Tractor: How many Horsepower?

[Mary in Minnesota]

Ah, the oft-asked question by the newbie farmer: what tractor should I buy and how many hp do I need? Rambler and others...ya out there?

Here's my situation: I have a 110-acre piece of land on which I am starting a 2-5 acre orchard. I will also be growing vegetables on 5 acres or so. Eventually I may bale hay on the remaining 60-70 acres, or raise corn/beans, or not. I have a 1,500-ft driveway and I'm in snow country.

I need a tractor with the power to run a tiller for vegetable beds, to mow heavy grass in the orchard, and to plow and/or snowblow my drive. It needs to be small enough to fit between orchard rows without knocking fruit off the trees, and to stradle veggie beds. I also want a loader for miscellaneous chores. I want something reliable.

I'm thinking I should get a newish diesel 30-40 hp 4wd with a loader, and maybe, hydrostatic transmission. Dang they're expensive. Is that enough to handle the tasks above? How much hp do I need exactly? Is it enough tractor to make hay and plow the bigger fields eventually? Or would I be better off with a 50-80 hp 2wd for that?

What is my best option for plowing/blowing snow on a long drive?

Thanks folks!!

[agmantoo]

Will the hay be in large round bales or the small rectangular ones?

[freeholdfarms]

Buy the biggest one you can afford.
80+ if doing round bales. Be sure the loader can lift them
Check out deere.com then look at specs on equipment, it list required hp, that will give you a good idea of what you need, you do not need "new"
I bought one that is too small, does about 75% of what I need the rest is a real pain too have to work around and make something work

[Mary in Minnesota]

Agmantoo,

I could get by with small bales.

[WindowOrMirror]

it seems like any tractor over 65 horse would work for you. I would urge you NOT to push snow with a loader as you can burn one pretty quick like that. You'll need 65 horse or more for larger field implements (larger balers, etc).

I would get a 4wd if you can, but not totally necessary.

R

[kuriakos]

I agree with get the biggest you can afford, to a certain extent. For your situation, I would say around 40 hp is "enough." More is better, but probably no less, especially for plowing large fields. Hydrostatic is nice, but if you'll be baling and plowing you'll want to make sure it can be set at a constant speed. Check out the New Holland Boomers...they're nice, maybe not durable enough for your use, but very reliable for medium duty small farm work.

[Up North]

Originally Posted by Mary in Minnesota

I'm thinking I should get a newish diesel 30-40 hp 4wd with a loader, and maybe, hydrostatic transmission.

What is my best option for plowing/blowing snow on a long drive?

Thanks folks!!

I would get just what you described for the oirchard/veg work.
Then I would cash rent out the balance of land to a crop farmer.

The best option for plowing a long drive is to contract your township to do it for you, if that is available.
Second best option is a Boss Snowplow on a 4WD Pickup.
All else fails you can plow it with your loader tractor, it's just slow that way.

[Ramblin Wreck]

What WindowOrMirror said. I haven't checked out all brands, but I do know that Kubota makes some high horsepower machines in compact packages (like for work in the orchard). On the budget/cost side, there are some great values on 20-30 year old tractors, but I found a new one could be had for about the same price as a 4-5 year old machine. Tractors don't depreciate as quickly as autos do. Many manufacturers are offering interest free financing for 3-4 years.

It sounds like you have a lot of work/fun ahead of you. Best wishes.

[agmantoo]

You need 2 tractors to accomplish what you stated in your original posts, neither need to be new however. Let someone else burn the fresh paint from a new machine and then take advantage when they sell. Up North's recommendation is a good one particular starting out. 5 acres of veggies require a lot of work.

[sugarbush]

I agree; truck and plow for the driveway.....you can get an operating yard/farm truck with a plow for 1000.00. tractor would be too slow and cold if you don't have a heated cab. I also agree about renting out the crop land, it will not return enough for you to spend the money on high end equipment unless you could find about another 300 acres to grow on. Do you have a warm barn to keep a tractor in in the winter? In your neck of the woods I would forget about diesel unless you go with something only 5 or 10 years old with a preheater. Kubota is a really good tractor and so is Kioti, but they will cost you 18,000 plus for a used one with a loader. you can probably get a 2wd international with a loader for 6000. or a Long, Same, Case, Duetz etc for under 10.000 and maybe even with 4x4. check local auctions, that is where the best buy will be......and don't rule out the old standby gas tractors like farmall and ford 8n or 9n......for what you want to do that is all you really need and you can buy 5 or 6 of them for what you would spend on one kubota.

[sugarbush]

oh...and if you want to go really small I know where you can get a farmall cub, cub lowboy, and a super A for 6000.00 as a package with a bunch of attachments.

[Scrounger]

If you go with small squares for hay, you can use a 30-40 HP tractor or even less. The trick is not the HP, but the weight of the tractor. If you are on fairly flat ground, a lighter tractor will be fine. You just don't want to get to much weight behing a light weight tractor, or you will be going places. Check out Faarm sales, and dealer lots around your area. There are a lot of good older machines for not a lot of money. I bought a 40 HP IH with a loader for less than $4500. I also have a 1948 8N. The IH is used for baling hay and loader work, but I use the 8N for most of the other work, including planting/picking of corn and pulling a manure spreader (I have 101 acres). The new machines are ok, but high dollar. I have a very different opinion of Kioti, though - good for mowing the lawn, but not very good for real work.
I've been pushing snow with a loader for years and haven't had a bit of problems - most people around here use a loader and back blade combo.

