'HillChick and I are going to move to the farm full time now that Mom's gone and we both got clean check-ups from our oncologists.

I'm going to build a big addition to the existing farm house and I have engaged a fellow to build me a stone masonry furnace. The idea will be to put in a small load of wood morning and night and use the massive stone mass to provide radiant heat. My buddy over on the next ridge had one put into his house and he loves it.

One of my challenges will be hauling tons of fieldstone from the 200 acres back to the building site. I've got stone piles out the wazoo. THe problem is that they have to be dug out and loaded on something and transported up to a half-mile back to the house. Beyond that, I'll need something to mow, put in food plots, collect firewood and keep the roads open.

I have heard really good things about our local MF dealer. I bought my Cub Cadet from him, and I see why he's so well liked by local farmers. He's only 10 miles or so away. There's a Kubota dealer about 20 miles away, and then everyone else some distance further.

I was at the MF dealer and he put me on to a MF 2600 H Series Utility Tractor. Yep, it's a great tractor as far as I'm concerned. 70 hp would definitely get the job done and then some. However the $47 K price tag made me wince.

I need help finding what's going to be the right path. I'm practically tractor-illiterate.

From what I've "researched" if you can call it that, there are some really good tractors coming out of South Korea right now, and I'll be considering one in a couple years. One of the dealers here local sells Bad Boy (which is pretty new on the market) and LC. I asked the difference since both are made in SK. He said just name and price, pretty much the same tractor. The LC being much more affordable. Rural King is another affordable SK tractor.
My only legit advice at the moment is make damn sure you have solid warranty and repair support for whatever you buy. A beef farmer buddy of mine runs all Kubota and plays hell getting parts when things go down.

Quote from a (very funny) friend: women hit menopause. Men hit tractorpause.

Have fun with your toy. I want one too. I’d go Kubota, myself.

Oliver 1650

Check out Kioti, a South Korean version of the Kubota. I have the DK90 with a 90 HP Perkins diesel 4WD with cab. It has stereo, AC and even a little refrigerator in it. It was made in the last year before DEF. There's lots more metal in a Kioti than a Kubota...they're hell for stout. Bucket lift is 3,500 lbs. I'd offer you mine if you weren't so far away. I used it to clear a 12 and an 18 acre field several years ago for planting, but don't use it much now. My little 40 HP Massey does everything I need done now.

I would look in the 40+ HP range tractor with forward assist (aka 4x4), a front end loader, and a set of rear hydraulic remotes from a dealer/shop nearby. I like Kubota, but any of the main brand names will work. Deere, Case, New Holland, Kubota, Mahindra.

We have a 60 HP kubota MX5800 and love it.

Dealer support beats price in my experience.

Quick search in KY

MF Tractor

Sir, Glad to hear you and the missus are feeling well and planning to move into the neighborhood. Yes the 26 series MF tractors are nice units. Hopefully you are looking at 4wd. If it is the dealer just south of town, keep an eye out on the empty lot between the dealership and US27. They will put used equipment out for sale that they take on trade. Including relatively nice 4wd units. Also take a look on the Facebook for the various KY Farm and Equipment groups. You may find something that will fit your needs for significantly less $$$'s. Good luck on your house build / remodel !

Being in the commercial insurance business for 52 yars, we had many equipment schedules, including six rental companies. Common tractor on all schedules Kubota...I asked Why, Answer was, they rarely break and work, work, work. Makes you money. In many states farm equipment is sales tax exempt. Tell the dealer up front you are a farmer looking for a new tractor.

So I bought a Kubota myself. Real nice tractor, power steering, breaks, good ride, easy on controls, not bad on fuel consumption, uses off road diesel just fine.

I would get a 50 hp 4x4 and if it will be worked hard, an M series with hydro clutch, old age and all that, with a metal canopy attached to the ROPS, plus a root rake and a front end loader with a grapple w twin hydrolic rams, right out of the box. A Bush Hog, bush hog Squeeler has a blade tip speed of 1,200 fps so will cut grass and brush both. A landscape rake is more handy with a heavy disc set, than a box blade. You can dig a big hole faster with the front end bucket than a back hoe. Back hoe is better for a long trench or stump digging 12" wide. An 3 point hitch auger with 9 and 12" blades is priceless on 1 1/2 mile of fence with five gates. Get the front end loader with the skid steer quick attach plate at tractor purchase.

