Need a small tractor - suggestion (England)

[ashflatlane]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum. I just bought 4 acre of land and would like to grow vegetables and fruits on the land. I need a small tractor. Can somebody please suggest me which one I should go for farming? Any suggestion will be highly appreciated.
I am based in Stafford (England).
Thanks

 

[Galcam]

Well I suppose a Fendt wouldn’t be a bad place to start....with twin flashing beacons. Just kidding but I suppose it depends on do you intend to use it for agricultural purposes the likes of topping, ploughing, seeding spraying etc.? if so then a tractor that has the necessary Weight, lift capability, PTO control etc has to be considered. I would assume a MF135 or the like would do the work easily to manage 4 acres but knowing my way of doing things I’d have fun and to be on the safe side I’d buy a JD 6175 limited edition with full GPS guidance and autosteere. ?? Good luck and have fun and enjoy your farm.

 

[Kam]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum. I just bought 4 acre of land and would like to grow vegetables and fruits on the land. I need a small tractor. Can somebody please suggest me which one I should go for farming? Any suggestion will be highly appreciated.
I am based in Stafford (England).
Thanks

A good place to start would be your budget, and welcome to the forum

 

[8100]

A little Zetor would suit the job cheap as chips but good starters .Only the brakes that let them down really but easy and cheap enough to repair .

 

[daveydiesel1]

Go small kubota

 

[Cowabunga]

A small Kubota, MF, JDeere, or NH or other, depending on your local dealerships. Around 20 to 35hp I guess would be ideal. Kubota are the most common in most areas of the country for this size of tractor, but if you have dealers in your area who specialise in municipal and groundscare, go with whatever is a best seller where you are. You do not want a cheap Chinese thing from a here-today-gone-tomorrow manufacturer or dealer. Most of the big brands are made either in Japan or South Korea.

If looking for new, you need to decide whether you want hydrostatic, power reverser or fully manual. If used, you really should choose mainly on the condition the tractor is in. You may want a cutting deck for lawn mowing while you are at it and many of this size may have factory fitted mid-mounted decks.

 

[manhill]

Restored mf35

 

[Cowabunga]

Restored mf35

They really do belong in a museum now. Even a late 35X will be 55 years of age or older.

 

[manhill]

55 years and still going strong. Spares are plentiful and reasonable. Simple and solid. Stable to drive. Why bother with modern over blown rubbish? Sounds ideal for your requirements.

 

[Greenasgrass]

Ford 4000. Simple tractor and plenty still going strong. I still use mine for all the pressure washing and during the winter for pushing in the silage. No frills but never lets me down.

 

[Cowabunga]

Be aware that the old 35 has only 3 gallons/minute of oil through a single pump which also controls the linkage. So tipping trailers will have your links going up and down. Check whether it has live or dead PTO and avoid dead drives like the plague. Avoid four cylinder ones and make sure you have plenty of money for repairs to brakes, wheels, the dual clutch, the front axle pivots if the swept back design and so on and so forth. It was a great tractor for medium size farms 60 years ago but time and tide wait for no man. 50+ years of wear and tear and cold starts take their toll however well repainted. You really do need an alternator instead of the standard dynamo also, otherwise you will forever be pivoting the bonnet forward to get at the battery to charge it or jump start. Not my idea of fun.

 

[Cowabunga]

Ford 4000. Simple tractor and plenty still going strong. I still use mine for all the pressure washing and during the winter for pushing in the silage. No frills but never lets me down.

Its a better tractor than a 35 with at least having enclosed wet brakes and independent PTO [as opposed to live or dead PTO] The post 1972 MF165 was the equivalent. Pre-1972 MF165 with dry disc brakes and round rear axle should be avoided. The Ford has eight forward gears while the MF only has six.
Both have limited hydraulic versatility, which was common in that era where most tractors only ever tipped a 6x10 3,5 ton trailer with external hydrulics.

 

[Galcam]

So does that mean we won’t have nice pics in the new toys thread of a shiny new Fendt and flashing beacons. Life sucks man!!?

 

[Moors Lad]

Does really depend on the kit you want to use . I`d want at least 45hp and a reasonable bulk of tractor . I think you may need to find out what you want to do with it (the kit you envisage using) to get the best advice on here - maybe not a very helpful reply... As said already DO NOT be tempted by cheap Chinese stuff!
Will you be ploughing? Cultivating? Topping grass ? Need a 3 ton tipping trailer? These are the sort of questions to ask yourself!

 

[james ds]

I’d look at something like a case 685 xl or 885 all good simple tractors for small money with a good cab for comfort.

 

[jd24]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum. I just bought 4 acre of land and would like to grow vegetables and fruits on the land. I need a small tractor. Can somebody please suggest me which one I should go for farming? Any suggestion will be highly appreciated.
I am based in Stafford (England).
Thanks

Start with what implements you will use. If it's only 4 acres there no point spending a fortune of kit etc. 6-8ft cultivators such as dics harrows, chain harrows, rotavator, 6 ft topper and 2 furrow plough(even 3 if you land is light but that would be pushing it) can be used by a 50-60 hp tractor. Going for a tractor bigger than this doesn't seem sensible given the size of the land but maybe 80Hp as you maximum and the bigger is generally more expensive to maintain. Some of the Massey 300 series tractors are good with cabs and not many electrics to go wrong unlike their later 3000 series. A John deere 2650 would be the biggest I'd go personally. Even a loved little Leyland will do a few hours work and is pretty simple to fix. If you aren't handy at fixing stuff see what mechanics you have around you as that is something to consider...

 

[dudders]

Ford 4000. Simple tractor and plenty still going strong. I still use mine for all the pressure washing and during the winter for pushing in the silage. No frills but never lets me down.

I'd say the same for a Ford 3000. Had mine since new in 1974 and it would still do everything if I hadn't splurged on a bigger, more comfortable tool. Got a pic somewhere if it on the road with a flat-8 grab hanging out in front, baler behind and sled behind that.

But with only 4 acres, maybe a mini-tractor is all you need? Back to Kubota then.

 

[Munkul]

MF 135. Cheap, punches above its weight. Dry drum brakes are the worst thing about them unfortunately.

 

[manhill]

MF 135. Cheap, punches above its weight. Dry drum brakes are the worst thing about them unfortunately.

What's wrong with dry drum brakes? Simple operation/maintenance and not likely to wreck the transmission if parking brake left on. Only a 18mph machine.

 

[jd24]

I'd say the same for a Ford 3000. Had mine since new in 1974 and it would still do everything if I hadn't splurged on a bigger, more comfortable tool. Got a pic somewhere if it on the road with a flat-8 grab hanging out in front, baler behind and sled behind that.

But with only 4 acres, maybe a mini-tractor is all you need? Back to Kubota then.

Something around this size?

Ps not my sale and disclaimer no confirmation its a buy lol