How much horsepower do I need? - TractorByNet - Tractor Forum

I'd look at something used in the 50-70hp range, at the very least.
The more the better, and you'll be working it less.
You can get away with a smaller rig, if you have the time and choose the impliments right though, but I'd still want at least 40-50hp for chopping brush, and plowing in that heavy ground.

Plowing clay loam is as much about tractor weight as it is power. I have seen 4 bottom plows give a light 70hp tractor fits, where an older heavier 40hp tractor had no issues. I believe you will want enough power and traction to pull 84"- 96" implements to work 25 acres.

I would think 70 horsepower would be about right. This is the beginning of the ag tractor category, which in the Kubota lineup are in the 'M' Series.

You will also need four wheel drive. Some ag tractors have it, some do not. You do not want to compact clay soil while working it. With 4-WD you have much more traction and can use a lighter tractor effectively.

You can pull a 72" Heavy Duty Bush Hog/Rotary Cutter through 2" saplings with an ag tractor. You could pull an 84" Rotary Cutter but you may find a 72" RC more maneuverable with only 5 acres of pasture to recover.

LINK TO KUBOTA M SERIES:

http://www.kubota.com/product/MSeries.aspx 50 to 70 sounds about right but you haven't said what you will be planting or what you will be harvesting it with if it is more then a cover crop. You should consider the PTO horsepower draw from whatever is the largest piece of equipment you might want to use. For example bailers that make four foot round bales need about 50HP at the PTO to work efficiently. Also if you plan on pulling balers with kicker wagons in train you need enough weight to not get pushed around going down hills by the mass behind you.
You should at least set on a JD E to see how JD answers those questions before you make your final choice. (No I'm not a dealer ) You can go as big as your wallet will let you and finish very fast with your bush hogging or go as small as 20 HP and 4 foot cutter and take a couple days for your 25 acres. We used a JD 750 2 WD with turf tires to cut our neglected 42 acre farm when we first bought it. It was slow going in the heavy stuff (like 1st gear) but it got the job done in all but the wet areas. Those turfs would get stuck on wet grass if trying to turn on a slight incline. Now we have 3 tractors, one dedicated TLB Kubota B26, a NH and my beast LS P. Both the NH and LS have mowers and cabs with AC so mowing it done quickly and in comfort.I can remember when I was very young that my Dad farmed 40 acres with an 8N Ford (19 PTO HP)and all 2 row equipment (72") so it can done. That was a big step up from a pair of mules, so size is all relevant to how you want to do the job and how much time you are willing to invest.

I would say that you don't NEED anything larger than a 50 HP which is a nice sized in between small CUT and Utility. Just remember that the larger the tractor the more it costs and the more the proper sized equipment costs for it. Check out the Kubota MX. 52 hp with turbo. Tons of power, low on bells and whistles ...Just a real work horse. Consider the gear driven model over hst for pure power.

I am expanding my farm operation and thus will be purchasing my first real tractor(probably a Kubota or New Holland with 4x4, hydrostatic tranny). I will be plowing and planting about 20 acres of clay loam and bush hogging a badly overgrown 5 acre pasture in addition to regular farm chores. I would greatly appreciate any advice on the necessary horsepower to accomplish this. Thanks.

Eric

Make a list of everything you think you might need or want to do with the tractor. Go visit every dealer within reasonable driving distance, talk to salespersons, drink lots of free coffee and try their tractors on for size. Let them recommend what size you need to accomplish the tasks you identified. A few more PTO horsepower and weight can make all the difference in what size implements you can use. Like was said before, your budget and how much your time is worth will factor in.

The lifting capacity of the loader can change tremendously by stepping up one size to the next model that uses a different loader. When you start moving things on pallets or lifting equipment off trailers the difference between a loader that lifts pounds and one that can lift - pounds is a big deal. I use my forks as much as my bucket.

Don't be afraid to ask for customers or client list that you can contact to see the tractor in operation or to check out the dealer's reputation. When you see one sitting somewhere stop and talk to the owner. Most of us don't mind talking tractors, that's why we are on TractorByNet. My dad started farming in with a 26 hp (drawbar) Allis Chalmers WC, and farmed a 45 acre home place and a second 40 acre parcel. In we moved to a 65 acre home place and bought another 35 acres next to the second parcel, so he upgraded to an AC D-17, then traded that for a 175, 54 (drawbar) horsepower. It was plenty of tractor. It would pull 3-16s through topsoil in 3rd and high, a little over 4 mph.

