How much $$ to plow and disk

[Pooh_Bear]

I was out in the yard today and a guy stopped by and told me he had seen my bottom plow sitting there and was I interesting in selling it. I told him I couldn't sell it since I use it sometimes but since he is a neighbor (close by) he was welcome to borrow it if he wanted. He declined borrowing it, said he hated to borrow stuff. We talked for a bit. He said he had contacted someone about plowing his garden spot for him but the guy didn't get back to him yet. I asked him what was it worth to him to get it plowed and neither one of us knows the going rate. But if he didn't hear from the other guy he would call me.
This won't be a very big garden spot. Probably not much bigger than mine.
And it is completely flat with no obstructions. It got cut for hay last year.

I'd almost be willing to do it for gas money and any broken shear pins.
Maybe find something I need done and trade him for the work.
What would the going rate be for say, 50x100 feet, no rocks, trees, etc.
The guy lives 5 houses down the road from me. So I just hook up the plow
and drive it to his house and back when I finish. Real easy job to do.

So if he comes back and asks, what should I tell him.

Pooh Bear

1949 8N, turning (bottom) plow, 5 foot disk harrow.

 

[Onthesauk]

5 houses down it's worth it to do it for nothing just to get to meet another neighbor.

 

[coobie]

Tell him just cover the gas money.Good neighbors who like tractors are hard to find.LOL.coobie

 

[johnk]

I.m with Onthesauk.
If he lives that close it doesn't hurt to do a favor. At least you'll see what your neighbors made of. If he offers you something don't take it. He's proven to be a good neighbor. If he offers you nothing move on and chock it up to experience. It's not like a whole daqys work for a plot that big...Just my opinion....

 

[keving]

5 houses down it's worth it to do it for nothing just to get to meet another neighbor.

I agree with Onthesauk. It's a great way to build up neighborhood relations. You never know when you will need their help!

 

[Pooh_Bear]

Sounds like a winner with me.
Gas money only and a shear pin (if it breaks).

I've done a lot of jobs like that and the payback
is always a lot more than I could have charged.
Goodwill is something money can't buy.

Pooh Bear

 

[JC-jetro]

Sounds like a winner with me.
Gas money only and a shear pin (if it breaks).

I've done a lot of jobs like that and the payback
is always a lot more than I could have charged.
Goodwill is something money can't buy.

Pooh Bear

Pooh, a little bit of PR goes a long way and it's good for the soul. You never know maybe he returns your favor down the road and then some.

JC

 

[Soundguy]

I agree.. that close.. that's a lunch and gas money kind of thing.. great way to mee extended neighbors.

soundguy

 

[IslandTractor]

I'll jump in and agree too. I am often asked by neighbors to use my grapple to move piles of brush or clear out a little area of brush etc. It takes me 10 minutes to do something while I sit on my tractor that would be messy and take them the better part of an afternoon to do by hand. I've earned lots of free beer and pleasant conversation as well as good will by just doing these sorts of things. We now have a neighborhood understanding that piles of brush may just disappear when I get the chance. No words spoken at all. Got a few buckets of clams, blueberries and other simply unrequested non monetary favors/payback in return. "Good fences make good neighbors" up here in New England but neighborly deeds have rewards too.

 

[bbirder]

Ask what he is planting. Might get some good veggies out of the deal!

 

[greggh]

Before I bought my tractor, I had a guy (not a neighbor) plow my acreage. he charged me around $15 per acre. He said he could plow about 2 acres per hour. At the time it sounded like a good deal for a small acreage. I only had 15 acres.

 

[Soundguy]

A few years ago I paid a neighbor down the road to disc up my 10ac pasture for me.. he has a heavy 12' travel disc.. I only paid 150$ for it and was glad to.. My little 6' disc would have taken forever!

soundguy

 

[Aquaman]

No charge. If he insists on paying for it, tell him to drop it in the plate next Sunday

 

[WSJ]

My 2 cents worth, since I'm considering the same sort of things: I'm new to the neighborhood and have been over to the one neighbor's a couple times this winter to help him move wooodchips for his little horse barn and have box bladed/filled some mid-winter thaw ruts for him. I've got a Kioti CK 25 & loader & BH and a tiller and box blade and landscape rake and I'm going to bet I'm the best thing my neighbor's seen move into the neighborhood lately!

That said, they're nice friendly folks who just don't happen to have a tractor yet (but probably will at some point) and I certainly don't mind helping out. They've always offered to help us. He's got a snowplow on his second truck and was almost put out when I told him he didn't need him to plow my driveway for me! But I've got the Kioti and a snowblower on a JD GT245 (and I drive a Toyota 4x4) so I'm not exactly in danger of getting snowed in.

I probably wouldn't charge him if he needed something but I did think I should get some "light tractor work" business cards printed up. With prices. That way I could pass them out to the neighbors and tell them to let their friends and relatives know. And if they want somethig done they'll expect to pay for it. And I can not charge them, or give them the reduced "neighbor" rate, at my discretion. I guess I'd rather either charge someone what I think a job's worth or do it for free, as opposed to doing it for "fuel or shear pins," just so it's my decision about what I do witih my toys and for how much.

As for prices, I wouldn't think $75 out of line at all to rototill a 50' x 75' garden that I could drive to, if it had been a garden previously. A new plot, not previously tilled, might be more. -WSJ