Looking for All-In one tractor

[Wade2370]

Im new to this site and need some advice. My mother and I have around 200 acres and looking for an "All in One" tractor to do just about anything with. We will be dealing with mostly hay and some plowing (not heavy plows). What we are looking at right now is a Kubota m7040/cab/4WD/loader. Will that do what we want. We mostly want to do round and square bales. There will be times to take this across the county and help others with their hay fields. Any comments about the m7040? Im 6' 7" and shes around 5' 10". Im thinking the cab because she can be more comfortable when out in the Summer.

We are in Madison, GA

 

[flusher]

Im new to this site and need some advice. My mother and I have around 200 acres and looking for an "All in One" tractor to do just about anything with. We will be dealing with mostly hay and some plowing (not heavy plows). What we are looking at right now is a Kubota m7040/cab/4WD/loader. Will that do what we want. We mostly want to do round and square bales. There will be times to take this across the county and help others with their hay fields. Any comments about the m7040? Im 6' 7" and shes around 5' 10". Im thinking the cab because she can be more comfortable when out in the Summer.

We are in Madison, GA

Is that 200 acres of hay? If so, I would think that the M7040 is on the small side. My neighbor farms about 200 acres of hayfield using 100-175 hp tractors including this 165 hp Steiger Super Wildcat.



You need lotsa horsepower to handle 20+ ft-wide implements you'll need to efficiently farm that much acreage.





Like a lot of farmers, haying is my neighbor's 2nd shift and weekend job. So he needs large equipment to get the planting and harvesting jobs done quickly and efficiently. Harvesting hay can be especially time-critical because of variable weather conditions so speed is essential.

 

[beenthere]

Welcome to the forum.
I suggest you visit a local dealer that you feel comfortable with (and has good recommendations from neighbors) and get a feel for what is used in that area.
(You may not be as green at this as you sound in your opening. )
One tractor on that size farm, I think, will likely be rather cumbersome. But that will be something your dealer (whom you will need as a good friend when equipment fails) can help you with. I've a dealer who will quickly send in a piece of equipment if something fails. That would be good back-up for you, in case the hay is down and some minor part has failed.

What kind of equipment have you operated in the past for this farming endeavor with you and Mom?

 

[Soundguy]

As others are saying.. with that much property.. I doubt you will find a single do-all tractor.

I'd be thinking of a ag tractor inthe 90-150hp range, and another in the 60-70 hp range.. the smalle rone should have the loader.. etc.. the big one for the mowers, plows, bailers.. etc.

if it's all crop and no general mowing.. then perhaps only 90-95 hp on the top end.. and 50 on the bottom end..

soundguy

 

[E/S]

Im new to this site and need some advice. My mother and I have around 200 acres and looking for an "All in One" tractor to do just about anything with. We will be dealing with mostly hay and some plowing (not heavy plows). What we are looking at right now is a Kubota m7040/cab/4WD/loader. Will that do what we want. We mostly want to do round and square bales. There will be times to take this across the county and help others with their hay fields. Any comments about the m7040? Im 6' 7" and shes around 5' 10". Im thinking the cab because she can be more comfortable when out in the Summer.

We are in Madison, GA

The m series kubota is a great piece of equipment; you will find it more than capable in most situations. You and your mother will love the cab, I am 6'2" and the wife is 5'11" and we fit just fine.
The one thing I would urge you to consider is to go with an m8540 or bigger. The reason is that they are turbocharged, reducing the power loss due to altitude changes.
Good luck with your tractor and welcome to TBN.
E/S

 

[LBrown59]

Im new to this site and need some advice. My mother and I have around 200 acres and looking for an "All in One" tractor to do just about anything with. We will be dealing with mostly hay and some plowing (not heavy plows). What we are looking at right now is a Kubota m7040/cab/4WD/loader. Will that do what we want. We mostly want to do round and square bales. There will be times to take this across the county and help others with their hay fields. Any comments about the m7040? Im 6' 7" and shes around 5' 10". Im thinking the cab because she can be more comfortable when out in the Summer.

We are in Madison, GA

There is no such thing.

 

[dawoodwa]

Wade, I live about 50 miles south of you in Forsyth. I suggest that you get something a little bigger with a cab for baling and a smaller open station for raking and tedding. Most everyone around here uses and 85 to 95 horse tractor to pull their balers but most pull the big Vermeer and JD balers. You can round bale with the 7040 but you will have to drop back to the medium size bales. Personally speaking, I always prefered the medium size bales, easier to handle and a lot easier on the front end of the tractor while moving them with the loader. I also suggest getting a 9' disc mower with caddy, at least an 8 wheel V rake, and a tedder in the 18' to 20' range.

When you farm 200 acres of hay you are not in the "hobby" range any longer, it is a lot of work and some long hours at times. You will probably get 3 or 4 cuttings depending on how much rain we get, this year was a lot of rain but not good curing weather. Don't skimp on the baler, if you have to get a used tractor to get a good baler it is worth it in my opinion.




You don't need a Stieger in Ga, you don't need a turbo just because of altitude changes, you don't need 20'+ equipment to farm 200 acres.

 

[D7E]

A versatile Bi-directional is certainly "all in one" and up to 140hp on the new ones but i'd rather have 2 tractors for 200 acres...

