First off, I know nothing about tractors another than that I want one. Our hunting lease is about 1000 acres.

The tractor will be used to mow roads, 4 wheeler trails, food plots, and to disc the food plots. The average size food plot is no more than an acre, and there are 8-10 of them.

My general understanding is that you need 30 hp (pto) for 5 foot implements and 40 hp (pto) for 6 foot implements. Given that I have a lot of fairly small 4 wheeler trails, I was going to go with the smaller of the two. I'm thinking about the Mahindra 3016, but will consider other options. Tell me what I need to know.



http://www.davidselftractors.net/index.asp

You will be better off with a 4WD 30hp than a 2WD 40hp

Mahindra are generally a PITA to get parts for... take that into consideration.

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I don't know how much the little 45 hp "5E" series Deere tractors cost, but if you're worried about maintenance and parts that's the smallest tractor I'd do any kind of serious work with.

I've heard from several people who would know that they are among the most reliable tractors John Deere has ever made. These are the ones made in India with the ugly square fenders... evidently they made up for lack of advanced construction by putting more iron everywhere. Uses all of the old legacy parts (now made in India) of the old tractors.

John Deere also is a lot more conservative on their HP ratings, and produces them at lower RPM's. The lower the RPM where they rate the published HP, the more "oomph" the tractor has for serious PTO and drawbar work. I'd also look at the Kubotas and if you're looking to go cheap, maybe the Kioti.

Do you have implements, or would you need to buy those along with the tractor? I am biased because I grew up with John Deere on the farm, my dad sells John Deere and my cousins own a few Deere dealerships.

That being said, I would stay away from Mahindra or any other small company, including Kubota becuase it all comes down to parts and service.

For what you are wanting to do, I would probably go with a 2wd instead of a MFWD and look for a package deal if you need implements.

the 3016 will most likely meet you minimum requirements. We have never got anything less than a 40hp. If you set on one of these tractors, upgrade to the 3616. It will give you more hp and I believe its a larger frame tractor that will give you more clearance and possibly a better bucket and loader.

Minimum is usually 5hp/ft on implements. I have a tractor that is ~25hp, and I use 5 foot implements, but it is a fairly sturdy tractor for the HP rating.

If it were me, and its not, I would stick to Massey, Deere, Kubota, and Case/NH....im not sold on Kioti or Mahindra.

I bought a DX series Case several years ago, 50hp pto. It is branded as a 'compact' but its still 6' wide at the rear wheels and 3200lbs. I got it since my place is heavily wooded and I can't have anything too wide or I can't mow between trees but wanted/needed the HP. I have a 6' shredder and am going to buy a 6' grapple soon. Its not their 'ag' tractor, which has the same motor and power, but I think it must be heavier and a hair wider...not sure, i bought mine used. Anyway, Its been really good to me and I use it for stuff that probably pushes its ratings. Idve been happy with a John Deer too I suppose, but I did't feel like paying for green paint and this had what I wanted with 100hrs of use in 4wd.

Definately get 4wd. Especially for the smaller 30hp tractors...worth every penny for dirtwork.

I don't know what mine is for the shifter...I have a clutch and 12 forward/reverse gears. They sold a model that had a non clutch setup, but I didn't like the way that sounded....they may be handy and sound though.

[This message has been edited by BrazosDog02 (edited 1/24/2012 1:39p).]

We bought a 4x4 JD 3520 last year for our school farm with loader, shredder, auger, tiller for right@26K IIRC. For what you are describing this wouldn't be a bad starting point. As long you're just doing management and not using it to haul a lot of hay etc.

Harman,

Email me. I am a sales rep for a Holt Agribusiness, a division of Holt Cat. We are a Challenger and a Massey Ferguson dealer in Texas. Challenger does not make a compact tractor you are looking for but Massey would fit your needs. Look forward to hearing from you.

matthew.krocka@holtcat.com

Are you set on getting something new or under warranty? If not, there's tons of older tractors that will do the jobs you are looking at for 1/3 the money. Craigslist farm and garden is your friend. Also, do you ever want to haul on a trailer, or will it be on your deerlease forever? Generally, you can buy larger used tractors for less than the small ones (and over capacity is a good thing), but hauling can be an issue.

Do yourself a favor and check out the Bobcat compact tractors. I bout one a year ago and it is freaking awesome. I have owned kubota and JD and the Bobcat is much better built.

A 30 to 32 hp tractor will do what you have stated, but I would not go any less if you are doing groundwork. Yeah, bigger is nicer, but you have size constraints that a lot of readers here do not have. If you are going to do some serious plowing, you will need more than 30hp. It does not look like you will be doing this.

