I really want a tractor but I have stayed away from old tractors because I am not a mechanic. I can do basic stuff but no serious kind of tear down. I have had friends over the years who have had old tractors and the tractors spent most of their time sitting in a barn because they needed to be worked on so I am weary of old tractors. I am selling off 5 aces to my neighbor who is a good friend to get a fairly new tractor in the 35 hp range with a front end loader. We were going to do it this year but it has not worked out yet.
My neighbor has not planted cereal rye in the last 2 seasons so there won't be any of that nearby. I just want something that will be lush and green in Dec and Jan and easy to grow. I will look into other options mentioned here.
As for implements, I have looked into drag harrows but I still have sapling stobs and I am worried that it will get hung up constantly. I am also interested in getting a cultipacker but they are kind of pricey. I assume its because of the materials necessary to make a decent one.
well I will add this,
most all the OLD tractor's PER 1970's were basically as SIMPLE as they could be, they were designed this way , due to the simple fact, NO bash, that farmers back in the 40-50-60's were NOT all that educated , many had little to no schooling or tech skills
they grew up on a farm and stayed there,
so, the machines /tractors and even implements were rather simple, so the average farmer could work on and fix!
this is actually an advantage to old tractors,
they are night and day easier to work on
not to mention, most of them were WAY over built for the HP they had, rear ends over sized, frames over sized, weight over sized, all things that make things last a LONG time!
and also, older tractors will have more weight than many modern tractors of double the HP, and in tractors weight is your friend most times! one big advantage IMO to older tractors besides being easy to work on!
yes older things can have issue's and need repairs
but when buying things, anything used , if were honest can have problems, and some are just in better shape than others
but the costs to FIX a old tractor can be a LOT less than anything more modern,
BUT we all like what we like or buy what we want!
NOW< if your considering buying a more modern tractor, and plan to do more than 4-5 acres of food plots,
I'd highly suggest going bigger than 35 hp, get as close to 50 as you can
this just opened the door to SO many more things the tractor can run and do!
the general rule of thumb on a say a brush hog, is 10 HP per ft
so, a 35 HP tractor is running MAX power to run a 4 ft mower, and YES many go bigger, but that is also working the tractor a LOT harder to do so,
same with disc, and other implements
when you get into the 50 hp range you get more machine, and old saying, better to cry once than buy twice!
just honest advice and food to think on!
LAST, you really don't want a spring tooth harrow if your working any where there are a lot of roots, better tool will be a disc, be it a drag behind or a 3 point hitch design, it will work way better! and with less hang ups
but again, size of tractor dictates the size of a disc you can use
