I'm about to buy 20 acres with a house. Maybe 5 acres of yard, rest pasture. Which tractor, and brush hog would be best for 15 acres? How many horsepower would be good? Last tractor I was on was in 1977, and I was only 6 years old. So I know many things have changed. I don't really have any brand preferance. Grew up with Massey and International.

Id go Deere diesel 60-80 hp with a 15' Woods batwing on the back.:D:)

how fast do you want to mow it?

hour or day or week?

how many $$$ do you want to spend?

what else you going to do with it, look far into future so you don't have to buy another one next year.

What he said. Depends how quick you want to mow.

I'd probably look at a 45 HP tractor with a 6' bush hog for the field, and a finish mower for the rest of the yard.

Never hurts to have some HP that way you can move along a bit faster with a 6ft cut Take the time to talk to different dealers lots of different brands out there see whos gonna service you the best and have best bottom line price

15 acres 6' at a time is a long time...

15 acres 6' at a time is a long time...

but if it's true pasture w/ animals and rotational grazing, the whole thing may only get mowed once or twice a year. then it's only 3 or 4 acres at a time.

we need some more info and he may be looking used equipment too.

yeah i missed the pasture part... lots of variables... might want to consider atleast gettin somthing large enough to put a loader on it too...

I don't have any cattle yet. It's a little overgrown now, some parts maybe 3 feet tall. I am looking for used tractors also. Probably buy new after that one dies.

My situation was almost identical to yours. I'm happy with my JD5210 with MX-6 mower. The tractor had 800 hours when I bought it and the brush hog was brand new. You'll cut fields any height with that size, but you won't go fast when it is tall and thick. And that is at 50 HP. But I can't justify buying an even bigger tractor and more expensive mower for so little land. Figure 1 1/2 to 2 acres per hour when it is thick. Now if you were cutting for hay with a disk mower, you'd go way faster. The brush hog grinds and recuts and that takes a whole lot more power and slows you down.
I got my tractor on ebay, believe it or not. But there might never be another case like this, an honest guy and a good deal. Then again, maybe thats the norm and not the exception, I really don't know.
Good luck.

Check out what your local Dealers have and see if they have somthing to Demo for a few hours so you can try somthing out or rent somthing for few hours to see what its gonna do for ya

Your best bet would be to go to your local dealer's and get demo's on new units, try out different combinations, a 40-50 HP tractor with a 3 Pt. mower, and a larger 70-80 HP with a batwing mower. I would really check out Kubota, very nice little rigs. Another thing to take into consideration would be who offers the best dealer support in your area, if you are torn between two, that could make the deciding factor.

Another thing to think about, if you are planning on getting cattle at some point down the road, are you going to be putting up some hay as well? If thats a possibilty, I would look at something more along the lines of a used Case IH MX100 size, or comparable Deere ( Sorry Deere guys, were all red and I'm not up to date on Deere ). Just a thought...

Start demo'ing some new units, when you find a HP/Mower size you think will work, then you can narrow it down to new or used. Just some things to think about!

- Darin

What would the model numbers for some good old tractors be? That way I can be on the lookout for them when I see them in the papers.
What do the model numbers mean on tractors? Hp and model?
Would Ford 8 or 9n's, or a 3000 be ok for hogging?

I have no idea on the HP requirements for a bush hog. I know that I love my Super M. Around 40 ponies all together, but it sure doesn't act like it. Brother in law has an International 856. Very nice tractor. Runs a round baler like a dream. I would guess it would handle a mower like that fairly well in tall stuff to. We just got a 706 and we really like that to. Haven't had much of a chance to put it to work yet though.

Dad runs a batwing mower with a 4440. He has no issues with that. Even in the long stuff. Only problem he has is the thick thistles that will cause the clutch on the mower to spin.

We use to mow many acres with an old A with a Woods belly mower. It takes some time, but got the job done.

You said that you will buy used until it dies then maybe buy new. Don't be surprised if the old doesn't die. My 53 Super M acts like it could go for another 58 years and so does the little A.

Here is a resource that I use religiously. If you find a tractor and not sure about the specs, look here. You will find what you need. http://www.tractordata.com/ Here you will find at least the horsepower and approximate years. But you may luck out and find A LOT of information on the tractor you are looking for. Our 706 has information as far as how fast you should be going in what gear.

You can run a 5' brush hog with an 8n or 9n, but you will have to take it slow in the thicker stuff. Be careful in the really high brush, because those 50+ year old tractors can overheat when worked too hard.

You can run a 5' brush hog with an 8n or 9n, but you will have to take it slow in the thicker stuff. Be careful in the really high brush, because those 50+ year old tractors can overheat when worked too hard.
x2 I have an 8 N ford and a 5' brush hog. works fine, Just plugs al;ong but is tough to turn, sometomes the front end comes up enough to be hard to steer when turning but still does the job. But im getting a 24 horse Deere 2320 diesel to retire the Ford with. Old Ford 8 and 9 N's are plentiful and are a great tractor to get ya started without costing an arm and a leg.