Use the site Tractor by net to get details on improvements you can make.

I have a barn kept L 4400, 45 hp standard trans 4x4 with
FEL and sun canopy.
Shkd steer plate
Auger with 9 & 12" blades
Back hoe, largest 3 point hitch hook up
6 square back bucket
6' root rake w 1" thick fork tines
Twin ram 6' grapple
20" cutter head HD disk set
Landscape rake
Box blade with rippers

If you are anything of a backyard mechanic or can hire one...have you considered going with a larger machine of name brands? It's a good option for someone who doesn't mind twisting a wrench now and then. I just recently bought a Case 680 backhoe/loader from the '70's a while back for 2,000. Repacked a weeping hyd cylinder and replaced a couple hyd hoses. A workhorse that runs like a timex.
Even though I'm retired, I still get requests to fix this or that around the valley here, and I'll tell you, these hobby tractors can be a challenge...not the engines or power trains...the damn wiring and electronics and parts situation. These little machines are 'safetied' to death. A neighbor's little John Deere for example...6 sensors have to ennable the damn thing to start, wiring looms as big as your wrist, on a 36 hp hobby tractor, sheesh, hold into the diagnostic nightmare. Another friend has a Branson, it's a hyd fitting nightmare when replacing hoses, don't assume your industrial store can supply JIS or BSP fittings. A tree fell across it last winter, munched the sheet metal hood piece...dealer wants 1,200 bucks for a little 22''x40" piece of sheet metal. The imports are shiny, they are reliable, they don't leak, for a while, but there is so much redundant wiring and safety stuff, plastic that sun ages...I have grave doubts any of them will still be running strong like my old Case a half century from now. Food for thought.

I have a 45 horse kuboto ,had it for 20 years, serviced and changed battery once is all I’ve done. Buy a 4 wheel drive with a front end loader.

I don't think my father has had his 4x4 Kubota with loader quite that long, but it's been rather sturdy with regards to mechanical issues. He keeps it serviced, but it is not babied.

Get on a site like Tractorhouse.com and search for a used one in whichever color you like. Remember, these are not pickups, passenger cars, or big box store lawn mowers but durable machines meant to work all day every day. A decades old one with a couple of thousand hours on it is like a late model pickup with 30k miles and still very viable.

I have a MF 1532 I bought as a demo in 2012, made in 2010 and had 51 hours on it and a quick detach loader. It’s been a great machine. Loader is rated for 1,200 lbs but I’ve lifted more with it, carefully. Considered trading up at one point but the dealer talked me out of it, less emissions stuff to deal with on the older machines. There are times when more power would be handy but this one maneuvers through woods easier and doesn’t tear the lawn up unless it’s really soft.


For hauling heavy loads regularly I’d recommend getting a decent trailer to go with it, or at least counter weight for the back end if you use the loader for transport.

I picked up a New Holland 655D backhoe for $20k... It is infinity more useful than a tractor IMHO.

I am a big fan of the 50 HP+/- Fords... older model without DEF and all that computer crap. 1990 Ford 4610 4WD for $13k would get you by for a very long time. I am in the market for two of them myself at this time.

LS tractors are worth a look, they make a line for New Holland.

Personally I bought a Kubota, they are top 3, but have the weakest hydraulics.
Dealer support is very big in the considering factors.

If you're close to Barlow Farm Equipment, they would be my first call.

I bought mine from there, delivered to NOVA, SAVED $$$$ VS buying local.

