First Tractor Purchase for 100 Acre Property

[ddivinia]

Thanks to all of you for some terrific thoughts! To answer some of your questions:

The mowing is for 1-2 x a year before spraying for weeds in our pasture 60 acres horse pasture. This pasture does not have enough water to become a hay field.
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Not that bad. You will want the largest mower you can get. I went with a MX-6 so I could haul it easily. You may want to look at your options there. The MX-8 is a lot more money (more blades, gear boxes, etc).



The haying is in a 40 acre creek basin area, which can be very wet and has gotten many a tractor stuck while trying to cut the hay.
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What kind of bales are they making?

If the price is right and the hay people are reliable - you may be better off letting them do it. Maybe you rake it and save some money or something or for the fun of it.,



The snow can be horrendous on our 1700 ft driveway with huge drifts. I have watched hired tractors with loaders, tractors with plows, and a tractor with a snow blower come through. The snow blower was definitely the fastest and did the least damage to our gravel drive (he kept it about 2" off the ground).
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I don't have any experience with this aspect. It sounds like a snow blower makes sense. A cab tractor for sure.



Therefore the priority is the driveway, then typical horse property duties, then the mowing and maybe the haying in the future.
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What kind of horse duties?

Do you need to do any finish mowing - yard?


Are we still way off base if we go to a 4720 instead of the 4320? I priced a 5225 and while it looks to be the answer, it it easily another $10k.

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You should look at the horsepower requirements of the snow blower and other implements. That will really drive your 4320 vs. 4720 decision. They are essentiall the same tractor.

If you don't plan on haying - take the $10K savings from teh 5225 and buy implements.

There are lot of options on these tractors. Once you decide on the tractor, you will want to sort thru them.

D.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I would guess that the 4710's turning radius would be a big plus in horse operations. Haying is very expensive and its usually cheaper to let someone else with the capitol buy the equipment. It would pull an 8' double bladed mower too.

I think deere builds a 59" snow blower front mount that the 4710 would easily handle. Sure beats neck craning a rear mount model.

 

[Grrrr]

I respectfully disagree - this would require you to average 5.4mph in mowing, with no overlap of rows and no time lost in turning, nor any time lost in passing over mowed areas while turning or maneuvering. I find I can't go much over 4mph on my fields, not for lack of power (I have 2x what I need for my 6' mower) but because the field is too bumpy to go faster without beating up me and the equipment. Also, I tend to overlap 6-12", not because I want to but because my current skill level doesn't let me get all the grass without some overlap. And I do lose time going over mowed areas while turning corners. Some of this will get better with skill and experience, but it won't all magically improve. On bumpy fields, and assuming adequate PTO hp, I only expect 2- 2.5 acres/hour with a 6' mower. YMMV

Well...

I guess I just drive fast

Mowing the 'set aside' fields (ones that aren't being intesively farmed and used) I averaged about 9 MPH.

I was using a Massey Feguson 135, I found this speed was about right. I could have gone faster, but third high on the 135 is really fast and just made the ride too bumpy.

Admittantly the growth wasn't massive, about a foot of grass / weeds, but still made the tractor work. I mow in circles so the cutter is cutting most of the time.

I have some videos of it, if I ever get around to uploading them.

We normally use a 10 foot cutter which seems to cover the ground a lot faster. It has a bad bearing at the moment.

 

[ddivinia]

Mowing the 'set aside' fields (ones that aren't being intesively farmed and used) I averaged about 9 MPH.
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That is cruising. On my new pastures that I have been working to get smooth I can cruise at 10MPH with hay bales on front and rear. With a 15' mower, I don't think it will mow very good at that speed.

I mow in circles and run around 7mph or so.

D.

 

[Grrrr]

Mowing the 'set aside' fields (ones that aren't being intesively farmed and used) I averaged about 9 MPH.
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That is cruising. On my new pastures that I have been working to get smooth I can cruise at 10MPH with hay bales on front and rear. With a 15' mower, I don't think it will mow very good at that speed.

I mow in circles and run around 7mph or so.

D.

The fields are all flat as a pancake because they are on a floodplain which floods evey year. Forgot to mention that.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I guess I'm a slowpoke. The big field I'm mowing was disked and repeatedly dragged this spring, but is still a bit rough (plenty of rocks we haven't yet picked up, too). It also has some very shallow gulleys that, if I go too fast across them, can slam the mower up; not good. I do have some technique left to learn.

I carry round bales at only about 3-4mph on fields, and maybe 6-7mph on our gravel driveway. YMMV!

 

[ddivinia]

You aren't going that slow. Speed can be ugly sometimes - easy to tear stuff up or worse.

I have the suspension system on my JOhn Deere 542 FEL. It really smooths out the bumps when I am moving hay.

D.

 

[mjncad]

Any opinions on a proper sized tractor for 35-acres of relatively flat former dry land wheat field? Note, I use my loader with ballast box the most and a HST is a must for me. The next most used implement is my Bush Hog followed by my rear blade.

