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Tractor sizing help

C

Countrybimm

New User
So im brand new to the forum.I have used yesterdaystractors for a ton of research over the years but figured I should finally say hello..

I am a 37 year old railcar mechanic.Now. Born and raised on tobacco farms. Due to circumstances I had to make my own way into another field of work. Took a crack at growing watermelons in my 20s for five years didnt work out. Had to make a career change now im pulling wrenches on railcars.we have rented the land for veg/corn/bean over the last five year and I want to get back into cash crop as a side income.So heres where I need the forums help..

We have 80 acres workable. We own a massey 180 and a john deere 7000 four row.If im going to get back into it I need a land working tractor.

My original thoughts were a Ford TW-20, Holland 8360, Or spend a bit extra on a Case Magnum 7110-20.The elevator is less then a mile down the road and I want to haul my own product.

A massey 8220 has came up for 35k (can). Its got 8600 hours.i would be using it to do field work and haul corn to the elevator.the massey 180 would plant..I would love in the next ten years to maybe go a bit bigger and rent another 100 acres or so.equipement would be bought one piece at a time over the next four years.

Is the 8220 overkill?
 
I'm thinking in terms of tractor.Am I better off with a smaller hp tractor possibly newer or just buy the bigger one and use it..
 
At 180 acres you could be over kill on any over 100 hp tractor. Remember the equipping of that 150hp tractor will likely add 50% more to the total. On 89 acres it might not pay off. If you
intend to work off the farm, the reduced seat time might assist in making it work, but if doing that acreage full time it might not make the payments. If you can swing the cost out of pocket,
go big. Homework is your friend, penciling and calculator use is really needed. getting cost/productivity ratios from local farming friends is also valid. Jim
 
If you are going to pay thirty five thousand dollars for a tractor for use on eighty acres you are going broke before you
start.
 
Hey, there!! I was a railroader for 30 yrs.
Some in the mechanical dept at the roho,
some for the engineering dept working on track
machinery.
I did my share of midnights, and afternoons,
but it was worth it. Good insurance and retirement!!
Now I "pretend farm"! I provide amusement for all my real farmer neighbors!!
I make 10-12 acres of hay using antique machinery.
That's about as hard as I want to work at this point in my life!!
 
Obviously you are not in southern Mn. Around here you would have zero chance of renting additional acres just by saying it. No, you have to be already farming 5000 acres, have big, new, shiny tractors and
combines before anyone would even consider renting land to you. It's all about image and greed---look at my renter, he took my 400 acres of corn out over night. Had two brand new JD combines, 1500 bushel
grain cart pulled with brand new Cat and four Kenworths hauling it away.
 
Number one thing you need to figure out is how much money you will be grossing on your farming,then work backwards to see how much you can afford to spend on tractors and equipment.
 
Advice from Canada for what it's worth....for corn and beans on 80 acres, you don't
need a bigger tractor. 20 hours on the 180 will cultivate your field. Another 20
will plant it, a bit more than 20 in the fall will plow it. If you are growing half
corn and half beans, the work load is split over several weeks. Your Massey should
be able to haul 12 or so tons of product per trip if the roads are level.Make do
with what you have and upgrade when you need to or can afford it.

Ben
 
8000 hours is a little scary.

But I just bought my ‘new’ tractor last year with 6000 hours on it.

Before that I was running 3x as much land with a TW 20. I bought it 20 years ago for $10,600.

I think I would be looking for an under $15,000 tractor.

60-100 hp would take care of 80 acres, but if you grow having a 150hp is nice for sure. It gets er done.

Harvest tends to be the bottleneck, have a good plan for harvest. Everything else you can get through. But when harvest time comes, you need to move on it, and if
things break or your time gets split, have someone you can call.....

Have fun, it’s an adventure!

Paul
 
IIRC,a 180 is about 60 horse.Go for 100 horse. Look for something older and more affordable. Like IH 966/986;JD 4230/4240;Massey 1085/ 1105;Ford 8600.....Spend 35,000 and you will be broke before you start. Buy something
that you can pay cash for.Something to think about,keeping with one brand keeps everything the same. Weights,hitch points/dimentions; hydralic fittings,even filters are the same.
 
Agree with those who say you are most likely aiming too high in terms of tractor. Prepare a budget and project from that what your operation would finance. Can no
till be successfully used? Are there such operations near by that you can study? If the soil is fairly loamy and well drained that will mean less trips over the field during
planting season versus clay based soils. For a time when I was school aged we handled 200 acres in the spring with a JD 4010 diesel tractor. Ground was fall plowed
in those days and the tillage equipment was under 15 feet in width. Did not have to run all hours of the day to get things done. Calculate the number of hours needed in terms
of tractor time to prepare the seedbed using tools sized for it. I would think in terms of lowest hours on a considered purchase even if it might be a tad bit older but
maybe also from a reputable operation.
 