I will second the Massey Ferguson, I bought the 60 horse last year and it's a beast, several friends have had LS tractors which are a New Holland knock off and they are like that. Buy whatever attachments you think you will needed with it so you can have it all financed in one package. And rent the attachments you may only needed for a rare occasion. Also had several sets of hydraulic remotes they are life savers. I highly recommend a quality grapple it stays on my tractor more than the bucket. If you are hauling field stones you can pop them up with the grapple and clamp down on them to carry them, it's also great for lifting logs and cutting them without bending over. A hydraulic top link is very nice for easy adjustment of three point implements. I would recommend a flail mower as opposed to brush hog or finish mower. This will be my next purchase with a hydraulic adjustment to go from side to side and tilt.

Hauling heavy loads you will want a big implement for a counterweight. Not many people say they bought to big of a tractor but many say theirs is to small so buy bigger than you think you need

I bought a 45, wish I’d gotten a 50, maybe bigger. I have a 7’ disc, 7’ mower, no problem for it. My son in law had the same, but he was fooling with hay bales. He had a hard time with them, traded for a 60 horse.

My son has a 45hp Kioti that has been very reliable. Its 10 or so years old and he has had one hydraulic cylinder need new seals and that is it other than routine maintenance.

Granted he does not farm with it, he uses it to piddle around on his 170 acre non-working farmland he has plus his 5 acres on land around his house.

Make your life easy and get a Kubota, they’re basically the Toyota’s of tractors

I have a Massey Ferguson I bought in 2006 and while it’s a good tractor they quit making that line and moved production to India. If I was buying today it’d be a Kubota. Kubota is made in Japan, that MF2600 either India or Brazil, which do you think will be better quality?

The Kubota dealer in Cynthiana just lost his franchise, & he was never competitive with the ones in Mt. Sterling or Augusta anyway.

No disrespect intended, but there's been many a city fella buy a hill farm & get really effed up or worse on a tractor, especially while pulling a loaded trailer or wagon. A beater 3/4 ton 4x4 pickup with some rough tires can haul the hell out of field rock or firewood, & be a lot safer to boot on land like you own. JMHO. 4x4 tractors changed the game as far as HP requirements & safety. But when the tail is wagging the dog like a trailer or wagon can do is another problem.

That leaves room for a sensibly priced 45-65 HP tractor for food plots & such.

This might sound intrusive or opinionated but I've lived in the immediate area all my life & could share many stories of roller coaster rides in a tractor. Some came out OK, some did not.

I think the guy who was pushing me onto the 70 HP MF 2600 H was thinking that eventually I'd want to hay the 40 acres I've got in pasture. He's also thinking about the land around us. It's hilly. We've got just under 200 feet of elevation difference between the lowest point and the highest point, but it is precipitous. There's a 60 foot drop over 300 feet just out back. I don't want to get into that. I'll deal with the easy stuff and leave the hard stuff to hired guys with the right equipment.

1) I've got a guy who hays the place every year. I let him have it (<70 round bales) just to be done with it. I don't mind the arrangement.
2) I'm going to cultivate maybe 1-2 acre food plots.
3) I'm going to bushhog no more than 10 acres a year. My biggest job is keeping an abandoned county road open so I can get to the back of the property. The forest is closing in on both sides. I know a flail mower would do the job, but that's a job that's going to be too big for any tractor I can afford. I'll hire that out.
4) The soil is fairly easy to cultivate. Normally one plowing (I can hire that out) and then just roto-tilling every few years.
5) I'd like to expand the trail system on the place, but as things are, the best way to do it is to bring in a dozer and then keep it groomed.

The stone hauling is a one-off thing. I've got piles and piles of field stone. This is what is precipitating the contemplation of a tractor, but a 70 HP animal is quite an investment for that one-time job. Beyond that, I'm not contemplating 20 acres of corn or beans. I'm not going to be schlepping hay bales all winter to feed cattle. I hope I can stay a happy acorn farmer-- feed the acorns to the deer and turkeys and then harvest the deer and turkeys.

My buddy has a 24 horse Kubota and loves it, but I can see it is probably too small. He's just using it around his house.

I bought my 3130HST new 20 some years ago. I replace a cylinder on the loader, and a loader hydraulic hose. No other issues. I have 800 hours on it, and because it is pre emission I can sell it for what I paid new. One of my better buys. I thought of a new one with loader forks to unload ton pallets of wood pellets, but it would have the emission stuff, so I’ll keep mine.

