Buying my first tractor

[David Whitesel]

I have been looking for a tractor for quite some time but have been hesitant because I want to increase the possibility of getting a tractor that will serve our purposes.

Just read the article on Buying your first tractor: Choosing the right one.

We are looking for a working tractor for 33 acres of land. 11 acres of wood, 18 acres tillable, and 4 acres of mowing. We need an all purpose tractor that can handle small hills, bush hog, hay balers, front loader, back hoe, etc.

The article mentioned doing research on finding machine that are capable of these tasks. We do I find out this information? Anyone have any suggestions for brands of tractors, size, etc. that will do this?

 

[Hoss In ME]

I would look at a mid size Kubota. Latah,Hoss

 

[IH2444]

How is your terrain ? How much loader work ? Hydros are handy for loader work, or a synchro shuttle shift. 4WD ? What type of tillage do you plan to do ?

round bales or small bales ?

lots of variables.

 

[IH2444]

Also how much back hoe work ? they are not cheap, can be rough on your tractor and a pain to remove to use other rear mounted attachemnts.
Might be cheaper to rent a real back hoe or hire that done.

 

[RobMD]

a utility tractor would be great. I'm thinking John deere 2630, 2440, 2350 or 2355, 2555, all available with ROPS, canopy, Diesel, 60 plus horsepower, and loaders are very well made by Deere. You may run into a few that are from 9,000 to 15,000 bucks with a loader. Parts available from Deere indefinitely. You might also look into international 656 or 826 or 784 tractors. Parts are somewhat available for them.

 

[Anonymous-0]

An old rule of thumb; at least 1 horsepower per acre minimum, whether 1 tractor or 10. I think I would be looking for a 40-60 hp utility tractor with live pto and hydraulic brand determined by dealer proximity, age 1960 and up depending on budget.

 

[Anonymous-0]

IHC 460 with loader will be more than you need, to get started and not a lot of money tied up.

 

[Walt Davies]

You need 3 tractors for what you want to do. For one thing Backhoe and bucket loaders are on a different frame than the plowing disking tractors. You need a large tractor that will pull a plow and disk and a smaller one for the bushog. And a tractor setup for the Backoe, you can get around some of this but you won't ever be happy with the results.
Walt

 

[old]

You will find like Walt says you will need more then one to do it all. No one tractor will ever fit the bill for all jobs. When I do hay I used at least 5 tractors. One for each machine. 2 on the balers I do both square and rounds. Then one for the rake and one of the MOCO and then one to move the rounds. I have 44 acres and about half is in hay the other half woods. I have as of last count 34 tractors on the place and I use all of the runs that run off and on all the time
Hobby farm

 

[Tradititonal Farmer]

First off don't bother with a backhoe.For the money you'll pay for one you can get your backhoe work custom done which comes with an operator that actually can make the backhoe operate like it should and do a nice job.'Everybody' THINKS they can operate a backhoe few really have the skills.
Since you have never owned a tractor I would think you need something operator friendly and I take you don't want an on going mechanical project.Neighbor in your situation bought an AGCO
ST 41 (41HP) with 4WD and a loader real nice tractor that will easily handle what you want it to do.
Its new and he paid $17,000 for it.If you're going to buy used have an independent mechanic throughly check out the tractor as the used tractor market makes the used automobile market look like a Sunday School.Only have to read back
a couple month's worth of post here to see first tractor buyers that were really snuckered hard on their first tractor.

 

[T-Rev]

He wants to do it himself, and I can"t blame him. Only way to learn backhoe skills is by doing. Needs to get himself a good 4020 sized that"ll do it all, backhoe, bale, and pull a slightly bigger bushhog.

Bachhoe rental is very expensive, $2000/month with our company discount, doesn"t include delivery, fuel, and minor maintenance. Hiring someone is high too. Mount that sucker on there once and dig without being too rough, your tractor is a a working farm tractor, not a collectible. Dig all you want, then take it off. It is a pain, so try to do all you need while you have it on. When you"re done sell it, you can do most anything a small farmer would need with the loader after that.

