> We don't even own a tractor because it's not economically viable to take on the upfront or maintenance costs of modern tractors.
This is a little bit ridiculous. A tractor is an invaluable tool and there's tons of them out there that are as old as 60-70 years and still running great. You don't need a brand new GPS-guided john deere with a dealership maintainence plan to work a small ranch; $5-10k will get you something that is old, but easily maintained and will last forever.
Oh I have absolutely looked for an older tractor. Finding a model with parts still somewhat easy to find limits the market, finding one that hasn't rusted out in a field for 20+ years is even harder. The only ones I found within 300 miles of us over the last 12 months were either rusted to hell, clearly lazy paint jobs covering rust, or collectors items that were restored and priced out of the market.
In addition to that, old tractors aren't as capable as modern tractors and are heavy as hell. If the health of the soil is a concern it lsso not ideal to run a 3,000-7,000 pound tractor across the field regularly.
Dont get me wrong, more days than not I wish we had a tractor to make certain jobs easier. I've yet to find one that fits in our budget, is clean enough to be reliable, has parts available when it breaks, and can meaningfully improve the tasks we regularly deal with.
I the meantime we have a Kai truck (Japanese minitruck) that weighs next to nothing and does some serious work around here.
Something like a Kubota L2000 (or any of the many similar ones ranging 12-40HP) fits the bill for semi-modern-ish, light-ish, small-ish, capable-ish, and cheap-ish. It can even run a bucket loader. If I can get one with a mower, roller, and sicklebar tossed in, in Ireland, for €7000, I'd imagine the U.S. will have the same available at half the cost. Don't give up. Bar one guy in Donegal, EVERY regen ag hippie farmer I've met (who didn't go under) was all "we don't need a tractor" at the outset and owned one inside of 5 years. Any sweat you spend doing things a tractor can do better and faster inside your cost envelope is sweat wasted. https://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/006/8/8/6882-kubot...
Why limit the search to 300 miles? I imagine paying for shipping on a cost effective tractor would be worth its weight in gold in the long run. (financial situations very greatly I know)
It's one of those things where you have to take a look in person before you buy it. 600 miles round trip is relatively easy to drive in a day without staying overnight.
Totally agree! And my advice is to find something in the 30hp zone. The yard tractors are not as generally useful from a mechanical advantage standpoint. Tractors aren't just "tillers and mowers". Along with levers and pulleys, the tractor can be seen as a general purpose force applicator.
But it can often be better to get an older tractor, as they can be easier to repair and maintain than the newer ones.
You don't need to go back 60-70 years to the bad old days of 9Ns with leaking carburetors, slipping clutches, and transmission-driven PTOs. A 20-30 year old 4WD compact tractor with a diesel engine, hydrostatic transmission, and independent, live PTO can similarly last forever and be easily maintained (as long as you don't buy a Deere).
This is a little bit ridiculous. A tractor is an invaluable tool and there's tons of them out there that are as old as 60-70 years and still running great. You don't need a brand new GPS-guided john deere with a dealership maintainence plan to work a small ranch; $5-10k will get you something that is old, but easily maintained and will last forever.