Good Shaman, sounds like ya got a handle on it.

You might want to consider a good used 70's vintage Ford tractor. The x600 series (2600, 3600, 4600, etc) are solid work horses, and I see quite a few for sale that have front end loaders. I have a 2600, and it is a rock solid piece of equipment.

I inherited a Belarus tractor that is equipped with a front end loader from my dad. I haven't had time to exercise it yet, but he thought a lot of it.

There were a couple of compact Deere's in my family, and then I married into a farm family who had some larger non-compact utility tractors.

There's a pretty wide chasm in farming capability between the old 544 Hydro Farmall (~55hp) and the little 42hp Deere 4105. I used the latter to run a pto hay rake this year and while it worked, it wasn't super comfortable doing so with the low-range hydros whining over hill and dale. The 544 runs the swather, rake and baler like they're barely there. It weighs well over 2x what the deere weighs. No loader on the 544 so it's only a haying and woodchipper tractor. It's older than I am and runs great.

The other two farm tractors are an old M7500dt kubota and an M8950dt kubota. They're both 4wd with loaders, big farm utility tractors, and they'll do things with loaders, hay equipment and tillage that the little deere can only dream of. Both are tired...one makes a click in first gear under load (presuming a chipped gear tooth) and the other has a cracked engine block extension (basically a casting that is the oil pan sides, to which the whole 4wd front end bolts). They should probably go down the road eventually, or maybe I get in and fix them.

However, my last two tractor jobs have been scraping sod down to hardpan for making a driveway and pouring a big 12x22 woodshed slab. The little deere worked fine for that, notwithstanding the low-range hydro growl. It's super handy for loader work.

There's a lot of plastic on the little deere, and others have mentioned the various safety shutoffs: PTO, gear position, operator in seat, etc. The real bummer is that you have to be in the seat to run the PTO, so I can't run our big woodchipper on it. The last time I got on and started it, the tach wouldn't work until I gave it a light "Fonzie slap". Little stuff like that on what is supposed to be a premium product sort of gets under my skin.

I think the future has us selling the Deere and its grapple and backblade for premium $$ (low hours, no emissions) and getting a pre-emissions 3-range hydrostatic drive kubota or New Holland instead.

if you're not doing tillage or hay, then compact/utility sounds right. I'd make sure the hydrostatic drive has 3 ranges, and that you end up with a grapple and a brush hog or flail mower. Rototiller is fine too. You'll pay Deere a lot of money for that, and probably get more for your money from the likes of Kubota/Kioti/New Holland/LS.

For the last 18 years I’ve had a Kubota L4400DT. Absolutely no problems that I didn’t cause. Trading it in soon on a Kubota MX5400 with 4WD, front bucket, extra rear hydraulics, and a grapple. I need that grapple, but didn’t know it till my neighbor got a Kioti with all the bells and whistles and a grapple. I had a good look at a Kioti, but no dealers close, so I went with Kubota.

I'm with you. Would love a bigger tractor. We have a MF 1705 and maintain 100 acres. Just rebuilt our 3/4 mile road with it and about 60 ton of crushed asphalt. Dam thing should have died years ago but except for a few hydraulic leaks and a few batteries, it just keeps going. Got a mini ex a couple years ago. I'll use the MF to trailer the the mini ex to wherever I need it, that way I got both. Kinda PIA to have to switch equipment but we are in for about 30k for both together, I can deal with it

This......in spades.

We have a John Deere 4020 on our 20 acres. Overkill, hell yes! It is a 1967 96 HP diesel tractor. It uses less fuel than the 25 HP Ford 8N, unless you are actually working it, such as plowing. Then, it still takes less fuel than the little tractor to do the same job.

In almost ten years, we have replaced the seals on the load sensor shaft under the rear end. And that was probably because I spent one summer dragging four dirt with it and had the shaft buried in grit all summer.

We also have a 1970 vintage International 70 HP for a loader tractor.

On a little place, a large ag tractor will never get worked hard enough to hurt it or wear it out.