 

[T-Rev]

I don't want to disagree with you guys, but he's wanting to get started with just the necessary stuff, and I don't want to scare him away:

He could get everything he needs in decent shape for less than $20,000. Get an older "farm tractor" from the 60's or 70's. Maybe a John Deere 3020, 4020, 4030, or other brand equivalent. They're built heavier and will last forever on small acreage. You can do everything you described with one machine. Most guys don't bale with one tractor, but you just switch from one implement to the next. Grandpa rehabilitated a run down farm, ran 20 acres hay and 20 head of cattle with one 60 hp tractor for 30 years.

I read a University of Illinois study on the practicality of farming several hundred acres of grain with one 100 hp tractor. You could do it.

 

[jm.old]

See this request almost daily and do a pretty good job of making this kind of guy happy with KUBOTA in this county last year under 100 hp 46% of the tractors sold were KUBOTAs so something must be right.

 

[matt a]

get a farmall h or m with a wide front they will work well and last forever just look at how many are still running today

 

[Tradititonal Farmer]

A really large number sold of something usually means its cheap especially this day and time.

 

[Anonymous-0]

You don't need anything bigger than about 60 H.P. An MF 100 series or 200 series in the 35 to 65 H.P. class would be an excellent choice. 3 pt. hitch for sure and Perkins Diesel would be preferable. About the only one that's less desirable would be a 235. They aren't a bad tractor but had some power steering issues. They were only made a couple years and upgraded to the 245 which has better steering. 135, 150, 165, 175, 230, 245, 255,265, 240, 250 etc. A tractor approaching 100 H.P. is overkill in my opinion and would just waste fuel. Dave

 

[none needed]

im not a farmer or know what im talking about half the time
but my thought is, buy yourself a Good M or even a Super M for the loader tractor can be gotten for 15-2500 with loader, then find yourself something for the fields that way u dont have a bulky heavy loader to put on & take off all the time & belive me That M will be the handest thing u will ever own. the M is one of the best loader tractors & one of the most used yet in my area north east nebraska Hey ask Allen about the M...
anyway thats my one cents worth i cant give the two cents part as im running out of cents lol

 

[Anonymous-0]

How big a budget do you have and what's the nearest dealer? I'd start out with a good utility tractor (like a 135 Fergy)and after some seat time, you'd have a better idea. You'll undoubtedly end up with more than one machine, probably 3 or 4 possibly. You always want to have one running at all times, so that dictates more than one machine.

 

[Lanse]

I think a farmall H or M seems to fit the bill

 

[coobie]

I recently bought a 2008 Kioti DK 40se with fel (41.5hp)for my 45 acres,the price was $18,000 with $1000 cash rebate.I also looked at mahindra 4110(41hp)$22,800 with fel and kubota 4240 with fel $25,000.good luck on your choice.

 

[Scott in IN]

I"ll differ with most of the posters...

A few years ago when I was looking for a tractor for my 18 acres, loader work, bush hogging, snow plowing and such (no crops) I thought long and hard about it.

My nephew has an old IH that he spends 2 hours trying to start to do a 1/2 job. His dad has a brand new JD that he just goes into the barn turns the key and he"s ready to go.

I ended up buying a barely used Kubota L3400 with a loader and hydro transmission. I make a $300 a month payment on it but it will last me my lifetime and it starts every time I need it with no fuss.

Spend some time on an old gear utility tractor and then some time on a new hydro tractor and you"ll never look back.

 

[David Whitesel]

Whoa, the responses have been great. They have given me much to think about. I do think I am going to wait on the backhoe. I really don't need it but to dig a couple of drainage ditches, so I could always rent a small unit to do those jobs, but a front loader is a must and with the couple of small steep yet workable hills a wide front end sounds like a must. I do have a local tractor mechanic that will be checking out anything I buy. My son likes the thought of having more than one tractor, especially if we got one stuck in the mud. Thanks to everyone who has replied. I am on the hunt looking for one.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Scott, Way,Way disagree for $3600/year I can do ALOT of maintenance on a tractor not counting fuel and maintenance you will put in, and most likely will not have to do that much. Unless you are buying a home/farm/ocean liner/ jet plane, if you have to finance it you are buying way more than you need IMHO.