Tractor Sizing New farm

[CRG]

I have just bought 90 acres with some significant hills in Eastern TN. Looking to cut/bale hay off of about 40 acres of it. What is the best size Kubota for that? Was looking at 5140 but wasn't sure if enough PTO HP. ~CRG

 

[pjbci]

Round bales or square? Reason I ask is a round baler is heavy and hard to pull up a hill. I would want 70hp min for 5x6 rounds, would prefer 80hp.

 

[creekbend]

BTW, Welcome aboard. I was raised in Hawkins County. I used to have an Aunt that lived in Bean Station.

 

[CRG]

Round bales or square? Reason I ask is a round baler is heavy and hard to pull up a hill. I would want 70hp min for 5x6 rounds, would prefer 80hp.

Thanks for the advice on round balers...looks like a bit more tractor needed and will look to that for expansion to cattle. I was looking to bale squares actually; will shred for the mangers in the horse barn. CRG

 

[pjbci]

That tractor should pull a square baler up steep hills with ease. Good luck to ya.

 

[Grateful11]

Thanks for the advice on round balers...looks like a bit more tractor needed and will look to that for expansion to cattle. I was looking to bale squares actually; will shred for the mangers in the horse barn. CRG

Do you have a bale processor, otherwise you shouldn't need to shred small square bales, they come apart in what we call blocks. My wife's operation switched from squares to 4x5' round bales 3 years ago and she'd never go back to squares. She kept the old JD 24T square baler for Straw baling after Combining, squares are definitely easier to bed up stables with but she has yet to use the 24T since going to rounds, they just make really small round bales of Straw. They bale with a 100+hp CaseIH 5140 with a cab, can't imagine round baling without a cab, I know people do it, but the amount of dust from a round baler to tremendous.