Kubota BX23 - Useful tool or expensive toy?

[JWK]

My wife and I are gearing up for some small homesteading projects. We have five acres of land in a bowling lane shape. It's 180 feet wide and about 1300 feet deep. We are starting chickens and rabbits soon and thinking about raising a couple of feeder pigs. In three to five years we will be able to move to a bigger acreage home, so we don't want to start too many permanent projects that take any significant investment costs that can't be taken with us when we leave.

Having said all that, I'm wondering about small tractors. Our next place will be at least 20 acres and no more than 60 (in N.Y. you get a lot of agricultural breaks/perks when you own 50 acres or more, so we hope for 50). We want to have enough acreage for hay and pasture for the typical small homestead dream scenario: A couple of Dexters, a few goats, pigs, rabbits, chickens, etc. The more animal feed I can grow the better.

So I've been thinking about the Kubota BX23 for a couple of years for our present place, but now I'm wondering if maybe there are better options out there for what we have in mind. I wonder if this will be an underpowered, expensive toy or a cost effective, fuel saver. I don't mind if things take longer. It won't be a commercial place. Gardening will be of the intensive style and everything else will be hay, pasture and trees. I anticipate a significant amount of fencing.

On top of everything else, I don't know anything about tractors. I don't even know where to go to learn the basics. I'm very new in this area and don't know any farmers. I work 50 miles away right now so I don't have a lot of time to get to know people. I rely on the internet and books for most of my research information.

What advice can you all give to me? How can I learn about tractors and what type/model do you think would do the job? Thanks a bunch for any help.

John

[Little Quacker in OR]

I don't know if this will be of much help to you. But my nice neighbors have a Kabota like the one you are asking about. I just love the thing and when I need something done on my place the 16 yr old son comes over with it and he'll move gravel, potting mix, logs, downed trees, level and rake the garden and clean out the duck house etc with it for me.

I am not knowledgable about these things but I just love that tractor! I believe one of your good sources for info on what model would serve you best would be your Kabota Dealer. They would be in a good position to advise you as to the best model for what your needs are and will be.

Good luck and have fun! LQ

[LagoVistaFarm]

We were looking at them 3 years ago. We couldn't fit very well on the seat with enough room to work. The kid is 6'4". We went with a TYM 40hp for about the same money and have been quite happy. We will be selling it this year so check with me later and I can address the "waste of money" issue.

[rambler]

A couple random thoughts, none of which might fit your situation at all.

A tractor can be deducted as a farm expense, but only if you are farming - qualify with having a plan to have farm income. Would you be better waiting until you have the 50+ acre place to make such an expensive purchase, or will your CPA get you deductions from this property? This will apply to anything you buy 'for farming' now or in the future. Farm tax law is complicated, so some thought is needed if you plan to make actual income from farming or cropshare renting. A big part of farming is planning out the tax implications of what a person is doing.

If any of you are over 6 feet tall, that gets to be an uncomfortable size tractor to be on for any length of time. If you are average size, it is a nice small tractor that will deal very, very well with fencing and other such utility chores. Kubota is a good brand.

I believe that size tractor has non-standard 3pt hitch - it will fit a normal cat 1 3pt implement on it, but the tractor arms are shorter than normal, so pto shafts don't fit as well, and you will need to shop for a special post hole digger that can work with the shorter arms? I'm guessing, but it will be something you will need to watch for for as long as you own the tractor.

You mentioned hay when you get to the 50+ acres in a few years. This little tractor will be totally worthless for making any hay. To bale hay, you need a utility class (not compact) tractor with 35 or more pto hp. I'd think long & hard about what the future needs are going to be.

For the jobs you mention, a front end loader is mighty useful. Don't know what you considered for options.

If it were me, I'd look to find a 10 year old compact tractor of 20-30 hp with a loader, & buy that. Ford/New Holland, Kubota, JD are all good units that hold their value. It will be about the same money, should work fine, and if, in 4 years you decide you need a different tractor you should be able to sell it for about what you paid for it. A new tractor, you lose $4000 as soon as you leave the lot, so a lot of cost to find out it doesn't fit your needs.

