Tractor/Implement size rule of thumb?

NcBoy · Mar 10, 2017

Are there any rules of thumb to help you determine the size of tractor/implement you need to till and plant a particular acreage? How about going the other way around. For example, I have a 35HP tractor with a 2-16" bottom plow, 6' disc, two row seeder, and two row cultivator. Is 30-50 acres reasonable to plant with that setup or is it pushing it?

I know everyone's circumstance is different, so barring a broad rule of thumb are there guidelines about how long it should take you to plow, disc, plant, cultivate, and harvest you crop?

ss55 · Mar 10, 2017

Implement width in feet X Speed in MPH divided by ten is a rough estimate of how many acres you will cover in an hour.

(Width X Speed) divided by 10 = Acers per hour

2.66 feet plow x 4 mph divided by 10 = 1 acre plowed per hour

Traditional Farmer · Mar 10, 2017

Depends on how much tractor time you want to put in,used to be a farmer friend across the river from us when I was a kid that put in around 200 acres of crops with only an Allis-Chalmers WC it'd be running most every morning when we got up and run til dark.

Geo-TH,In · Mar 10, 2017

How many small fords, 2n,9n and 8n were the work horses of their time, around
20 hp?

The small tractors make me think the farmers couldn't do everything at the same
time, so they raised corn, beans, and wheat which they planted and harvested at
different times. Not to mention, rotating corps is good for the soil.

So today's rule of thumb is much different than yesterday's rule of thumb. And
yesterdays farmers had more seat time, no air ride seat, no air conditioning,
no cab, no heat. Iron butts.

Ken Macfarlane · Mar 10, 2017

How much free time do you have? People covered lots of
acres with that equipment when it was as big as it gets. Today
with 35 acres to plow and plant 4 row equipment and 65 hp
tractor is almost the same price and a heck of a lot faster. Not
a big step to 100 hp and a 5 bottom plow to get it done in a
hurry.

Ken Macfarlane · Mar 10, 2017

That should be 4 bottom on 100 hp unless you're on sand.

ztrmowers · Mar 10, 2017

is this for fun or profit, what your time worth. if have all kind free time go for it. would i no
way with that equipment. 15 ft or 6 row equip would be minimum for me. beside nowdays in my area
you can buy 12 row stuff cheaper than a little disc or planter. new homes and want play farmer
changing that.

Mike M · Mar 10, 2017

Farming used to be done all by hand. It's all in how FAST you want to go !

westga · Mar 10, 2017

Just to make the rule of thumb equation a
little more complicated, is it 30 to 50
acre one big flat field or is it a
combination of varying size fields?

Case Nutty 1660 · Mar 10, 2017

LOTS of them, in certain areas,, here we had two guy who custom plowed with two 8n Fords,,, like stated they sat of them from daylight till dark, I have one friend who's family bought a Jubilee Ford new,, only tractor on their 200 acre farm,, the clutch pedal on it is worn over half way through,, think they said it has 20,000 plus hrs on it and many rebuilds but still at use there today

The Dukester · Mar 10, 2017

Depends on how much time you can spend doing the farming and your choice of crops to raise. I can remember many diversified farms in our
area having only one 2 plow row crop/general purpose tractor farming 150-200 acres. We used to farm over 300 acres with a McCormick-
Deering W-6 and a Farmall H.....and did custom silo filling and sawmilling besides. Full time work for 1 adult man and a high school boy (me)
with very few days off and 4-5 hours of chores 7 days a week.......a part-time hired man sometimes required.....
...

DavidT1 · Mar 10, 2017

I currently rent 40 acres and seed 26. I have a JD 620, 4-14 plow, 12' disk and 16' IH 150 Hoe drills. I work full-time and farm on weekends and evenings. I just starting off and have had people say I need this to be bigger or more power here and so on, however my equipment is paid for and even in these current times I will make SOME money. With all that said I have to put my time in and fix my own stuff in order to move up. I feel from what you have is enough if you are willing to do the time and labor. Its seems like most of the world now days feels if they need to spend any amount of time that will take away from fun or other activities they simple say it cant be done or it is stupid. This is just my opinion so probably not worth much.

gene bender · Mar 10, 2017

With what you have it will work but plowing 50A with 2 bottom will take couple days.You can plow 20A a day with 3-14s

gene bender · Mar 10, 2017

60hp will pull 4 bottom cause thats the way we did it

flying belgian · Mar 10, 2017

Pa never bought anything on credit. Would wait to buy equip. until he had the money in the bank. Neighbors would tell him --you are never going to get done with that little equip. He would answer--I got
done last year, why wouldn't I get done this year?

RedGreenGuy · Mar 10, 2017

I based my beginning equipment on University IL Ag information. Thats been several moons ago. They
suggested equipment sized to plant in 6 weeks period and harvest in 6 week period

NcBoy · Mar 10, 2017

I appreciate everybody's feedback. RedGreenGuy, just to clarify when you say plant in six weeks do you mean plow, disc, and seed within that period?

C. Amick · Mar 10, 2017

I see a lot of guys doing farm tasks with tractor that are too large for the task. Such as raking hay with a newer 80 HP tractor. They could buy a 25 hp older tractor fairly cheap and save wear on the larger newer tractor.

Destroked 450 · Mar 10, 2017

One of the big time savers in todays cropping is no till planting, it does away with the biggest time consumer, The Plow.

We raised corn in a neighbors 50 acre field a few times, one year dad, myself and a hired hand plowed, dragged, disced, planted and sprayed non stop, start to finish using dad's Ford 850 and WD Allis with 2-14 plows, 7 ft disc and 2 row planter.
It took us 42 hours, one would rest while two worked rotating turns, rest 4 hours, work 8, mom brought all of our meals and fuel to the field.

One person with one 30-40 hp tractor, working 10-12 hour days start to finish, I'd guess it would take 2 1/2 to 3 weeks.
Back then when crop season started we worked 14-15 hour days. Today it's cattle and hay with a few acres of corn for cattle feed.
I've got a set of 3-16's for my tractor, don't remember when I last hooked to them, maybe 10, 15 years ago.

NcBoy · Mar 10, 2017

Are there no-till planters that a 35hp tractor can handle? I haven't looked into them much, but I was under the impression they were usually larger equipment.

NcBoy · Mar 10, 2017

Oh, and the other reason I didn't look into them closely is I heard it's hard to grow organically with no till. They generally use a lot of pesticides from what I understand.

Destroked 450 · Mar 10, 2017

Organic? You should have mentioned that to begin with.
What are you looking to plant.
I thought you where going to plant regular field corn.

ss55 · Mar 11, 2017

It works better to first determine how many hours you will have available for farming and how many acres you need to cover, then size your equipment to get things done in a timely manner with some cushion for poor weather. Your location and crops will determine the
best times to start and finish planting and harvest. Before specialization, farms diversified crops and livestock to even out the labor requirements and stay fully employed.

It will make a big difference if you are farming full-time, part-time, or if you are working a full-time off-farm job that requires overnight travel and your family commitments need you to keep your weekends free.

NcBoy · Mar 11, 2017

I guess that would be pertinent information. I'm raising heritage hogs and chickens and want to grow heirloom corn, soybeans, and possibly small grains to feed them. I don't necessarily need to start organic, but I would like to work that direction.

I currently work full time and can invest about 20 hours a week into the farming venture. I would like to transition into farming full time.

Tractor/Implement size rule of thumb?

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