I would look intothe future,and assess the projection. In my experience if I got a too big tractor, now it is catIII hitch, 1000 only pto, harder to manuever and WAYYY more expensive to service in terms of usually has more filters, holds more oil, holds more antifreeze, has bigger more expensive tires, and this leads to the limited use of no 540 pto use, and unhandy hitching and drawbar configurations. I am a fan ofthe 125-140 hp rowcrops, like jd 4440 jd 4450,MF1135, case 2290, all those are catII/catIII 540/1000 ptoand well over 100 hp. and relative inexpensive service work. I know, I know, "you can buy 2 4840s for what a 4450 is worth" but if you are doing any medium or light work or 540 pto work, the 4840 stays parked. good luck.
 
Soin retrospect,where is the operation going? If it gets huge and doesn't have any use for a row crop tractor, then one s a waste of money, but if it gets into non gmo cultivation, little bales, or corn stalk flailing or ??? a row crop would be the best. In my experience as well, the midsize rowcrop platforms are generally long lived as long as they werent used to plow forever, chop corn, or other heavy tillage. These generally used to auger grain, blade roads, run little or round balers, cultivate, spray, grind feed, and usualy they don't wear out like a heavy tillage 150+hp tractor. Those big tractors around here are well worn. they are incapable of any lighter work,it simply can't do the job, there fore maybe they have fewer hours per year, but all of those hours are heavy hard work.
 
I had planted and ploughed 100 acres of corn
ground several years with a 100hp 966IH , a 880
MF 5 bottom plough and a 4 row IH planter.
Cultivator was a 18foot IH vibra shank. Didn’t have
more than 15 Grand tied up in the whole group of
Equpment. There are plenty of older 100Hp
tractors, and 5 bottom ploughs and 18-20
cultivators out there for sale cheap. Bit bigger
equipment won’t cost much more than little stuff
does, but it will speed you up quite a bit. This
equipment is to small now for the guys that want to
go no till, and too big for the small time fellas that
want to make a bit of hay.
 
Well let say you net 50 Dollars per acre, that's 4,000 dollars , whats wrong with the 180, and you got a planter i would farm with what u got, don't spend 35,000 even if it's Canadian money, that will not work !!
 
Why buy anything? Hire anything done that you don't have the right equipment for. you can get 2020 technology for less then it'll cost you in maintance and
upkeep. Figure out your farming operation so you borrow no money and take care of the land. that way the money you earn is your money and not some greedy
bankers bonus plan!
 
A 180 and a 3 bottom plow or similar sized tillage equipment will certainly take care of 80 acres until you can eran enough off the land to go with a slightly larger tractor. Anything above the 180 size to a 100 hp. tractor would certianly serve your needs.
 
I worked and farmed 100+ acres. With a
6060 Allis Chalmers.60Hp. Bought it new
for 12500. My tax deduction almost paid
for it in 5 yrs. I no-till. Have a 14 ft
IH disk. And had a 6 row AC no-till
planter. With all the gadgets. My wife
Pulled 250 bushel wagons to town. But
later my son got a 4040 JD.
 
Nobody that does custom work is going to want to bother with a piddly 80 acres, and likely does not have any equipment small enough for the fields.

Only get a huge tractor like the ones mentioned if you can get them CHEAP.

Just because you have a 150HP tractor for example, does not mean you need to buy 150HP equipment. Say your tractor is rated to pull 7 plow bottoms. Get a 5 bottom plow. Say your tractor is rated to pull a 32' harrow. Get a 24' harrow.

Match the equipment to the field. The tractor will pull it.

One advantage to being overhorsed is you won't be putting as much strain on the tractor by pulling smaller implements, and the tractor will be less likely to break down under the lighter loads.
 
It makes sense to rent land for the highest amount and to someone who can actually pay. But please explain, how does shiny and new equipment equal paying you? Wouldn’t you agree that the impression is since they are obviously paying someone, they are likely to pay you? And if they can bang out many acres fast, they are likely to avoid crop loss? I am not doubting the impression thing, but I have seen shiny new equipment operations go broke.
 


Larger tractors can easily and frequently do go for significantly less money than smaller ones. "That one is too old for the pro farmer and too big for the hobby farmer" fewer potential buyers will drive the price down. Occasionally a lot.
 
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