How big of a tractor?

Get something that has local service. Nothing, no matter how "economic" it may have been, is a good deal if it breaks down when you gotta have it (and it will), the service is 200 miles away, busy up to here, and can't get to you (if he or she remembers) for over a fortnight.

JD are a very good brand, but there are others. If your local dealer is New Holland, and the JD dealer is forty miles away, you'd better think real hard about New Holland.

And yes, A bigger 2WD tractor will do about everything a smaller 4WD can do (if it can fit), do more as well, do it an easy pace without straining, and is simpler to service when things go wrong. Just make sure you know how to use them, and keep to safety rules - tractors used improperly can kill.

DH and I just bought a JD 3032E.. 4wheel drive, because I know my husband. LOL
We ended up with the JD because that is what is around here, so parts will be easy to get.

Recommend, Ag wheels, if you use it at all for farm or brush work, get the Ag wheels. Those are not standard any more it seems. We had to special order it.

So far it seems to be powerful enough for what we use it for. But I really wish, we bought a much bigger front loader.
One like our old AC had, would easily handle double to load the new JD bucket can handle.

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Shari

100 acres...Father ran it running 50-60 beefers in upstate NY for years with a Super A and a W-4 International.(23 hp) When I was in middle school he bought a JD 2010. Real nice the 2 weeks a year it was running. When I finnished highschool I bought a Super H.(30 hp) When I came back from the Army he bought a Oliver 1600 (around 50 hp). We have plenty of hills and run a NH kicker bailer to hay wagons. I will say that live PTO is sweet for the bailer. All are 2wd, all are still here (JD 2010 left after the Super H came here) and are still used every year. A bigger tractor (more$) means you need bigger bailer (more$) and bigger wagons (more$) and bigger plows (more$) and bigger disks (more$), well, you get the idea. It all depends on how much time you are willing to spend on the farm. With a crew of 3 people, 1 on the bailer, 1 running wagons and unloading, and 1 stacking in the barn we could do about 10 acres of hay a day. Mike

What kind of equipment do you want to run with it? All new If it were me I would look for an older tractor. We have a new Massey Fergeson, 90 hp 4x4 with a loader and a 3 cylinder diesel and a JD 120hp 4x4 with a loader. They are nothing but wireing nightmares with fuses panels bigger than most cars that get wet dirty corrode and screw up. There is a sellinode that runs the PTO in the JD that tells the PTO to turn on when you turn the switch $500+ later the PTO works again, then anouther $500 for the one that shuts the fuel off because we are now to lazy to pull a fuel shut off knob. The dash board on the MF didn't work for the last three months and just a few days ago it started working. Also everything is push pull cables, the loaders, clutches , hydros that freeze and sieze and get full of water.Find a diesel with the LEAST wireing you can find, I always said JD's progress peaked with the 20 series and have been all down hill from then on. Our 1977 White 2-105 is the most reliable of the lot!

Perhaps not less power but there have been times I wished for a SMALLER tractor.
That depends on the place you have to work , another thing to think about is how level a place to work I prefer a lower center of gravity and a wider stance on hills.

The best deal on tractor is often one size down from what the biggest farmers in our area are using. A tractor that looks good probably IS good even with thousands of hours on it. A 3 or 6 month warranty that starts in the spring will cover most "weirdness" issues...or just lease it for 500 hours with the payment to apply to purchase if you buy it.

Go for between 60-80 horse, with whatever manufacturer dealership is closest to you. Don't over do on power because you'll just be paying for fuel if you do that. I've passed up a couple of 100 horse tractors that were real deals because I don't want a bigger fuel bill than I've got now.

Don't go lower than a 60 horse if you ever want to consider using a disc cutter. They really eat power.

Jennifer

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-Northern NYS

Is a disc cutter Harrows?

Ive never seen it to make a lot of difference thats why huge tractors are popular they use lesss fuel on big jobs.

I understand what they're saying, though.

At a certain point, big is just too big and costs too much to run, even if you bought it cheap. That's why I think the 40-ish hp tractor is the ubiquitous small place tractor. A good bit of power for the cost of the tractor and the fuel used.

One major manufacturer even called its 40hp offering, the 8N for the modern age.

On most places, that size tractor can bushog, grade, plow and cultivate most things that need to be done. It can even skid logs or dig fence posts. While it may not be best at all things, it's kinda the swiss knife of tractors.

In this case (the hayfield w/ round bales) a bit more umph is probably needed. But if I was doing square bales for my own use, I'd have no problem asking a decent 40-ish hp diesel to do the job.

Thought I would jump in here and make a few comments about the 5083E. I have had one now for more than 2 years. Size always depends on the size of job you are doing. I have to manage about 140 acres with it and have not felt like I needed more.

I currently run a 10' cutter and do have a smaller one for trails. I can tell you that it runs the 10' with no problems and now Im wishing I had a 15' to pull. I have a number of areas around the property that I run a 24' Boom Sprayer and a 3 bottom plow with no problems.

Overall I am real happy with the choice I made and have not had any maintenance issues to speak of.

Matt