One more advantage of purchasing a 25 to 50 year old ag tractor. No depreciation!

When you are done with the heavy work, sell it for what you have in it.

Unless you are super handy, a dealer is likely the most important factor. In terms of specs, if all other things are near equal, the heavier tractor gets the nod. Weight can help a lot in ground engaging and heavy load hauling. A quick hitch of some sort really helps when changing implements.

45ish HP MFWD with FEL and call it good.

No fluids, or are you just referring to breakdowns?

TractorHouse is a good source. I picked up a Kubota MX5400 HST 4x4 FEL with less than 5 hours with 2 years left on the warranties with implements I didn’t have for less than what I could have bought the tractor. Came with grapple, bucket, forks, third function and grader. If your area Kubota dealer has a good reputation that’s what I would go with for a utility tractor. If your needs are AG then I would look at the heaviest unit per HP. Wouldn’t consider a 2WD or without FEL (unless I had a FEL deal lined up). Forks are really handy.

I’m a Mahindra guy. It’s a Heavy tractor, started out as International. Up till a few years ago lots of parts were still International.

My 3550 HST is really easy tractor to use. Does what it’s supposed to do.

If I'm following, you want to dig up rock piles with loader tractor?

That is not going to be fun for a little loader tractor.

How big are the rocks?

Kubota for the win.

You will like it.

For $47k you can buy a whole fleet of 7000 series Allis Chalmers and they’ll have enough weight to actually do something. I think at one time my uncle had a half dozen he picked up for $5k-$7k at farm auctions, and he wasn’t just playing with them, but mixing feed daily for several hundred milk cows plus raising a lot of their feed. Blow a motor up? Big deal, now you’ve got a parts tractor for the other 5…

Not as cushy as a new Deere, but the price was right.

But they don’t have a cab, Hvac, and stereo.

Sure they do, unless they’re on my uncles dairy, then everything’s always in a state of kinda almost working…

spacebar key not working

Spacebar no workie , Pard?

You need 4x4 for hills, Pard.

Maybe on a toy tractor, Pard.

A bit of history
I have a 36 acre hilly property where I use my tractor.
I have only had and driven 1 Tractor in my life time so I do not have any comparison experience to share.
I purchased a Kubota MX5800 and it was probably the best fit for my uses.
The Dealer helped me by asking me the right questions about what my needs were with a Tractor.

Find a Dealer that you can work with and like. They will be a key player in the operation of what ever Tractor you choose to purchase.

I got lucky and found a great dealer interested with getting me set up with the best possible Tractor for what
I was going to use it for.

Do not cheap out and get the minimum Tractor for your needs purchase up because after you start using one you will find many other uses for it as time go's on.
My MX5800 has surprised me several times in what it can do.
It is a beast for my uses.

Good luck with what Tractor you choose to get.

cub cadet

It’s for shaman.

I was trying to think it had to be nice about this that's not even no fun with an actual real tractor and loader. I would hire a guy with the track loader or excavator to get rid of your big rock piles... I'm the farmer with the big real tractors and I'm also the guy with the excavator stuff have been most of my entire life lots of experience in what I say

No offense taken. I'm an Oliver Douglas type for sure. I grew up in a construction family, but spent 40 years doing IT work. As a farmer, I . . . well, I know how to do your network. Does that count?

This makes a lot of sense. I was looking at the biggest pile the other day. It's 8'high and 30' long When I moved in, it was all alone at the edge of the field and you could drive the truck between it and the treeline. Now, after 20+ years, it's inside the treeline and trees are growing out of it. Most of the rock around the place is one or two layers of big plates stacked at the edge of the field.

1) I could probably use a bulldozer easier than a loader tractor
2) I could buy a lot of nicer rock than the fieldstone I've got for $47K
3) I could probably really f-up a tractor trying to move the rock while I was learning.

My friends and neighbors are giving me all sorts of ideas. One suggested a busload of Messicans.

Rough, Ky



Or similar...

Lots on Fakebook in your zone...