If you are wanting to use a tiller - it is also important to check the ground speed of the tractor. My 8N has plenty of HP to run a tiller, but it's low grear ground speed is to fast for the tiller to do a good job in one pass - multiple passes are needed. Some of the newer tractors will have a "creeper gear" that works excellent for tilling.

[Windy in Kansas]

What tree size will your orchard be filled with at maturity. You may wish to have a low tractor, i.e. orchard model if you will be using it to mow under them. It might work out best to get a tractor handle bales and snow and whatever else you might use the loader for and to mow around the trees with.

Later as the trees mature and have a greater drip line then get a used smaller tractor to mow under and around them. By the time that is needed they may be producing.

On orchard trees---study reports to see if you feel trunk wraps will hasten fruit bearing. You may also want to consider micro-nutrient foliar application to give them the best start for fruit production you can. Spray N Grow is considered organic and give good results on other plants.

If you don't mind limited chemical use you may wish to consider using Watersorb in the fill soil around the roots. http://www.watersorb.com/index.htm It will help even out the watering needs of the trees. They absorb rainfall or irrigation and release it to the plant roots as they draw on it which helps eliminate stress on the plant.

[rambler]

You have 2 distinct needs here - small compact/utility tractor for the mowing & orchard work.

Heavier utility/ ag tractor for the hay/ field work. But it will be too big for the mowing & loader work....

As Agman says, you well need 2 if you really want to run the whole thing yourself.

I'd look for a good deal on a used 25hp compact loader as you are thinking. That will fill the bill very well for you right now. In 3-5 years, if you wish to farm, a good 30-40 year old farm tractor with live pto of 60-80 hp and _no_ hydro tranny. For hard pulling work. And baling.

Are you in the northern wooded area of MN, or the southern prairie area of MN? Down here in the south, with the wind, you need a snow blower. The wind will drift you in with any type of plow - tractor or pickup based. If you are up north in the trees, there is little drifiting & less heavy snows, so you can do ok with a blade of some type.

Tractors come as compacts; utilities; and big ag tractors.

The compacts are good workhorses; but they are just big lawn mowers, they are not built for the punishment of hours of plowing & running a baler.

Utility machines are built tough, not a whole lot more hp, but bigger clutch, bigger frame, tougfher gears & pto.

Ag tractors are less frills, more power.

If you really want to make one tracotr work for all uses, forget the hydro tranny for heavy plowing. You want a good utility size of 50-75hp. Ford 6600, maybe a 5000. Something in there. Other colors make good tractors too, just picked Ford for example.

--->Paul

[Ross]

Technically you have three very different jobs needing a tractor. A smaller 60-70 hp tractor would be best but still bigger than most orchard or veggie operations need. I think the CIH JXU series has moveable planetary axles that might drop the tractor down somewhat for orchard use. NH has orchard tractors in that size that would do double duty in the veggie side but are awefully narrow for hay. TND series? AGCO sells a nice little compact under White/Allis/ even MF cheaper than a Kubota but probably not enough hp. I was impressed with the Kioti's I saw but you'd want good dealer support, otherwise a Kubota is easier to own.

[Mary in Minnesota]

Thanks for all of your great suggestions! I guess I need to change my username as I'm living in upstate NY now, not Minnesota. I used to be around Lake Crystal, so I know what you mean about drifts. I think I get more snowfall here in NY, but much less drifting.

[rambler]

You can fill in the profil of where you are, then it will show up in the upper right of your messages. Very helpful to others.

Your were just a stone's throw away - New Ulm for me.

--->Paul

[sugarbush]

Originally Posted by Mary in Minnesota

Thanks for all of your great suggestions! I guess I need to change my username as I'm living in upstate NY now, not Minnesota. I used to be around Lake Crystal, so I know what you mean about drifts. I think I get more snowfall here in NY, but much less drifting.

When it comes to starting diesels tractors in the winter; MN and upstate NY, same difference. We farmed in northern Vermont the whole time I was growing up. We had around 10 tractors on the farm and we only kept one in the barn in the winter for use moving round bales. If you just need to plow a driveway out its alot easier to jump into a truck that will start than it is to drag out jumper cables, a salamander heater, ether, and diesel additive just to get the tractor started. JMO

[FreeRanger]

Like Ross and Rambler stated, you have at least three different needs. Here is what I would do.

Hire someone to do the snow plowing. Tractors don't make the best snow plowing and do you really want to be out in a snow storm sitting on a tractor with no cab? How about all hours of the day? Nothing fun about getting up at 4 in the morning to push snow around because the forecast is for more wet heavy snow on top of the existing wet heavy snow. You can't let the snow drifts get too far ahead of you. Some winter we get very little snow and others a lot. I don't have storage space for equipment that is used so seldom. We drive 4x4 vehicles, down the driveway. By the time I get home from work someone else has plowed my driveway clean.

For mowing the orchard, I would buy a commerial grade zero turn mower. Get rid of your standard lawn tractor/mower and push trimmer.

For the real farming work, I would not buy anything less than 50HP. You can make small square bales with 30 to 40 horse power but it's not easy. Personally I woud hire custom operators to do the field work (or you could rent the land until you need it for other purposes.) I would buy the beans/corn/grass seed from a dealer. Then hire someone to no-till plant. Hire ag fertilizer/chem dealer to spray field as needed. Then hire customer combine operator to harvest. I netted $100/acre doing beans on 10 acres one year using this method. My rocky hillside rents out at $50-75/acre, if you could find someone willing to take the risks.

For the loader work, think hard about what you really want to do. You maybe better off buying a skid-steer (also refered to as a bobcat). You can put many attachments on the front including a hydraulic driven post hole digger. That would be very valuable for planting trees. How about pallet forks?