 

[Soundguy]

when i had 5-6' mowers i did the circles.. but now with the 10'15' mowers I makes oposing stripes.. seems to have less overlap.. etc... ( my field is rectangular.. etc.. )

Mowing the 'set aside' fields (ones that aren't being intesively farmed and used) I averaged about 9 MPH.
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That is cruising. On my new pastures that I have been working to get smooth I can cruise at 10MPH with hay bales on front and rear. With a 15' mower, I don't think it will mow very good at that speed.

I mow in circles and run around 7mph or so.

D.

 

[Grrrr]

when i had 5-6' mowers i did the circles.. but now with the 10'15' mowers I makes oposing stripes.. seems to have less overlap.. etc... ( my field is rectangular.. etc.. )

This is the same way that we do most other tractor tasks like power harrowing, rolling, seeding, silage cutting etc.

The longer the field the more effective it is. Also, the wider the implement the easier the headland turning is. Having a trailed implement also helps with keeping the turns tight.

The combine driver that did our wheat this year was aiming for just a few centimetres overlap on a 30 foot header. Talk about precision farming

 

[Soundguy]

I can keep a pretty straight row and all, and rarely leave an uncut strip.. but I've seen some people that are true artists when it comes to driving m to large to extra large farm equipment. It's neat to watch a big combine go down and make an almost perfect seamless run.

Soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I farmed 188 acres of my own and as much as 75 acres of rental ground for over 35 years. I bought and sold used tractors, using some of them along the way. But for the most part, I took care of the place with tractors smaller than 70 hp. (67/40/47 at first, then 60/40/47hp most of the years) For a very short while, I had a 110hp mfwd tractor that was simply overkill for the amount of ground I farmed.

Nowdays, I run a mowing business. 40 to 45 hp/6' mower combinations will cover approx. 2-1/2 acres per hour on average. 60hp/8' will cover 3 to 3-1/4 acres per hour. (In average conditions, relatively mild terrain) I now own a 95 hp tractor w/ 15' batwing mower also. 6 to 8 acres per hour in most conditions, SOMETIMES more. Mowing at speeds over 5mph is very much out of the ordinary. Besides being unsafe, results suffer. The exception would be mowing with a disc mower. They cut nice at higher ground speeds.

No one says you have to mow the entire place, start to finish, all at one time. I kept my pastures mowed with a 6' or 7' mower. These days I live on 45 acres. I still mow with a 6' mower and 47 hp tractor. I never spend more than 5 or 6 hours at a stretch, mowing the place in stages. Even at that, the place is always well cared for.

If you have aspirations of someday getting into doing your own haying, settle for NO LESS than 45 hp for small squares, and 60 hp (min.) for future round baling. You can "get by" with less, but that's exactly what you'll be doing.... getting by.

I grew up on a farm too. My father took care of his 265 acres primarily with a 32 hp tractor. (I still have it)

With 100 acres, you have room for bigger equipment/higher hp. But taking care of 100 acres with medium sized equipment isn't at all out of the realm of possibility.

Now, for personal opinion. If I was starting from scratch today, and I had 100 acres to tend to, I'd look at something in the 60 to 70 hp range, MFWD most likely but not an absolute. Implements for that size tractor aren't too outragously expensive. You should be able to find good used implements at a reasonable price. I'd be looking at utility tractors as opposed to compacts. Personal recommendation based on what's out there in todays market? Look at the Deere 5X03 series. A lot of tractor for the price. (No, I'm NOT "Deere only".)

 

[ylazyy]

I have learned many new things from all of you kind enough to help us and am AMAZED that you would take the time to do so. We are going to look at both the JD 4720 and the 5X03 series over the next week or so, including low hour used equipment. Since we would hay only the small bails, we think that these would be able to handle it. True?

Last question to bother you with: Will the R1 tires really tear up a fairly dry grass field? We wanted these for the snow problems we have (our neighbor has R4s and is stuck often) but keep hearing that they may be less stable for the tractor and tear up the fields. Should we consider having them filled?

Thanks again - you guys are terrific!

 

[ddivinia]

I have learned many new things from all of you kind enough to help us and am AMAZED that you would take the time to do so. We are going to look at both the JD 4720 and the 5X03 series over the next week or so, including low hour used equipment. Since we would hay only the small bails, we think that these would be able to handle it. True?
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Either one of those tractos will handle a small square baler.


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Last question to bother you with: Will the R1 tires really tear up a fairly dry grass field? We wanted these for the snow problems we have (our neighbor has R4s and is stuck often) but keep hearing that they may be less stable for the tractor and tear up the fields. Should we consider having them filled?
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Fairly dry grass field - R1s will be fine. R4s can be a real pain in the mud. My 4720 has R4s and they are good most of the time except mud. I use it on my yard and they are fine. My 5525 has R1s and they handle the mud fine (don't ball up like the R4s) but they are a tad rough on the yard.

In your situation R1s seems like the right answer.

4720 cab seems to be the best all around for your needs.

D.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I have learned many new things from all of you kind enough to help us and am AMAZED that you would take the time to do so. We are going to look at both the JD 4720 and the 5X03 series over the next week or so, including low hour used equipment. Since we would hay only the small bails, we think that these would be able to handle it. True?

