A lot of good discussion here. IMHO, probably everybody needs a tractor, but only the serious really want one!
I live on 3+ acres, (1+open, 2- Wooded mixed hardwoods). The soil is heavy clay, with some loam. I have mowed the 1+ acre with a push mower ( 6+hrs) a small Craftsman riding mower (3.5hrs), a Case 446 w/48" deck(2.5hrs), and now my B7300 w/60" MMM (.75hrs). When it is mostly dry it is fine, but If it is wet, it is a nightmare, so I just let it grow. The MMM will cut it back once it dries out. Turf tires work fine most of the time, and I just stay clear when it is really wet. In winter snow, or when working in the woods, I use tire chains.
Would I go back? Never. Once I purchased my B7300 in 2002 (used) with FEL, MMM, bushhog, and snowblower, I never looked back.
So many chores that were manually done are now handled one way or the other with the tractor. Why lift, push, or pull something if you have a tractor that will save you both time and your physical being? As one poster alluded, a tractor is like the power head to a multi-tool. There are so many add-ons that can be had, either new or used. And, as noted in several threads, if you are the only one in the area with a tractor, you will become indispensable. Plus, during a recent state wide power outage, I was one of the few places on my road that had lights and heat, as I had my PTO generator, and the others either had home stand by systems or were farms with PTO generators.
My daughter and her husband, who live 7 miles from me, purchased a piece of property 4 years ago, and this past year purchased an adjoining 7 acres with a pond. It was part of an old apple orchard that is now overgrown and a mess. Their gravel drive is about 500+ foot. They just purchased a JD 3025E with FEL & back blade. He works on the town road crew and is a volunteer fire fighter. My daughter is a working mom with 3 kids. She tends her garden for home use and sales, and raises chickens for eggs to sell.
Both have taken to the tractor like bees to honey. In the few short weeks that they have had it, their driveway is now well graded and there is now decent drainage along side. The land around the pond is now fairly well cleaned up and it is now visible and when they are done, it will have a dry hydrant. They plan to make an area next to it where a fire tanker could back in to load. They are being careful not to disturb some of the natural area around the pond, as in summer, ducks, geese, rabbit, and other wildlife abound. The chickens will soon find that the area around the pond will be a great forage area. They are also going to try to save some of the old apple trees, removing just the dead ones for firewood, as deer and turkey also use the area. There are approximately another 100 acres of old apple orchards on either side of them, so having a somewhat clearer zone in the middle, will make a little wildlife haven. They have a large garden, and now they are looking at a small set of harrows to keep it tilled and smoothed. They are also considering a PTO generator.
Could they get by without a tractor. Sure. Would they want to? Probably not!
