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QUESTION:I'm a woman in my 40's that lives alone in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
I am 200 miles north of Green Bay - far from civilization and tractor
dealers. I'll need to be able to do the minor servicing myself (dad was
a mechanical engineer and I grew up helping him build things). I need
something reliable and versatile for a hobby farm that a woman can
handle and a man would be comfortable with.
I've got 36 sloping acres with decent soils, but rocky. About 20 acres
is in fields - mostly 3-4% slope, one 10% slope. I do a fair amount of
brush pulling (tag alders) to clear some overgrown parts that will
eventually turn into brush hog work. I have almost 1000 feet of
driveway to keep open - this is an area with as much as 350" annual
snowfall and I mow about 5 acres of lawn (well it's green anyway). The
'74 plow truck needs to be retired.
I'd like a compact tractor to do some landscaping and gardening. There's
wires to bury, a septic system to dig up for cleaning, manure to handle,
fences to build/repair, gardens and drives to maintain and terrain to
smooth out. I'd like a loader, a brush hog, a blade or snowblower, and
a backhoe and post hole auger would be nice. Most of the hours will be
for snow removal and mowing/brush hogging.
I already have a Cub Cadet riding lawn mower, a DR field and brush
mower, a 26" snowblower, a rototiller and a Farmall M tractor with a hay
mower, plow, etc. for field work (but no 3-pt hitch). I need something
for the "medium" sized jobs. Is there such a thing available for around
$20-25,000?
ANSWER: You definitely want a 4WD tractor for negotiating those slopes in snow and/or
mud. For what you describe, I'd recommend something at the top end of John
Deere's "Compact tractor" line or at the small end of their "Utility Tractor
line." I recently bought a JD1070 (their biggest compact tractor) new for
$17,400. This tractor is 4WD, but I didn't buy the front-end loader or
backhoe. You could probably add these options and keep within your price
range. The backhoe looks as if it can be taken on and off win a few minutes
which will be necessary for the use of three point hitch implements.
My feeling is that this tractor (with backhoe and frint end loader options)
will do everything you want. The tractor is a bit underpowered (35 HP) for
serious regular backhoe work, but it is adaquate to use a small backhoe for
occasional digging of small ponds, ditches, septic systems, root cellars,
etc.
This (and most) compact tractors are much lighter than "utility" tractors and
tend to stay on top of soft ground rather than sinking in and getting stuck.
The traction and steering of this tractor are very positive, it has a tight
turning radius, and is much more agile than utility tractors. On the down
side, the three point hitch is not nearly as beefy as the slightly more
powerful utility tractors, and the linkage arms seem a little short which can
lead to implements hitting the back tires if the operator isn't careful.
The JD1070 4WD will pull a two bottom plow through our heavy clay. It
dowsn't go really fast doing it, but it turns the dirt over to an acceptable
depth. This tractor operates a 5' rototiller and a 6' woods rotary cutter
through the thickest soil and brush for which these implements were designed,
and it does it with positive traction, steering, and power. However, it's
clear that the tractor is maxing out its power pulling these implements
through heavy damp clay , thick brush, or tall, thick, wet grass.
JD's utility tractors (such as the 5210) start at around $23,000 with 4WD but
without many other options. By the time you add a backhoe and front-end
loader, you're probably over $30,000 new. You can probably get down into
your price range by buying used equipment, but that depends on whether or not
you're willing to take the greater risks that entails and how good you feel
about your ability to evaluate used equipment or how much you trust the
expertise of the person evaluating the used equipment for you. The 2WD
utility tractors can be had new for around $17,000, but a 2WD utility tractor
is a nightmare on slippery slopes. They have neither the traction, steering,
nor agility to meet your requirements. They do a good job on dry, level
ground where ther's plenty or room to turn around, but I've gotten a 2WD
utility tractor stuck so many times I've lost count. I've never gotten a 4WD
tractor stuck and I've gone into some pretty tricky situations.
The heavier utility tractor (in 4WD) will pull two bottom plow with much more
authority and make much quicker work of those backhoe jobs. However, getting
the backhoe on and off is a bigger undertaking than on the compact tractors.
These tractors are not quite as agile as the compact tractors, but with a
medium or heavy duty rotary cutter you can simply run over and mow down some
pretty thick brush and trees (up to about 1-1/2 inch diameter) that you have
to work much harder at to get rid of with a compact tractor (pull 'em out
individually or cut with a chainsaw). The utility tractors require more
working room than the compacts for manure handling jobs and other loader
applications, so to some extent the size of your facilities might come into
play.
I've framed my discussion in terms of the John Deere line, but New Holland
and others have comparable lines, and there are several foreign manufacturers
of utility tractors. Someone might point out that the JC compact tractors
are actually made by Yanmar and suggest you buy a Yanmar instead at a cheaper
price. The bottom line on this is that the engines are the same, but the
degree to which the rest of the tractors are the same has varied over time,
and Deere has gone out of their way to ensure that the quality of the
complete Deere tractor package is up to their standards. You don't get John
Deere's quality control, warranty service, are parts infrastructure if you
buy the Yanmar tractor.
There is also a newly available JD4000 series which bridges the gap between
the 1070 and the 5210. These weren't available when I bought my 1070, so I
didn't investigate them thoroughly, but you might want to. Check out
www.deere.com.
The New Holland tractors (formerly Ford) would be my second choice. I've
been consistently impressed with their help and support in keeping my 30 year
old Ford 3000 working, but I couldn't bring myself to buy a tractor from the
same company that made the select-o-speed transmission. The Fords do have
great diesel engines though. I never seriously considered Kubota's and other
foreigh tractors, because I am not as confident that these suppliers will
still be in the US market supplying the parts I'll need in 30 years.
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