Last question to bother you with: Will the R1 tires really tear up a fairly dry grass field? We wanted these for the snow problems we have (our neighbor has R4s and is stuck often) but keep hearing that they may be less stable for the tractor and tear up the fields. Should we consider having them filled?

Thanks again - you guys are terrific!

I tried my best to stay off of any hayfields when they weren't fairly dry. (Driving on wet ground is a major contributor to soil compaction, as well as wet ground is more susceptable to tire damage.) I never had anything but R-1's. No issues to report. No problems with stability regarding R-1's, so long as they're properly inflated. Same applies to all tire types. Unless I was going to use a tractor almost exclusively as a "lawn tractor" or in an industrial application, I'd personally not have any use for R-4's. By my way of thinking, poor or reduced traction is more apt to cause damage to turf. You don't see very many fulltime farmers using R-4's on their hayin' tractors for that very reason. Give me R-1's every time.

Almost every tractor I've ever been around was weighted to a minimum in "stock" form. They fell short of their capabilities (traction under drawbar loads) without some added ballast. Filling tires is argueably the best and cheapest way to add ballast. Cast iron wheel weights add the weight, but don't do as much to add stability. (Filled tires lowers center of gravity) I've tried it both ways and much prefer fluid filled tires over cast weights. You'll find a few contradictory opinions, but by a wide majority, you'll find MOST farm tractors (owned/used by full time farmers) ballasted with fluid in the tires. In some cases, BOTH fluid AND cast weights are used. (Many "old school" farmers tended to over ballast tractors to get more pulling ability from less tractor. )

IMHO, the 4000 series Deere's should be able to handle a baler on a sustained basis. The 5000 series would be better, again, IMHO. Balers tend to be a little rough on lighter built tractors. (internal drivetrain/pto components)

My advice? You want to do "farm work", get a "farm tractor". (as opposed to a compact) No need to go over-kill, but a bigger, stronger tractor will withstand hard use over the long haul much better than marginally sized units as a rule of thumb.

 

[Grrrr]

Last question to bother you with: Will the R1 tires really tear up a fairly dry grass field? We wanted these for the snow problems we have (our neighbor has R4s and is stuck often) but keep hearing that they may be less stable for the tractor and tear up the fields. Should we consider having them filled?

I have never seen a tractor with anything but R1's in the UK (except for highway tractors)

I don't think you will have problems tearing up grass. If the fields is wet the will leave ruts but nothing too drastic.

A lot depends on how you drive. If you go tearing across as wet grass field at 25 mph you will tear it up. If you go slowly it will be a lot less noticable.

You will be glad of R1's when you come to doing anything where it is wet and muddy. I think 4's would just turn into slicks when put in sticky mud.

If I was looking at two tractors like you I would go with the biggest one. It will allow you to do much more in the future should you decide to go into haying or animals etc. With 100ac having too much power shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Soundguy]

I'm not a green guy by far.. but have you seen the 5103.. looks like pretty decent hp per$.. etc..

Soundguy

I'd be looking at utility tractors as opposed to compacts. Personal recommendation based on what's out there in todays market? Look at the Deere 5X03 series. A lot of tractor for the price. (No, I'm NOT "Deere only".)

 

[Soundguy]

"wet' fields, and soft, deep. ball-bearing sand is what will 'print' with R-1

My tractors almost all have r-1 and i don't notice any problems except in the 2 mentiond soil types / areas.

soundguy

I have learned many new things from all of you kind enough to help us and am AMAZED that you would take the time to do so. We are going to look at both the JD 4720 and the 5X03 series over the next week or so, including low hour used equipment. Since we would hay only the small bails, we think that these would be able to handle it. True?

Last question to bother you with: Will the R1 tires really tear up a fairly dry grass field? We wanted these for the snow problems we have (our neighbor has R4s and is stuck often) but keep hearing that they may be less stable for the tractor and tear up the fields. Should we consider having them filled?

Thanks again - you guys are terrific!

 

[Soundguy]

IMHO, the 4000 series Deere's should be able to handle a baler on a sustained basis. The 5000 series would be better, again, IMHO. Balers tend to be a little rough on lighter built tractors. (internal drivetrain/pto components) .

FWJ touched on an important issue.

in many cases, it is not just pto hp that is needed for an implement. It is tractor weight / mass.

A lightweight tractor that has more than sufficeient pto hp for a bailer can be jerked and tossed around and produce wore results from a heavier and slightly lower hp tractor... etc.

A ford 860 or early 63-64 4cyl 4000 had the pto hp to run some bailers.. but it was more preferable to run a later ( 1965+ ) 4000 to get the extra tractor weight and size..

soundguy

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'm not a green guy by far.. but have you seen the 5103.. looks like pretty decent hp per$.. etc..

Soundguy

The entire series of 5X03 Deere's seem to be a lot of tractor for the buck compared to what's out there from Deere and other brands. The second generation of 5X03 tractors is nothing short of a bargain.