| Best Subcompact Tractor for Food Plots |
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By:
Ian32
Date:11-Apr-16
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Me and my wife are purchasing a 61 acre piece of land that is pretty thick. There are several open fields however that I would like to plant food plots in. I would rather have a tractor than an ATV to plant the plots. What is a good subcompact tractor that I could use? I plan on pulling a disk and drag harrow with it.
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By:
Genesis
Date:11-Apr-16
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Get at least low 40's with a loader and 4WD
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By:
bdfrd24v
Date:11-Apr-16
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We have a JD 4320 (48hp) that is 4wd w/ loader, forks, and 2 buckets. Its small enough to still get around the woods easy too when need be. Have a small set of disks and some other implements. You aren't going to plow with it, well could with maybe 2 small plows, but you would be at it a while.
I have a great neighbor though, so if I need any big work done I call him.
I agree something around 40-50hp w loader and 4wd would be my minimum specs.
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By:
wildan
Date:11-Apr-16
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You don't want a "sub"compact for that type of work but a compact will do it.Do some reading at www.tractorbynet.com.Lots of good information there on tractors and implements. My tractor is 44 HP and is more than adequate.
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By:
Drahthaar81
Date:11-Apr-16
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Case 448 with rototiller and chains on the tires has done well for me with less than 4 acres. I think its an 18hp motor.
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By:
Purdue
Date:11-Apr-16
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Ford 8N. Mine is 70 years old and still running strong. They sell for around $2000-3000.
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By:
Bake
Date:11-Apr-16
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I don't own a tractor, but if I bought one, I would buy whatever brand had the closest and best service and parts department
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By:
Todd in MI
Date:11-Apr-16
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I would have to agree with Pat. I have a 40 hp New Holland for my forested northern Michigan property. I really like it's size for getting into smaller food plot locations.
I just purchased a Cabela's 75 hp tractor about a month ago for home use and love it. I needed a tractor that could handle hay equipment. I will however haul it up north when I decide to do more clearing and need the extra power.
If you want to have more options than pulling a disc, using a 6 foot tiller or brush hog then you will have to go bigger. The PTO hp and the weight of the tractor is what allows you to use more implements effectively.
I still love my NH 40hp and it does great in some applications but if I had to have just one tractor I would go big right away if you even remotely think you would need the extra weight and power.
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By:
flyingbrass
Date:11-Apr-16
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The one you can afford. My first was a Yanmar diesel YM2000 without a buckeI bought with a buddy for $2500. Then I bought him out a few years later and traded up to Kubota L2350 4wd without a bucket. Obviously a bucket and 4wd is great but its better to have a 2wd tractor you can afford. Now I'm looking to upgrade again, this time to a 50HP 4wd with bucket to compliment my Cat D3 Dozer.
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By:
sticksender
Date:11-Apr-16
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Just upgraded to a John Deere 4-series @ 52HP. I run about 8 acres of food plots, and the bigger 4WD tractor should make that work a whole lot easier.
Went with JD mainly because there's a full service dealer 15 minutes from my farm. And I got a heckuva deal on it ;-)
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By:
Olink
Date:11-Apr-16
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"I would buy whatever brand had the closest and best service and parts department"
Excellent advice. The only exception to that would be John Deere. They make great equipment, but I'll never buy another Deere again due to their business practices. JD has pulled dealerships from top-notch dealers (some that have sold Deeres for over 75 years), just because they weren't 'big enough'. This has left entire counties without a dealership to support their equipment.
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By:
buff
Date:11-Apr-16
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If using mainly in the woods I would not get a cab ( I don't know if you were thinking that or not), also with the hydros you can use bigger implements than what they are rated for only because you can regulate your speed while keeping RPMs up, not as fast, but your only doing food plots
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By:
flyingbrass
Date:11-Apr-16
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the number one rule in a gun fight is to have a gun, same thing here, just get some kind of tractor and use it before you spend good money on one, only after you use it will you know what you need and want.
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By:
deerman406
Date:12-Apr-16
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I agree with Flyingbrass, buy a used affordable one not a sub compact but it can be an old 8 or 9N or an old massey. Get a few good implements unless you are gonna buy a do-all implement. I would buy a two bottom plow, a set of disks and a spring tooth they can be used when you upgrade. Use the oldies but goodie a year or two and sell it for what you paid, then you will know what you really need or want. I started with a 32hp IH that I paid 3 grand for and went to a 60 hp Mahindra. Take it slow so you don't buy something new and find out after a year or two you need something bigger or maybe even smaller. Shawn
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By:
glacier
Date:12-Apr-16
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Since you are not sure what you want, check resale prices before you buy. In my area, the known brands in popular sizes (40-50 horse or higher) keep their value really well, but tractors that are too small or an off brand (not serviced by local dealers) will be hard to resell if you decide to trade in or upgrade. If you buy an older used tractor that is popular and keep it properly maintained, you will be able to get you money back out of it pretty easily if you decide you need something different in a tractor.
For example, a neighbor bought a subcompact 22 horse tractor that had a little loader and a little backhoe on it for about $15,000 new. It was the cutest little tractor you ever did see, but when he learned that it was just too small for what he needed it to do, he put it on the market. After 2 years of trying to sell it, he finally gave up and sold it to a guy in town for about $3000.
