too much tractor

pearson1662 · Dec 2, 2011

I am looking to buy my first tractor which will primarily be used for putting in food plots for deer. We will be putting in about ten acres of wheat, peas, and turnips in the fall and maybe some beans and wheat in the spring. Do you think an IH 460 is "too much" tractor?

crazyal · Dec 2, 2011

Welcome to TBN.

Unless the land is where you plan on keeping the tractor I would make sure you stay at a size level you feel you can tow. Tractor data has the weight of a 460 at 5000lbs and up. Tractor weight can increase real fast. I'm not familiar with IH tractors but I would start by adding up the numbers for the tractor, a loader if it has one, any ballast, and attachments.

As for doing the ground work you're talking about on 10 acres of land bigger will mean faster. I've never done that kind of work so I can't tell you how much faster though.

knightrider955 · Dec 3, 2011

The IH 460 is a 60 hp tractor. Thats alot of tractor for 10 acres but it will definatly do the job. The weight of it doesnt matter unless you're planning on hauling it on a trailer. That 460 should do everything you need it to with no problems. You could pull a 3 bottom plow easily.

Gary Fowler · Dec 3, 2011

When I was young and on the farm, my neighbor had a 460 tricycle front end and used it to farm 80 acres with. It will pull a 4 row disc. We didnt use bottom plows so dont know how many it would pull. But that is a full Ag tractor so it will weigh more than a comparable CUT of the same HP.
Those came with a 2 point quick connect, so be sure you have a 3 point adapter with it OR that it comes with the equipment with the 2 point connects that you plan to use. Those 2 point connects may be hard to find now as they didnt last very long before 3 point connects replaced them. If I remember right they had a positive down pressure on them. You could actually pick the tractor off the ground with the rear lift if you had it blocked up so you had to finesse the lift to get best traction.

Mark Page · Dec 3, 2011

IMHO I would stay with something around 45-50 hp. I use 45 hp Massey to turn over my feed plot with a 3 bottom plow and it dosen't miss a lick. Low range 4th gear. I would ballast the tires as traction is more of a problem than power. As soon as the ground thaws turn it over then again in the opposite direction a week before you seed.
My neighbor has a 65 horse Deutz, the thing is a beast and way more than he needs.

TrenaryDucks · Dec 3, 2011

I think a lot depends on the tractor's price, condition and availability of parts. The tractor in question only tested seven hp more on the pto, and one hp less on the drawbar than my 6000 lb, 47 hp Agri-Power 5000 (aka Zetor 5011) as per tractordata.com. I use mine primarily for my pastured poultry operation, but in the winter I seem to pull people out of ditches. It also works my seven foot snowblower just fine. Too big? No, around here they just call it a utility tractor. The tractors on the hayfields are generally around 100 hp on up.

jenkinsph · Dec 3, 2011

Over forty years ago my dad had a 460 utility with the torque amplifier tranny on gas. Got to say that was the worst tractor either of us has ever had. Used a tremendous amount of gas, hydraulics always leaking and malfunctioning, with loaded tires it could hardly pull a six ft disc. The hitch was simply terrible to work with, difficult to hook to attachments. IH made some good tractors but imo this wasn't one of them. There are lots of good 2wd older tractors about 50 hp you can find that will be a much better choice.

pearson1662 · Dec 3, 2011

Thanks for your replies. I am persuaded to let this one go on by. I'm not in a hurry. But, I'll be back with more questions. I think the 504 I wasn't ready to buy when it was available might have been a better fit.

Thanks,

Jay

flusher · Dec 4, 2011

pearson1662 said:
I am looking to buy my first tractor which will primarily be used for putting in food plots for deer. We will be putting in about ten acres of wheat, peas, and turnips in the fall and maybe some beans and wheat in the spring. Do you think an IH 460 is "too much" tractor?

I do haying on 6 of my 10 acres with a 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, power steering, gear tranny 8F/2R, triple rear hydraulic remotes) with the ML250 FEL (6-ft wide bucket, 2950 lb lift to 10.5 ft height, skid steer quick attach). For my needs, it's the right size tractor. It pulls a heavy 6.5 ft Towner offset disc (my primary tillage implement) through soft soil with no problem.

wcampbell47 · Dec 17, 2011

TractorData has a mowing chart that calculate the time to mow an area depending on the size of the mower, the speed and the acreage. I don't see why you couldn't use the same chart to calculate discing or plowing time as long as you can plug in those variables.

Using the chart may give you an idea if you wanted a tractor that can only pull a 5' disc or if you wanted to go bigger and pull an 8 or 10 footer. Time is usually something we all run short of.

TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

I used the chart to help me bid a mowing contract recently. I also used it to size the mower and tractor combo.