My dad had a ferguson TO-30, he used that with a 5' woods. It ran it really well and never overheated. A ford 2000 or 3000 is also a really good tractor. They are pretty cheap but built well. If you are looking at a 8n or 9n Id spend a little more and get a 3000, its alot more tractor. And it has a live pto and way better hydraulics.

If your good at working on things maybe find one that needs work. I wanted a tractor, my first one. My price range was a halfass farmall or ford. I got a IH 484 with a engine knock. I have about $2500 into it now which was more then I wanted to spend but I have a nice diesel tractor with a new engine and great hydraulics.

Older tractors can still get the job done, they might just take a bit longer. The old 8N/9N/Jubilee tractors are ok. I've got a friend that has one and uses just are you are interested.

I'm NOT an expert on all the old tractors, but one thing I need to warn you about, and you need to be keenly aware of:
Many older tractors have the output PTO shaft directly connected to the transmission shaft. A dangerous condition that could cause possible injury/fatality can arise if you pull a large PTO-powered implement (such as a rotary cutter) to run behind, without due regard for the mass energy stored in the rotating parts. The problem is: because the PTO is directly driven from the tranny shaft, anything connected to the PTO can put that energy back towards the tranny. If you have try to stop quickly or slow down to turn, you'll push down on the clutch pedal which removes power driven from the engine, BUT THE ROTARY CUTTER-PTO IS STILL DRIVING THE TRANNY SHAFT, SO THE WHOLE TRACTOR/MOWER KEEPS MOVING, AND THE BRAKES ARE NOT KNOWN TO BE ABLE TO STOP THIS MASS WITH ANY AUTHORITY!!!!!!

There are items (called by many names) which can be added easily between the PTO shaft and the implement which rectify this safety issue. Often, they are referred to as "over-running" clutches, or some variant. They are about $60 or so at nearly any farm supply store. They are simple to install, and are worth EVERY penny you spend. They come in both 1-1/8" and 1-3/8" sizes for older and newer PTO shafts.

No matter what older tractor you get, ask around to see if you'll need this added item. Ask someone that knows. Please do not discount this info; it could save your life or the life of someone dear to you.

Regarding the tractor choice, stick with a better known brand name, because parts for older tractors can be hard to come and/or very expensive by if not a popular model. That's one reason the older Ford's are still around; they made them by the bazillions and so parts and resources are still plentiful. Same goes for JD and Case/Internation/Farmall. I like the older A/C, White, Oliver and such too, but they did not sell nearly as well, and so parts/service can be more difficult to locate.

In rural area's, farm auctions or yard sales are good places to find decent older tractors.

Good luck.

Kioti DK45 or DK55, I've had both and trouble free as can be. Started with 45 with a cab and a 8' hogg, Traded last year for a 55 with cab, 10' hoog or 15 ' bat wing. These are awesome tractors and there are wrenches turning on them :) for the $$$$$$

Thanks for the info. I'm going to start really looking for an older tractor after I close on the house. Going to stay with a name I've heard before, Deere,International,Massey,Ford,Kubota,etc.

Like posted above, main thing is live or independent pto. We have a Ferguson 20 and a 35 deluxe, great tractors, but the 35 has live power, power steering, and live hydraulics. Personally I would shoot for something from the 70's or 80's, a Massey Ferguson 245 for example has the same perkins engine as a 135 Massey, but the the hydraulics are a lot better (remotes, loader work etc). This is just my personal opinion and your the guy who has to make it suit your needs and pay for it. Happy shopping.

Start watching now so you get a idea of what things cost. That way if you come across a deal you'll know it.

It took us a year to find a decent tractor for a decent price. I think we did fairly well considering we found a loader for about the same price as the tractor and loader that we bought!

That PTO thing is interesting. A live PTO is very nice, but I guess that I have never had the luxery of driving a tractor that is directly connected to the drive line.

My old Super M is from the 50's and that was not a live PTO. When you put the clutch in, you lose power to the PTO. However, I ran a square baler on that tractor a lot and never had an issue with it. I could punch the clutch in, baler would eventually stop spinning, but I never had it push me. But thinking about it, I guess the baler has an over running clutch on it though.

My old Super M is from the 50's and that was not a live PTO. When you put the clutch in, you lose power to the PTO. However, I ran a square baler on that tractor a lot and never had an issue with it. I could punch the clutch in, baler would eventually stop spinning, but I never had it push me. But thinking about it, I guess the baler has an over running clutch on it though.

We've got M&W hand clutches on both the Super H & M, makes baling or anything else w/ pto easy.

A hand clutch would be nice! It's almost an art to be able to punch clutch, get the transmission in neutral, and get the clutch out again without losing hardly any momentem in the baler.

Old thread, thought I would answer with what i got.
Massey 150 with a continental gas (ugh) engine.
Only paid $1800 with 6ft hog. Gauges don't work, but runs well and does what I need.