There's nothing funnier than some retard that has never worked on a farm, inheriting some acreage and deciding he wanna try doing farmer schit.

"I dug this hole and filled it in with sand last week."

Uhhhh, why?

LOL

I have 2 Kabota's, make sure to use good fuel and change the fluids per spec...parts are expensive, but they all are. My dealer is close, that made the decision easier for me...same at my last house.

..

can't load rock in a truck to move with a dozer. you want to dig a hole and bury them that might be different

These are cheap horsepower these days. A friend just sold the 7010 his dad bought new in 83’. Had a loader and good rubber, well maintained and low hours. It brought $3400 at auction. He sold a couple of the implements at the same auction, $400-$600 apiece, and gave the ones that didn’t sell to my uncle, a 14’ Batwing and a 4 bottom moldboard.

If I needed one I’d be far more inclined to buy one of these or a 70’s model IH than a new compact for $40k.

This.

I have an LS 45 hp tractor with an enclosed cab. I've had it 6 years and had no problems. I mostly use it for snow removal but also run a flail mower and PTO chipper occasionally. When I purchased it, it was quite a bit cheaper then the comparable Kubota and my funds were limited. I previously had a Kubota BX. The BX is nice tractor but too small for any serious work. The drawback with LS is that the dealer network is thin and tends to be more small mom and pop type places. Since I haven't had need for much dealer support, it hasn't been an issue for me. I had one part fail on my machine and the dealer send me a replacement that I installed. If money is no object and you have good dealer close by, I would probably look seriously at the Kubota. A note on the LS is that they make some of the New Holland models so you can sometimes get parts from New Holland that fit an LS. New Holland doesn't do any warranty work on the LS branded tractors, however.

The older, larger tractors will get the job done easier but the comforts aren't there. I Have some large 4WD tractors and a NH 9030 with a loader, and a 990 David Brown for small tasks. That and excavators, dozers, etc.

I bought a new JD 4052R with all the options and attachments I could ever use just over a year ago. It is not a heavy tillage machine but it handles a 6' disk, mower, and tiller just fine. It sure is nice to jump into a new rig with all of the comforts and not need to worry about fixing. It was out of my price range until the dealer mentioned 60mo warranty and 60mo, 0% financing. Zero fixing and free money for 5 years sounds good to me.

I will probably trade it for a 4066R in a few years. With the hydro transmission, a little more HP wouldn't hurt. I would not want anything smaller unless it was just for mowing my lawn.

I called and emailed our Kobota dealer a few times to price a tractor with zero response. That was the deal maker on the JD. I have a few dealers all within an hour and they are all looking to help.

I think I'm the last dude on earth that don't need a fugking tractor.

LOL

You just don’t know you need one. You got grass in front of your house? Might entertain the thought of growing a vegetable someday? Own a pickup with a trailer hitch you could pull a tiny tractor on? Might want to till up a 20’x40’ spot to plant Bucks of Tecomate super clover mix for growing giant antlers on your carefully managed deer herd? Ever seen a stump or cane patch? Yep, you NEED a tractor.

This is a bit of a sneak peek into the Sham-man's future....get the biggun' Sha!

I'm not a farmer.

Yep. That's not how I want this to turn out. About a decade ago, there was a broohaha down at the farm when I wasn't there. The neighbor called me that night and told me the DEA had a helicopter land out in my pasture and a bunch of LEOs had swarmed the place looking for weed. I immediately called the sheriff. He laughed. No, my alcoholic neighbor had been running his tractor down in the bottoms and turned it over on himself. My pasture was about a half-mile from the scene, but it was the closest they'd been able to fly in AirCare for the extraction. It sounded like a major fuster-cluck, but the guy survived.

AirCare is free. The county pays for any AirCare to the local trauma units in Lexington and Cincinnati. Just over the line, about a mile to my west, the trip is not free-- about $10K per trip. It's a benefit I don't want to avail myself of.

The guy that does my hay has had two major OOPSs. One involved putting a rookie on the tractor unsupervised, and he darn near turned it over running it on one of my hillsides. The other time the back tire blew on one of his big tractors and I saw it on the security camera. It alllllllmost went over near the top of the hill. If it had, he'd have rolled 200 feet into the ravine with the baler attached.