--->Paul

[Raptor]

I have a BX24,the BX23 is pretty much the same tractor. I have a belly mower for it and mow several acres around the houses. It has a small backhoe which comes in very handy for planting or uprooting trees and digging out stumps or whatever other digging needs to be done.The front end loader in great to use when I don't need to fire upthe big tractor for small loader jobs. If I was you I'd get it for as much land as you will have and in the future you can get a bigger tractor for baleing etc. I would still keep the BX23 for the smaller jobs.Never thought I'd need two tractors but it's great having a really small one and a large one. Hope this helps.

[JWK]

All good things to think about and I appreciate the info.

What is "pto"? I've heard this mention in all tractor threads. I'm sure I'll slap myself when I find out, but I can't figure it.

Buying new sucks, no doubt about it. Finding what one needs/wants used is very difficult, unless you have all the time in the world.

I doubt if I can count on any tax write-offs due to farm income.

My thoughts on hay (if I'm ever lucky enough to get enough acreage to actually grow it) is that I will hire some local to cut and bale it up for me. However, more research is needed for sure.

I thought all 3 pt. hitches were the same. This displays my ignorance. I don't think I would want to get into something that couldn't take anything made for a standard 3 pt.

I'll have to see if there is a post hole digger for the Kubota. This will be essential.

[Raptor]

JWK,go to a website called tractorbynet.com. Get all the answers you need there.

[Beeman]

PTO is power take off, a mechanial shaft drive out the back of the tractor that drives implements like post hole diggers.

3pt equipment comes in different classes. i don't know what that's rated as using.

They look pretty neat but 15-20k for a little tractor like that is a lot of money.

[rambler]

I see a BX23 is 23 hp, I was thinking it was in the teens. Not too bad a tractor.

If you aren't doing the hay on the big place, will be a nice tractor for you, run a tiller, post hole digger, etc.

Tractorbynet is a nice web site, as mentioned.

PTO is the shaft sticking out the back of the tractor above the hitch, makes implements you hook on behind spin by putting a sliding shaft on it.

www.tractorhouse.com has several slightly used BX2300 with loader & backhoe for under $14000 asking price, one is in PA. You can look at the 2400, as well as other size Kubotas, or other color tractors. With your zip code, you can search for the closest to you.

Standard 3pt sizes are 0 (garden tractors), 1s or x (the short arms), 1 (what you are thinking of as normal, based on the old Ford N tractors), 2, 3, 3N, 4, 4N. The bigger numbers are for tractors over 65 hp /125hp/ 200hp, the 4 gets pretty big! The N models are built beefy like their number, but are narrower like the size below them. Anyhow, none of that is important to you.

You will be looking at cat 1 3pt stuff. Check if your tractor is the tiny short arms like the 1s or x size, then most implements work but there can be complications. At 23 hp, the 2300 might not have a problem.

--->Paul

[Shinsan]

I have a Kubota ZB1600 compact. (Rated at 20 H.P., but with 4WD does the work of a 24 H.P. without it.) It's old, but it just goes and goes, as do all Kubotas according to their owners. I've looked at both the BX23 and BX24, but have come to the conclusion that it's an awful lot of money to be throwing around, (unless you've got lots of it), when there are so many good older models on the market at more reasonable prices. You may have to shop around a bit: Kubota owners tend to want to keep their machines, but they are out there.

Before buying any attachments, think carefully about a use for them after you finish the job you have in mind. For example, a backhoe, or a post-hole auger, can be a great asset when you need them, but will you have enough work for them to justify their purchase, or alternatively, could you possibly use those implements to earn you some extra cash on other properties.

As for learning about tracters, our TAFE institutes in Aust run courses on tractor operation, safety and maintenance, so maybe you can get similar courses in the U.S. -Your local Extension Office may be able to give you some info on that point. The few dollars spent on such courses will give you a far greater return than what you outlay, particularly in terms of saving time, and avoiding costly mishaps and potentially fatal injury.

[sammyd]

For 20K you can get a 40HP John Deere 990 with a loader.
Kubota is pretty good at holding value but I don't know how it stacks up against the Green stuff.

If it was me, I'd buy a big rear tine tiller or maybe a garden tractor and tiller. You can use that on either location. Save the major purchase till after you've moved and know what you need to do what you want.