Figure that your HST will suck about 5 hp, and you will need about 40 hp left over. Buy the automatic draft control for the 3-point and it will really speed up your plowing. A 14" width is more common nowadays, and you should have no trouble pulling 3-14s through clay with 40 drawbar horsepower. Ignore the engine horsepower, the only rating that matters for farming is drawbar horsepower. Probably your minimum tractor should be an L or comparable. Maybe an MX . Ag tires, of course.

What size garden are you going to work? How many horses? Do you need it to have a high bucket reach? Maybe need a mid-mount PTO for a belly attachment?
Those questions (and there are many more) need to be considered for sizing a tractor. I haven't dealt with the hydrostatic drive units very much, but would stay away from them for working ground, I think they would get hot from the fluid shearing vs the direct coupling of a gear/clutch transmission. But hydro drive are very nice for bucket work (cleaning pens) and other tasks that require frequent direction changes.

My parents had more but are down to 3 horses now, roping calves during the warmer months (~5), are on 5.5 acres, bushhog weeds, work fullsize arena.

My dad had a Kubota B 4wd (19HP PTO). 6x2 trans, super slow gears in the low range and low teens when topped out. Gear spacing was a little bit too far apart, for how we loaded it anyways, but that is just being nit picky. That was a working little machine! 4' bucket (frequent dumping required when cleaning pens), 2spd rear PTO and single speed mid PTO. It could barely pick up an 8' wide two row disc, but could drag it at near full depth through the clay dirt in New Harmony (Cedar City area) for working a horse arena (so the ground wasn't too tough to begin with). You had to go get a scoop of dirt before you went to work so that it had enough weight to steer and traction to pull. This was a disc that would make a 35Hp tractor get warm. We filled the rear tires about 2/3 full of water/antifreeze for ballast to the bucket. We rented a 5' tiller (smallest they had) and it spun that tiller in the hardpack of the horse pens. For its size, it did a lot of work. It did not reach high enough to easily load a hay rack on the roof of their horse trailer, but it did help. I think this unit was around $11k with 5' box blade and bushhog.

Put a few hundred hours on it before it was sold (had about ) and upgraded to a Kubota 4wd (about 38HP PTO). 12x4 trans, low gear is still taller than the B but not by much, wide out it will do about 18 (maybe more this thing flies). I'm sure one of these is well over your $5k mark, but the larger bucket and greater capacities make for fast work. He got it from somewhere in South Idaho.

We also have an older Ford 335 2wd (late 70's early 80's model diesel about 35HP) without the loader. It was the original for using that old 8' disc; I turned many acres with this tractor for pumpkins. I don't know how many thousand hours it has on it now, I remember my grandpa acquiring it in the mid 80's. It's worked ~40 acres since then (disc, bushhog/mowing, and other farming duties) and it still works like a champ. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase an older unit that has been maintained. It does weigh a little more than the L Kubota.

Whatever you purchase, I think you MUST get a loader, and MUST get 4wd if it is a smaller tractor. Even with the liquid ballast on that B, no attachments on the 3-point required 4wd to keep it from spinning (even with dried horse poop), the loader is just so heavy compared to the rest of the tractor. The larger framed units seem to do better with only 2wd. That also makes me think about you moving the tractor, think of a weight that you can carry on a trailer you may already have...

I'm guessing an 18-25HP unit would work well for you. I don't have any leads on one at this time, but will keep an ear out. Hope this helps. I have a Kubota BX24 (like the one pictured above) that I purchased new in . I have put it through the wringer over the years working 6 acres of mountain property and also to put food on the table when I was furloughed from my RR job for three years. It hass never left me wishing I had a bigger one. The thing with tractors is, most will do the job you need done, its just how long it will take to do with one tractor versus another. I bought mine for leisurely working around the cabin, so no deadlines came into factor.

Its a TLB, the FEL will lift around 600lbs, the backhoe has a bit more breakout force than that. I bought a box blade and a rear blade for it and have used both extensively. 24 horse, the unit weighs around lbs with the FEL and BH attached. So, its easy to trailer from one place to another. Cool thing about the BX models is that they will fit through a 4 foot gate.

I don't know if you'll find one in your price range though, I paid 17k for mine, and it would still bring a premium if I were to sell it.