 acres or less to mow. If you plan to mow your entire place, it'll take a lot of seat time with a 6-ft mower. YOu'll need to get a bigger tractor/mower combo--10-ft dual blade for example.

I'd think very carefully about your detailed plans for the next 5 years and size your tractor accordingly. My first tractor was that little 2005 Kubota B7510HST in the photos (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD, hydro tranny, power steering) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket, 800 lb lift to about 8 ft height). It was fine for the work I needed to do around my 10 acre place (flat pasture) when the house was being built 6 years ago (installing paver block walk ways, patio, landscaping, general toting jobs with the FEL, etc). But when I decided to become a hay farmer (another moderately expensive hobby of mine), I traded that 7510 after 3 years for that much larger 5525.

Good luck and have fun with your new tractor.

 

[k0ua]

Thanks for the encouraging commments. There's definitely a lot to learn. I was wondering what MFWD stood for - thanks. I went and walked the property this afternoon. Really hot and lots of scrub and briars, but my wife and I are excited.

MFWD Mechanical Front Wheel Drive.. aka 4wd or front wheel assist.
Good thing to have.:thumbsup: A good Rotary Cutter (aka brush hog, shredder etc) would take care of those briars and scrub brush pronto You are definatly in the market for a tractor at least as big as mine or preferably bigger.

James K0UA

 

[duanekeys]

Welcome to TBN, you'll find lots of useful info!

I'm near Springfield but went to Rolla for my undergrad (computer science class of 2000).

 

[gocards1177]

Went to the local JD dealer and the Kubota dealer (which is 45 minutes away) this AM to drive different models of tractors. I've been doing lots of research online since my original post, and I'm shooting for something that's about 40 HP.

Today I drove a 4005 and 4120 at JD and a L3800DT and L4400DT at Kubota. Strangely, my friends JD 4310 from 2001 has a TON more plastic than anything I saw today- which I was pleased to find. My favorite by far was the 4005. I liked the position of the controls and overall feel. I prefer the inconvenience of shifting to the whine of the HST.

The dealer mentioned that the 4005 replaced the 990. I've been looking at 990's on tractor house.com and I'm 99% sure this is the tractor for me with a 300cx loader and 6 foot rotary cutter.
:licking:

I was wondering if any 990 owners out their could give me advice/thoughts? Also is the hood of 990's metal as well? The only plastic on the 4005 was the black "dash" around the instruments. Is there some sort of "nose" on the 990's that is plastic?

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement.
Nathan

 

[Briana03]

Hello & WELCOME to TBN!

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

 

[gocards1177]

Thanks! I hadn't received any replies.
NR

 

[FrankieO]

Hey--welcome to the forum from a fellow newbie in SW MO!

I was looking at the L3800 as well. Wound up with a Grand L3540 Glide-shift. something to consider--if you can find a dealer willing to deal, might be worth the upgrade.

Cant comment on the green tractors--doubt you could go wrong with them though.:thumbsup:

 

[jenkinsph]

I suspect if you buy a 4105 now or similar tractor you will be looking to upgrade too soon. The advice the others have given for a 50 pto hp tractor is sound.

I wouldn't concern myself with the plastic it isn't significant enough to worry about. Look beyond the plastic and consider the hydraulics, transmissions, fel (front end loader) and tractor weight.

If you will be doing lots of fel work or manuevering I would go with a hydro transmission. For mainly field work I would go with a gear tranny. Mowing either tranny will work well just depends on how much manuevering you need to do.

 

[gocards1177]

Thanks for the replies and advice!

I'm really confuse on what to do about a tractor. The land we bought is 83 acres, but only 33 of it is cleared. My wife has said "NO" to livestock, so it's probalby going to be a few acres of "yard" around the future house for the kids, a few acres of orchards/gardens/etc, and the rest is going to be hay fields. I have no interest in haying right now, and maybe never. I'll probably just have someone hay it for me for shares and sell it off. I just really don't know what my requirements are going to be. I've been reading on the tractorbynet forums, and there's people on here with like 10 acres or less and they have bigger tractors than what I'm looking at! I hate to sound cheap, but the bigger the tractor, the more dough and the more diesel. I think I could do a lot of chores and projects with a 40HP compact tractor. Of course, untill we build a house, move out to the property, and start actually doing projects and using whatever tractor I end up with, there's no way of konwing if I chose correctly or bought too big or too small.

I'm probably getting unnecessarily hung up on the plastic. I'm good about taking care of my stuff. Want I don't want is a bunch of parts that break with normal wear and tear. I agree, that the mechanics and features of the machine should take precedence.

A guy from work yesterday invited me out to his house and let me try the power reverser on his 5625. A way bigger tractor than what I'm looking for, but the power reverser is pretty slick. It's like a HST/gear hybrid without the wine of the HST. Another co-worker offered to let me borrow his 4310, so maybe I'll brush hog a few acres and see what I think of the HST in practice.

Fortunately, I don't have to do anything immediately, so I'm going to keep researching and test driving. Thanks again for all of the solicited opinions and advice!

I've got some pictures of the land at home. I'll attach them later tonight when I get home.
Nathan

 

[gocards1177]

Here are some pics of my new property as promised:

So, just by chance, I came across a used tractor listed locally today online. It's a 2007 JD4520. 300 hours. 400CX loader. 6' Frontier RC. 7'Frontier Blade. 6' Frontier Tiller. Frontier Hayspike. One owner. Looks good in the pics, but haven't gotten to see it in person. He's asking $25K, and for that amount of equipment, I may have to learn to love HST. Is this a deal worth eating my words?
Nathan

 

[jenkinsph]

Sounds like a reasonable deal to me, decent start on implements and the right sized tractor for your place. The 2007 model was rated at 53 hp (engine) and about 45 hp (pto). The 2009 and later are rated 60 hp (engine) and 50 hp (pto) not a big deal but something you should be aware of when shopping.

I have two ehydro tractors one gear tractor and the mowers with standard hydro's, the ehydro tranny is a real winner in my book. Just makes working with the tractor so easy to do.


Looks like a nice property congrats on that too.

 

[gocards1177]

Bummer. 'Twas already bought before I could get there to see it. Oh well. That will give me more time to research and test drive. Is there an "off season" for buying used or previous year model tractors? Like late fall after the harvest?

 

[xrsrfn]

Welcome to land owner status and TBN!

I am very happy with the LS tractor that I have, one as much for the dealer I purchased from and the quality of the tractor. It and their other models all have several features others charge $$$$.$$ for standard like two remotes installed. I am a big guy and the ease getting off and on as well as cockpit space was best in what I looked at which was all colors of tractors. I am so impressed so far with it cant believe how many times I go look for things to work on with it. Look one over I dont thing you can go wrong buying one. Wish you Good Luck in finding a dealer you can trust as well as a tractor you like.