[annie716]

If you decide to buy that size tractor new check out the Massey Ferguson 2310, we compared all the models last year and purchased that one with the loader and back hoe. It was $1000.00 less than kubota and does the same work at lower rpm which pleases me as I hate the noise. The back hoe has been a god send digging water lines to the barn, burying things and digging up stumps & shrubs. Our dealer sold both kubota and massey but this year dropped the kubota's as he said they weren't standing behind their product as well as they used to. I think finding the best dealer is important
also, ours is very service oriented although we haven't had any real problems yet. We like the size to get into tight places when cleaning goat pens and it's great for gardening projects, not so heavy that it tears up the lawn when moving or making new beds. As stated by some one else, it's really worthless for real farm work like haying. We can only use it for pulling wagons but we figure in the past year we've gotten our monies worth in digging and moving stuff. We got a 0% interest deal for 2 yrs. so we paid half down and financed the rest. I don't really think the value decreases much, we couldn't find anything used that was less than new when comparing all options. Good luck, I know you will enjoy it if you get one!!

[freeholdfarms]

If really moving to 50+ acres get one big enough to handle the future job, with a front end loader that can lift round bales. Check out web sites for the equipment you hope to use. See what they recommend for the hp needed to run it.

since you want to move to 50 acres and raise hay you will need at least a 35 to 40 hp with 3point hitch & PTO. Because on 50 acres there is alot more to do than just raise hay I know I have 50 acres.

[JWK]

Originally Posted by sammyd

For 20K you can get a 40HP John Deere 990 with a loader.
Kubota is pretty good at holding value but I don't know how it stacks up against the Green stuff.

If it was me, I'd buy a big rear tine tiller or maybe a garden tractor and tiller. You can use that on either location. Save the major purchase till after you've moved and know what you need to do what you want.

What is a "garden tractor"? How is that different from the small tractors we are talking about?

[canfossi]

Why don't you try to rent it for a few hours to see how it works. It seems to me that it's priced too high and that it may not be able to do as much as you want, not enough power. Just a thought. Chris

[Jolly]

I like Kubota. But if I was looking at 20 acres, maybe more, I'd start with the L series, and work my way up...

[m39fan]

According to tractordata.com, the BX23 is rated at 16.7hp NOT 23. BIG difference. These do require a modified Cat.1 implement such as the King Kutter XB lineup. These are often more $$$ and are usually hard to find used. Once you get the "big tractor", you probably won't need or want these and will end up selling them at a loss. If it were me and I HAD to have a smaller tractor, I'd buy used. My 1970's Kubota B6100 works rings around the neighbor's BX and I bought it off of eBay for $1200!!!!!

I would suggest buying a USED utility tractor in the 25-39hp range. This way you'll be able to pick up used implements everywhere and if you decide to sell it later you won't take the hit for depreciation. I would stay away from the Ford 9N/2N/8N tractors as they are often overpriced for what they are (I've had them, so I speak from experience!). I would go with a Ford 600/2000 (30hp) or an 800/4000 (40hp). These can often be bought for less than an 8N and will do much more than the N series or any of the compact utilities. In a nutshell, it'll grow with you. Our 860 was bought with a bush hog for $1500 and it's been great. Big enough to pull a small baler if need be, small enough to mow the yard.

Just my .02

HTH,
Mike

[K-9]

It is my experience that the small tractors are incredible work savers for barn/yard work and projects such as fencing but for the real work on a farm it takes a real tractor. Most people don't have the extra time to spend that the smaller tractors take for plowing, mowing etc. That is why you see a lot of smaller farms with a small tractor and a big tractor. But like a lot of people have mentioned, you can pick up a good used tractor for a lot less than a new one and tractors have a really long life span if they are properly maintained and kept out of the weather.

[FordJunkie]

There are a lot of variables in your question.

But I will agree with others as to the sub compact tractors not being what
you need. Having operated everything up to 150 horsepower tractors I have
found that too little tractor can be very discourageing. If you are planning to
do farm work, plowing, disking, brush hogging. I would say a minimum of 35 to
40 HP range utility tractor.

A well maintained used late 60's early 70's tractor is where I would start.
But saying that there are several things you want to have on them.

ROP. - Roll Over Protection, this being a new thing to you this is a very important item.
Hope it never happens but tractors are much easier to turn over than you think.

Seat belt. A bouncing tractor is harder to stay in the seat than you think as well
as will keep you inside the ROP if you should tip the tractor.

Power steering is very nice. (I don't have it on my current tractor)

Remember "SAFETY FIRST" there are many life changing injuries and deaths
assosiated with farm tractors.

HTH just my .02
Tony