We are getting ready to move to our new homestead. We no absolutely nothing and, I am talking nada...nothing...zippo..here, about tractors. Neither one of us have ever even rode, driven or seen one up really close. We will be on 7 acres, mostly hilly (but not too steep)land. We are having chickens, a calf for beef, a couple of pigs and a couple of goats for milk. We will have a large garden (approx. 1/2-1 acre) and there is a small orchard. We were wondering if rather than a full size tractor, if we could get by with the Sears 22-34 hp garden tractor. We could use it to mow the lawn, get a cultivator, etc. for the garden, and a wagon (holds 600 lbs) to haul feed and hay. We can't afford a John Deere or simular. Everyone I have talked to keep talking about what you can get for the low low price of $13,000-18,000!! We will only have about $3,800 to spend. Wouldn't mind a compact "real" tractor but if I get that, then I also have to buy a riding mower for the yard, etc. Maybe we would be better off with a riding mower, a good tiller, and a DR Powerwagon?? Thanks for your help!

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), April 30, 2001

Answers

Before you can answer the what tractor question We need to know what it will be used for. You have 7 acres, but how much will be "yard". How much will be pasture, YOu have said your garden size but how big is the orchard. You mentioned searc garden tractor 22-34hp. I dont think sears has a 34hp. 24hp yes, but not 34hp. If your getting a good garden tractor in the 20hp range with a reasonable size mowing deck then your already in the $2500-3000 range.

As for compact tractors, you can use them to mow the yard. Many come with belly mowers and you can always put on a finish mower. Having just gone though the compact search. Your right on the money with new tractors being $15K. Used John Deere, Kubota and fords still bring top dollar so your not going to get down to your $3800 range. You still have a few options in compacts. Grey market tractors, Yanmar, Iseki, Shibaura, Hinomoto and Mitsubishi tractors, Homonto all from japan are a reasonable following. You can get down to the $3800 range. All three brands in 15-18hp diesel tractor can be had for around $4k..You still have to figure out what implements you want and buy those (note many japanees imports come with tillers). Check out http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/yanmartractorownersgroup for a group of yanmar owners or http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/greymarkettractorclub for the other grey market club.

You could also go with an older Ford 8n. Threse can be found with attachments in your price range. That coupled with a used garden tractor may meet your needs.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), April 30, 2001.

I don't consider myself an expert by far, but you won't be happy with a garden tractor in the long run, in my opinion. 7 acres is a good size for a small used tractor. Ford 8N or 9N should be in your price range. Parts are available, and you can do so much more with it than you would be able to do with a garden tractor. And it'll hold up a lot better to hard work and rough land than a garden tractor will. Not only can you can mow a lot more faster, but you can disk, rake, drill, scoop, lift, and drag to your hearts desire. Implements (used) aren't that much more than it'll cost you to buy some of the garden sized ones they sell. And new ones can be had at reasonable prices if you shop around.

I've used a few 8N's in the past, and I wouldn't think twice about taking one of them over the biggest and badest garden tractor Lowes or Wal-Mart could sell me. Right now though, I'm blessed in the fact that I have just aquired a Ford 1720, and am very happy with it.

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), April 30, 2001.

We were in the same situation, except that we already had five acres and a big Sears lawn tractor with trailer and tiller. Just couldn't keep up. If we were going to keep maintaining this place without breaking our backs, it was obvious we had to get a real tractor. The riding mower just could not handle the pasture mowing unless we wanted to sit on it twenty hours a week, and the tiller was a joke - useless without four wheel drive. I took the mower deck off and use it with the trailer to haul stuff around on the level where the wheels won't spin. For real work I use the compact tractor. Yes, it was expensive, but John Deere has very good financing. We bought new because used tractors in good condition are almost as much as new and we couldn't finance a used tractor. Our local dealer has a program where they lease the tractors to a local nursery for a year. All they are allowed to use is the draw bar - no hydraulics and no PTO. When they come back, they sell the tractors for about $4000 less than list. Mine had 70 hours on it: good as new. If you can bite the bullet and finance a compact utility tractor with PTO and hydraulic capability, it is the only power plant you will ever need. Implements range in price from $500 to $1500 new. You can find used implements a lot cheaper in the farm ads. I would never try to till even a half acre with a lawn tractor, but I could easily till all five of my acres with my John Deere and Howard 60" tiller attachment. Pasture mowing is easy with the brush hog, and I can't tell you how much labor I saved on fence posts with the 12" and 18" auger. It digs a three foot deep hole in about a minute. I do grading, hauling and lifting. My John Deere was the most important farm investment we made - couldn't work without it. John Deere has a new line of tractors between the typical lawn and compact sizes. They are like a lawn tractor on steroids. I would strongly recommend you check them out.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), April 30, 2001.

Go with the mower, tiller & powerwagon, there will be time later for a tractor. I have a DR powerwagon and it has seen use every day for 4 years, (it is the heavy duty one)even though we have 2 tractors and an old 4x4 work truck.

-- Hendo (OR)r (redgate@echoweb.net), May 04, 2001.

As for being new to tractor operating, make every effort to set the wheels as wide as possible, both front and rear until you get accustom to operating the tractor, not all tractors have adjustable wheels. Hilly country and new operators can mean turnovers, and you will hate it if that happens!

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), May 04, 2001.