Buying advice for 1st tractor

[Jersey_Joe]

I am looking for advice in selecting the right sized tractor, including attachments.

I want to farm 10-15 acres of flat of open fields. (Rye or soybean initially) I will also mow about 1 acre of lawn, and garden another acre. My other need would be maintaining 400 x 8 ft of gravel driveway including snow removal. Future needs might include some leveling and grading.

I have a small, 12 hp, JD lawn tractor.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[tough451]

Start in the 45 hp range utility tractors. Find a good dealer and a salesmen that will ask you what you need and not just push you towards what ever they need to get rid of.
Look used could save you bundles with all the other equipment you will need for working ground and harvesting your crops.

 

[RickO]

Do you have a price range your trying to stay in?
What dealers do you have local to you?

 

[zjohnson]

Be honest and decide how much you can spend to start this operation. Do you intend to no-till? Do you have any existing implements(that you would have to buy a tractor to match?). Can you(and do you want too) buy all new or are you considering used? While the tractor will be the backbone and most expensive, the other necessary implements will cost $. How will you harvest? I have spent 3 or so enjoyable months shopping for and just now buying a utulity tractor - would be happy to share what I've learned.

 

[Jersey_Joe]

Thanks tough451, Ricko;

My price range is under $20,000 so used might be my best option. I have a John Deer and a New Holland dealer close. I have spoken a little with both, and I felt better about the NH guy.

The JD recommended a 5103, while the NH asked why I wanted to farm the land. When I told him I was trying to keep my Qfarm assessment, he suggested I try to find someone to farm it for me before I made the investment necessary to do it myself.

 

[Jersey_Joe]

Thanks Z,

To be honest I am still learning what exactly I need to do. For example I know I'll need to disc, but I don't know if I need to till or plow. Harvesting what I grow was not as important as keeping my Farm assessment. I was hoping to learn as I go so I would eventually able to do the job right. I have no attachments.

Used would be fine. I would love new equipment, but it's not practical now. I would be very interested to know what you learned shopping for yours.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

It sounds like you have two good dealers. You know you have a decent dealer when he will help advise you on ways to save money instead of just wanting to sell you a tractor.

For what you want to do, I would look at a 2wd TN or 5000 series JD. Your price should be in the $15k range. If you want to plant the land yourself you would have $5k to buy equipment with. A 3-14 plow would cost you around $3-400, a 8-10' disc would cost you around $1k for a decent one that you can use right away, and for $500-$1k you can get a 4 row IH 56 planter to plant your fields. You will want to find someone to harvest your crop before you get involved buying equipment. It does no good to have crops sitting in the field that no one wants to harvest.

To be honest though, for the size operation you have you would be better served talking to another farm about working your land for you. They will toss you a few dollars if your land is good and you keep your tax status without spending $20k. If you are planning on adding more land then you can buy the equipment now but remember that as your opertion grows, so does your equipment needs. I guess it comes down to if spending $20k will make you happy then do it (everyone should own a tractor /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif), but if you are only buying this equipment to save some tax money figure out how much you will save if any and how long it will take to recoup your investment.

Another option would be to get into vegetables. They require more work but you make more money per acre in vegetables then row crops so you don't have to farm as much ground as the row croppers do to make some money. Talk to some vegetable growers in your area and ask them for advice. Around here I am lucky as I can grow almost anything and get a lot of advice from the large farms and help as well. All I need to do is plan my crops with thiers so when harvest comes up I am worked into their schedule. Good luck to you.

 

[Varmintmist]

I think the NH guy is on the money. Talk to the neighboring farms and go to a feed store. You can find someone to put something on your ground. If the ground is pretty decent you will get a guy wanting to make hay on it. Good hay has been hard to get the last couple years because of the rain. If you want to you can get a smaller tractor and help out raking and tedding if the farmer will let you /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Most places you wont show a profit leasing the land, but the land wont turn fallow with someone putting hay on it.

 

[RickO]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(

My price range is under $20,000 so used might be my best option.

)</font>

You can buy a really nice tractor and FEL for under $20,000 and just pick up used implements here and there. Look around for a while and check out some implements that you would want to be able to use and then size your tractor accordingly. Don't go under 35 HP for that much land.

Also, there are some really good deals on slightly used tractors that come up once in a while if your patient.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

We lease 32 acres to the farmer down the road. Part of that 32 acres is my backyard, it gives most of the property my home is on the agricultural property tax rate, my home occupies just about 10 acres, I think I get the ag rate for all but 1 acre where the house actually sits. The 32 acres is more than we want to mess with, the income on the 32 acres is minimal but it is enough to pay the taxes, insurance and maintain the ditches, etc.

I'd suggest you might want to listen to some of the other folks and talk to a farmer about leasing some/all of the 15 acres rather than farming it yourself . . . unless you WANT to do some farming. And I've been considering taking over all/part of the 32 acres that we lease out, if I do, I'll be looking at nothing smaller than 40/45hp and that would actually be inadequate but hey, I'm not a REAL farmer! For 15 acres, IF you really WANT to farm, I think the folks who recommended used 45hp would be pretty much on target based on my fairly rudimentary research.

 

[Jersey_Joe]

Thanks Robert, Varmintmist, Rick, and Bob.

I think I will talk to some of the local farmers about working the land. Sounds like I was more than a little naïve about what it would take to work the land myself. Maybe some day.

Thanks again for the good advice on the right equipment and the honest thoughts about the practical side.

 

[tough451]

See you are smarter than you think at least you asked before you spent . Now you can take your time and still maybe buy yourself a tractor one day. On my tractor is where I feel closest to the man up stair's,and can forget most of lifes problems.
Good luck too you in the choices you make. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Varmintmist]

Now what you need to do is buy a tractor so that you can maintain the land. Mowing sides of fields, keeping it accessable, writing off the cost /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.............. You dont want to MAKE money ....

There is no reason that you cant use a machine, just trying to "farm" that much will cost you a lot more than you will get back. To save your farm assesment, lease it out.

Later, as a hobby or for fun, put in punkins and get a tractor to take kids on hayrides in Oct. Heck, take 2-3 acres and do that now, lease the rest.

 

[RickO]

Varmintmist is right... you still want to get a tractor and save yourself a little land to play around with at least 3 or 4 acres.

I can speak from experience, when someone has crops on your land you feel it is not really your land because you have to respect their crops and stay off of it. But if you have a few acres to mess around on it won't be so bad.

 

[Jersey_Joe]

Thanks Tough, Varmintmist, Rick;

I was relived to some extent by the thought of leasing the land, but also a little disappointed too. “Everyone should own a tractor”.

Now I have something more manageable to look forward to.

This site is good and you guys are GREAT!