I do not think that price on the Mahindra is all that good. It doesn't cost all that much more to get a 32hp JD w/4wheel drive and hydro transmission.

I also use the 5hp per foot of implement width rule. Therefore, a 30hp (pto) tractor should run a 6' shredder just fine. This is the setup I use on my JD 32hp.

I too would stay away from Mahindra, but I would also state that Kubota is not a small company at all. In fact, it is a world-wide company with an extensive dealer network. It will not be a problem to get parts or service for a Kubota in this part of the country. That being said, my tractors are Deere and Case/Farmall, but only because I got a better deal.

If you live in the B/CS area and want to see a JD in your HP range, you can reply here with your email, and I'll reply back.

30-35 HP with 4WD will suit you fine.

Kubotas are extremely reliable tractors with impeccable build quality and materials of construction - exactly what you'd expect of a Japanese product. The big difference is that they rate their tractors at a higher RPM than John Deere, so a similar HP tractor might be considerably smaller than a John Deere. They are compact tractors, made exactly for what you'd be using one for. If you want something a little more robust for future increased use, or better hydraulics, you might spring for the John Deere.

It's just like a car - if you want something small and reliable, buy Japanese. If you want a HD truck, you buy American(ish).

In 2004 I was shopping for a 40hp-ish tractor, and it was apparent that JD and Kubota know that each are the others main competition, for tractors under 60-70hp.
Pricing on the JD was slightly higher (by $1k), its FEL was rated higher, but the Kubota had a much nicer shuttle shift tranny, and a much higher rated 3-point. Having owned a smaller Kubota (which was a workhorse), I stayed with orange.
And as others have stated, for X dollars, go with 4WD and lesser HP, versus more horses and 2WD. The HP/weight ratio of modern tractors has you never lacking in power for the jobs described by the OP.

Thanks for all your responses. I think the answer to my original question is that I need a tractor with pto hp between 30 - 35. But you all have raised some excellent other questions that I had not considered.

My budget is $15k, thus my interest in the Mahindra, but no one here seems to be a fan.

I've been told that I need a front end loader, but no one has been able to tell me why. I don't plan to do any dirt work, I just want to plant food plots. Do I really need a front end loader?

You can do a lot of stuff with a FEL that you might not think about. I wish I had one.

A consideration where I live is breaking an axle on rough terrain. You can "crawl" and have no danger of this but if you speed up just a little and then hit a hole, it could happen.

For this reason, many around here buy a little bit bigger than we otherwise would need.

I have a JD 4440, JD 990, and Case 830....all pretty old now. The 4440 is what I use to haul round bales through pasture. Although the 990 could do it, I would not use the 990-FEL on rough terrain for hauling bales because something would eventually break. I have, however, used the 990 to pull a bale buggy through mud when the 4440 wasn't running.

First of all, it is cheaper to put a FEL at the the time of purchase than after the fact. Second, there are several attachments you can put on the loader, i.e. forks, grapples, etc. If you wanted to lift pallets or move brush, it would be nice to have.

I know with Massey, if you don't want the loader on, you can simply detach it and have it out of your way. Reattach when needed.

45 hp Kubota will do just about anything you would need it to do, but as was stated up at the top, you're probably better off with the 4wd than 2wd.

Some uses for a FEL:

Move trees that have fallen over.
Pick up and remove dumpsters if you have them.
Load up firewood from a tree that you've cut up.
Load up rocks, gravel, sand and move somewhere else.
Pick up dead animals and move somewhere else without touching them.
Raise above eye level as a shield during the zombie apocalypse.

Get the fel. Don't ask questions.

Only remove mine for shredding sometimes. But
I use it to carry stuff when I'm working or simply as a ballast for box blade work. I pull t posts with it. I haul compost. I scoop dirt. I carry chicken **** to my compost pile. It's handy as hell.

You will use it a lot and if you resell it will be a good thing to have especially if you have 4wd.

There's no reason not to have a bucket. Buy a tractor without one, and 1 month into having it, you'll figure out some reason why you should have gotten one.

I have a 30 hp Kubota with loader. I do the same tasks you want to do. Works great. It is 4x4.

Check out Foster's Farm. They've got some great prices on green tractors.

have a appx 30 HP ford, does all you need it to. Dont have FEL... if you can afford it, I'd get one. Mine is 2WD works great, dont need 4X4 IMO unless your place gets real muddy or if you are going to be pushing dirt etc (getting a loader).

I agree with a lot of people here... I have a JD 25hp with a FEL >> It would be completely useless without 4wd.

I love the 62" belly mower on mine! I also built forks for the FEL... Works brilliantly!



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MFWD,FEL, John Deere or Kubota, 35-45 hp...EOT!

nothing less will do