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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Small tractor suggestion?

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  • From: Barking Cat Farm <barkingcatfarm AT mindspring.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Small tractor suggestion?
  • Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:17:17 -0600

> Are the older tractors in need of constant repairs in your experience?
> Someone told me they tend to run forever.

We have a diesel powered 2006 Kubota L3400 with 4WD and hydrostatic
transmission. It is our primary workhorse and has a lot of safety features.
We got it with a front end loader, tiller, shredder, and blade. It has plenty
of power for any job we've asked it to do on our 20 acre farm. It was
expensive, but we made a decision at the time that we had to have it to
realistically move forward with our business plan. We chose it over other
brands prevalent in the area because of (in no particular order) quality,
reputation and ease of dealing with the dealer, service, and price, among
other things. It is our "Cadillac" and we've not regretted buying it for a
minute. Having used it for several years, here are some random lessons
learned that I'd submit for consideration to a first time tractor buyer who
(it sounds) is starting from the same place we did:

- the front end loader is worth it's weight in gold and while you may not
realize it beforehand, you'll find a bazillion uses for it if you have it;
- 4wd is worth it if you can afford it; it effectively adds 10-15 usable HP
to your tractor when engaged;
- there is no such thing as a cheap tractor. If the price sounds too good to
be true, it probably is;
- if at all possible, unless you have good mechanical skills yourself, find
the local dealer/service dept with the best mechanics or find the local
tractor expert and learn what kind of tractors he works on (brand, gas versus
diesel, etc). See if he is for hire to help you scope out local used tractors
for sale.

In addition to the Kubota, we have a '51 Ford 8N and a '59 Ford 851
PowerMaster. The 851 is roughly twice as powerful and quite a bit larger
than the 8n. We bought both freshly rebuilt from the local "old Ford
tractor" expert. He doesn't do repair work anymore, but he is available for
our questions. And we are fortunate to know a few other folks in the area
who know about these working antiques and can help and/or advise us.

On these old tractors, I wouldn't say they are in need of constant repair,
but it definitely has helped us to learn enough about the basic care and
maintenance of them to keep them in good running order. I've heard from more
than one old Ford tractor owner that they do better if you work them
regularly. If you don't really like to tinker, you might find working on
them to be frustrating. I am not much of a mechanic, but so far I've found
these two old gals to be easy to learn about and somewhat fun to work on.
Supposedly Henry Ford insisted that the 2n/9n/8n be easy to work on by the
farmer. There are a plethora of resources available for the old Fords, too
-- web sites, books, parts, online forums, etc. If you keep them in good
running order, they do seem to just keep on going. There were about a half
million 8n's made, and a lot of them are still working. Not bad for almost
60 yrs old.

These Fords have no real safety features to speak of (you can get a ROPS to
add on), no front end loaders (they are available) and no 4wd. But they do
fine for the dedicated jobs for which we bought them. Everybody's situation
is different, and some may question why we have 3 rigs for such a small farm.
We feel like we got good deals on both of them, and for two things that need
to be done on our farm so frequently, it made sense to make the capital
investment versus spending so much daylight swapping implements.

_IF_ you decide on an old Ford, here are a few things to consider;
- find the closest antique tractor club and join it. Go to the meetings and
meet the folks in your area who know about the old iron. People with this
knowledge are increasingly hard to find;
- don't even think about running an old Ford without first putting a $65 PTO
slip clutch on it. Too many a farmer ended up in the fence with his 8n back
in the day before the slip clutch and the advent of live PTO. Slip clutch is
available at Atwoods, Tractor Supply, or many online parts places.

Sorry to have rambled on so, but I hope there is something of use here.
Since we acquired these old Fords, we've become somewhat passionate about old
iron.

Laurie
Barking Cat Farm




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