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By:
Olink
Date:12-Apr-16
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The Kubota L series tractors are assembled in the US.
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By:
Mike Castillo
Date:12-Apr-16
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Love my Kubota L series, 3301. For true farm work, consider the L series over the B, it is just a heavier built unit. I haven't found its limit, yet.
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By:
wilbur
Date:12-Apr-16
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I have a Compact John Deere 410 20 HP tractor. Great compact tractor that is easy to transport. I have a dual axle trailer and a bunch of attachments. I do small food plots in NY & CT and this compact tractor gives me the flexibility to trailer the machine where I need to work.
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By:
wilbur
Date:12-Apr-16
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For attachments I have a single bottom plow, disc harrow, cultivator, and spreader. I have used a rototiller but don't own one. Mine is Gear driven vs Hydrostatic and has 4 wheel drive. Bought it off of Craig's List with 250 hours. It's a work horse and fun as hell to do my own food plots.
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By:
zummy
Date:12-Apr-16
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I grew up with Ford Jubilees and 8n and 9n. I wouldn't have one for food plots. Lack of a live PTO is a total turn off. It's also not geared to properly till. The other thing is a large turning radius. Buddy bought one that now sits even after I told him not to buy it in the first place. The best tractor is someone else's. Dad has a 24 hp John Deere diesel with a loader. It's almost the perfect size for me. 4 ft tiller, blade, and bush hog. I can snake it into places that my SxS will barely go. I won't buy a Deere cause the local salesman is an arrogant douche.
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By:
drycreek
Date:12-Apr-16
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About twelve years ago I bought a Kubota M5700 (57 hp ). Cab and air, two wheel drive, no bucket.
My next one will still have cab and air, but will come with front wheel assist, front end loader, and a radio. It will probably also have just a few more horses, something in the mid sixties. I can't complain about this tractor, because in the time I've had it, I've put two batteries, a set of belts, one clutch cable, and two lift cables on it. My dealer service sucks, but I won't buy my next one there. Too many Kubota dealers within fifty miles of me to ever buy anything from him again.
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By:
flyingbrass
Date:12-Apr-16
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To be fair, when people tell others that the compact John Deere have a Yanmar motor they should tell them that is a good thing. There are more Yanmar motors on the earth than anything else. People try to convince you Yanmar is less quality than JD, perhaps the opposite is true..
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By:
Dennis Razza
Date:13-Apr-16
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If you can afford it stay away from the sub compact and get something bigger. I have a JD 1025 that is nice for around the house but would not recommend it if you are serious about plots. It would be OK for managing small plots but if you plan on doing any amount of planting you need more hp. I use 2 other tractors on the farm... one is 40 hp and the other is around 50. Best of luck! Food plots are addicting!!!
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By:
XMan
Date:13-Apr-16
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If you are only building plots, I would buck the trend here and tell you to rent one instead. Plenty of places rent new tractors for short money. A weekend might cost you $400 and then you just return it and don't have to worry about maint storage etc. Buy all the goodies you need like a disc, etc but rent the tractor if you have no long term projects for land improvements. Plus it gives you a better idea what you might want to purchase down the line.
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By:
BOHUNTER09
Date:13-Apr-16
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39 hp New Holland. This is my second New Holland in 15 years. never had to return to the dealer for anything.
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Date:14-Apr-16
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I had a Kubota 3130 DT gear with R1s and it was awesome. It ran a 60" brush hog, 2x14 moldboard plow, and 72" slotted 20" disc with aplumb. I sold it for a M6040 DT Gear with the 1153 FEL so I could use the COOPs 10' no till drill and feed large round bales. Wish I kept the 3130, and wish I got a 7040 or 8540 too. The 3130 will do anything except pull a loaded lime buggy for most plotters. The M6040 has enough power it is just almost too light even with fluid. Remember for tillage you need 100 pounds/HP. My M6040 weighs 4500, so even though it has 60 PTO HP and has strong lift, it is so light I chisel plow with only 5 shanks due to being too light for the required traction. Also, Hyrdo trannys bleed off allot OF HP. A gear tractor will pull better than a hydro tractor a couple sizes up (for plowing etc). Hydro is handy for loader and mowing though. I am old school and prefer straight gears with power reverser. Lastly, R1 (AG) tires get much better traction during tillage than the (R4) industrial tires. I would take a L3130 with gear and R1s over a L4230 with hydro and R4s for moldboard plowing.
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By:
Ian32
Date:14-Apr-16
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Thanks for the feedback. I think most of my plots will be 1/4 or a 1/2 acre but there is one area that is around 2-3 acres that I would like to plant a larger plot or maybe soybeans. Not sure if the soybeans would survive the browse in only a couple acres though.
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By:
Ollie
Date:15-Apr-16
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I don't know a lot about tractors but will say that I bought a Mahindra Max 28 sub-compact tractor and have been happy with it. I have enough horsepower to use a 6 ft rotary tiller and 6 ft brush cutter although it is a bit underpowered when trying to go uphill with the PTO engaged. Since I new little about tractors, the most important factors for me were having a tractor that was reliable, easy to operate, and had a dealer close by for service.