 

[Snead Tractor LLC]

Im new to this site and need some advice. My mother and I have around 200 acres and looking for an "All in One" tractor to do just about anything with. We will be dealing with mostly hay and some plowing (not heavy plows). What we are looking at right now is a Kubota m7040/cab/4WD/loader. Will that do what we want. We mostly want to do round and square bales. There will be times to take this across the county and help others with their hay fields. Any comments about the m7040? Im 6' 7" and shes around 5' 10". Im thinking the cab because she can be more comfortable when out in the Summer.

We are in Madison, GA

Wade,
Welcome to the site. I'm a Kubota and MF dealer not very far from you. We just sold a new Cab M7040 right on the other side of Augusta last Monday. The M7040 is a great size tractor for the hay operation. There are a lot of those units out there in the hay fields. However, if you are going to use your loader to stack hay or anything of that nature, you are going to have put fluid in the rear tires. Again this unit will work in the hay fields, but it's on the smaller end.

As far as plowing, its really hard to say without knowing what size plow you are going to use. Putting fluid in the rear tires would be a must.


I know you are going to get a lot of opinions on what people thing you should go with, but in this application I would consider the 9540 to be more the "All in One" tractor over the M7040. I would not consider the M8540. Money wise you are better off to get the M7040 or M9540.
I think you would me much happier with the 9540.

Also, if you would like for us to quote you a 7040, 8540, or 9540 tractor, just let me know. Like I said we sold an M7040 on the GA/SC line and hauled it to the customer, and we were still cheaper.

 

[Snead Tractor LLC]

We are on the AL/GA line by the way

 

[piller]

I'm not far from you, we have a 120 acre farm in East TN, I've got a Kubota M8540HD open station.

I chose the 8540, for just a little more than the price of the 7040 I moved up to a larger frame tractor, more power, better hydraulics, more 3 point lift, transmission parking brake, stronger loader, bigger tires, etc. The 8540 is the same tractor as the 9540 except the engine makes about 10 HP less and the standard tires are different.

If I had the budget or was a full time farmer or was going to get a cab I would probably go with the 9540 and get radial tires. Then I would pick up a smaller second tractor.

Since you are 6' 7" tall you need to make sure that the tractor/cab will fit you well.

 

[BruceWard]

When I was a kid we farmed 540 acres with close to 400 cattle often harvesting hay from hundreds of other farmers acres with a MF-35 and and Ford 4100. Only the 4100 had a loader. A M7040 seems like a great tractor to me. No matter how fast you can cut and rake the hay with a bigger tractor you are still going to be bailing them one at a time and picking them up one at a time. I would rather have 40HP tractors than one giant one.

 

[D7E]

Yes my family farmed 300 acres with 3 fordson majors "once upon a time" but weather was a little more predictable then and the round bale had never been heard of...I would'nt want to lift 1600lb bales with a 50hp tractor and they would'nt reach high enough to load a truck anyway...You don't need new.. a pair of 1980's tractors in the 100-120hp mark would be fine.

 

[Soundguy]

When I was a kid we farmed 540 acres with close to 400 cattle often harvesting hay from hundreds of other farmers acres with a MF-35 and and Ford 4100. Only the 4100 had a loader. A M7040 seems like a great tractor to me. No matter how fast you can cut and rake the hay with a bigger tractor you are still going to be bailing them one at a time and picking them up one at a time. I would rather have 40HP tractors than one giant one.

I wouldn't want to be stuck with a single 40hp tractor on 200 ac with hay making duties.. for one.. you will wear it out lifting huge round bales on that machine.. plus it will take forever with only 1 mid sized machine... I use a 45hp tractor to move round bales at my place.. and it is not what i would call ideal.. it is 'satisfactory' at most..... I'd move the bales with the 70 or 95 hp machine.. but they don't have loaders so I'd be using a 3pt spear.. and i much prefer a loader so I can dump hay over fences .. etc..

soundguy

 

[flusher]

When I was a kid we farmed 540 acres with close to 400 cattle often harvesting hay from hundreds of other farmers acres with a MF-35 and and Ford 4100. Only the 4100 had a loader. A M7040 seems like a great tractor to me. No matter how fast you can cut and rake the hay with a bigger tractor you are still going to be bailing them one at a time and picking them up one at a time. I would rather have 40HP tractors than one giant one.

I agree. That M7040 is a nice machine for the many of the haying tasks-planting with a grain drill, mowing, raking, baling. The neighbor with the Steiger that I mentioned earlier in this thread in fact uses a large Kubota cab tractor for these chores.

I mentioned my neighbor's Steiger only in relation to tilling tasks since the OP didn't specify whether he intends to plant a hay crop or just harvest the native grass. Tilling 200 acres, IMHO, is better done with really big iron, especially if, like the OP, you already have another 40-hour/week job.

 

[Aqualize]

The thread starter now have a Ford 3000 (signature) and want to buy a tractor that by todays standard is a small agricultral tractor and he calls himself (signature) small farmer. On top of this he expect having time to do baling work for others. While having 200 acres?
Is it just me or does it sound very strange? Perhaps a typo, not 200 but 20 acres?

 

[ovrszd]

There's a lot of variation in "hay operations". I would think these variations would need clarity before anyone could offer a suggestion to what tractor is needed. In my neck of the woods a 200 acre hay operation is small and wouldn't require much.

Secondly the OP already has a very useful light duty tractor that sips fuel.