Let's face it. I'm not a farmer. I'm 65 and I'm still weak from the Chemo. Tearing up a little level ground and putting in a food plot is about the most I want to work. Anything else, and I'm going to pass it over.

Okay, so let's put the tractor ideas aside for the moment. Let me ask y'all this: I've got rock along the margins of all my fields. Some patches are 50-100 yards long with big plates of fieldstone right at the fenceline. The fields are relatively flat, but the rocks are piled right at the margin of the downhill slope going into the woods with a 2-4 foot drop. They've been there for a hundred years or more. Is this worth harvesting? If so, how would y'all go about it? In the past, I just levered them out and threw them in the back of the pickup or dragged the bigger pieces out on a trailer. The most I've done is a couple of walkways and a small patio. The house project is going to require tons of the stuff.

Confucius say "Start with a quote for field stone delivered to site of build." Decide how much you want to spend "saving" money.

Shaman,

Remember when you overinflated the tire on your Cub Cadet and knocked yourself cold?

LOL

That’s God telling you to watch Netflix.

Holy hell that would be something to have happen.

Seen a few of those on the YT where big truck tires send the ol boy doin somersaults.

He was confused as fugk about it too.

LOL

Think he pumped 110psi into that bitch.

I'm a lead farmer mótherfugger!

I always wanted one. It's a very versatile size. I have an 1850 diesel.

kwg

I’d want 60” wheel width if I was intending to do any farm related usage. 30” rows are standard, no ‘hobby’ tractor for me.

Now let's not overplay the joke. No, I wasn't confused. When I woke up, I knew exactly what I'd done. It knocked my straw hat a good 15 yards-- further than you can throw it. The problem was I didn't have a tire gauge, and I was guessing. I have to admit that even I had to laugh after I got back to my senses. The second thing I did after I went into town and got a new tire mounted was to buy a new tire gauge.

five feet? Bull Schitt!

I have the 8N at 6 1/2 ft, and the bigger tractors are eight feet to outside edges.

Anything sub 100 hp, go kubota. You won't regret it

now we're getting good on here...


at one time somewhere I don't know if I can find it again there was some stats in these little Sub compact small tractors with loaders were responsible for more injuries than all add tractors combined..


biggest reasons people do not understand ballast and in those little tractors that is a very important factor..
the little things are too narrow. and many times have more hydraulics than lead their ass.
not to ruffle any feathers but another big factor is too many people buy these little tractors that don't have a clue what they're doing and they end up hurt...

You should find that thread.

It was gold.

Good point here. Had a 5105 JD that was cool also a 6115 that I baled with. Great tractors. Was in the market for a sub 50 hp. Looked at all the jds first and they ain't on the same planet as kubota.

I just don’t think you need a 70hp for ‘retirement piddling’

Maybe half that, maybe less. Definitely get a front end loader though.

Main point, don’t take tractor advice from people who’ve lived in a subdivision and sold life insurance for 35 years.

In my minimally knowledgeable opinion look for a tractor that does not have or use a diesel particulate filter. IIRC Mahindra does not use that set up but uses something a bit different and will not shut you down in the middle of a task...

I think it happened in 2020, and you've been mentioning it every time I post for the last 3 years.

I'm glad it's giving you so much entertainment.

Haven't the John Deer owners declared jihad over their inability to service them?

Someone mentioned Ag Tax Exemption. Once you are a permanent resident, you will want to file with KY DOR (Dept Of Revenue) for an "AE" number. All Ky Ag Dealers are supposed to have a copy of your "AE" number before they can waive the tax. Good for equipment dealers, feed mill, Tractor Supply, hardware store, lumber, etc... Not a big deal to apply. But in Frankfort, the gears turn slowly. Very slowly...

Pretty much. I had a regular service on our biggest tractor. Normally do everything ourselves, but got busy. Anyway called up a service tech, the show up, forget the oil, and charge me another service call fee to go back and get the oil. Didn't pay it, but still?