# Hobby Farm.. Small Tractor or Backhoe??



## TJ-Bill (Aug 29, 2009)

Well I'm at the point where I'm planning on getting some type of equipment on my 10 acre hobby farm.. We have 2 horse on about 2 acres of pasture/field(filled in swamp) the rest is forest. Before you get to excited we're the 2nd owners and he land is pretty picked, I have a couple dozen or so good sized trees but nothing to write home about. I'm thinking about getting a tractor, I was set on a farm tractor with a front loader until I talked to my neighbour. He has it all.. a couple of farm tractors with implements. a old backhoe, a dozer and a 3 ton dump truck.. plus much more... Anyway I'm young and I've gotten to the point where I understand that I should learn and take what I ca from my elders.. He's telling me that I need a backhoe instead of a tractor.. I see his point, but I weas thinking of maybe getting a newer 25-30hp tractor with a loader and then hopefully geting a BH attachment later. ( who know how much later) He says I'm wasting my $$ on a small tractor and that I Should spend the $$ and get a good used Backhoe..

I guess my question is to you guys out there with a small tractor with the hoe attachment,, does it work well? is it powerful enough? I realize after typing all of this I've already made up my mind... Backhoe..:greenchainsaw:


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## Beefie (Aug 29, 2009)

It all depends on how much work you have for the equipment. I could see a backhoe if you wanted to dig a pond or ditch, maybe dig out a few stumps. I think a loader tractor whould be better . You can use three point stuff on it to help keep your pasture in good shape. Such as mowing, spreading fertilizer. bailing etc. With a backhoe it is not as easy to tow a trailer into the woods for getting firewood. 

Just my 2 cents take it for what it is worth.

Beefie


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## cjcocn (Aug 29, 2009)

TJ-Bill said:


> Well I'm at the point where I'm planning on getting some type of equipment on my 10 acre hobby farm.. We have 2 horse on about 2 acres of pasture/field(filled in swamp) the rest is forest. Before you get to excited we're the 2nd owners and he land is pretty picked, I have a couple dozen or so good sized trees but nothing to write home about. I'm thinking about getting a tractor, I was set on a farm tractor with a front loader until I talked to my neighbour. He has it all.. a couple of farm tractors with implements. a old backhoe, a dozer and a 3 ton dump truck.. plus much more... Anyway I'm young and I've gotten to the point where I understand that I should learn and take what I ca from my elders.. He's telling me that I need a backhoe instead of a tractor.. I see his point, but I weas thinking of maybe getting a newer 25-30hp tractor with a loader and then hopefully geting a BH attachment later. ( who know how much later) He says I'm wasting my $$ on a small tractor and that I Should spend the $$ and get a good used Backhoe..
> 
> I guess my question is to you guys out there with a small tractor with the hoe attachment,, does it work well? is it powerful enough? I realize after typing all of this I've already made up my mind... Backhoe..:greenchainsaw:



I would buy a backhoe first, and then work on getting an old tractor with a 3Pt so that I could use brush hogs, tillers, etc.

But that's just me and I'm so broke I have to save up to buy a newspaper.


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## dingeryote (Aug 30, 2009)

Your neighbor needs a backhoe to borrow.

You have horses so you'll be needing a FEL and a tractor to pull a #### spreader. FEL works ok for scooping snow as well.

Go 30-45hp and the smaller woods backhoe will do fine.
Skip the CUT's, as they are toys, and will cost you more than a good used tractor that will last decades.

Just my .02

stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## flewism (Aug 30, 2009)

dingeryote said:


> Your neighbor needs a backhoe to borrow.
> 
> You have horses so you'll be needing a FEL and a tractor to pull a #### spreader. FEL works ok for scooping snow as well.
> 
> ...



I agree skip the smaller CUT's I wish I would have gone bigger. 40+ hp,
Around me I can rent a backhoe for $225 a day or get backhoe work done for $85 a hour.
I was at the county fair the first week of August and a New Holland BH attachment for my TC-30 was $6500. 

I have one buddy with a backhoe attachment on a CUT. a 2001, TC-25 and he likes it. It has an 8" wide bucket on it and it digs well in our clay soil.
He is a cop and about to retire (25 and out) and he plans to use this small backhoe as a extra income source when he does retire.

After that I'd buy a dump truck


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## Longshot (Aug 30, 2009)

Tractor/loader with rear PTO; acquire attachments as need/money allow.
Digging wears heavy on a machine: hire it out!


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## MotorSeven (Aug 30, 2009)

Like mentioned above you need to know what type of work is going to be your main duty. For me a tractor was what I wanted so I researched used and new for over a year before buying new. I bought a 30hp Kioti (it's made in Korea.....by the way no tractor is made in the US anymore), but traded it in for a 40(Kioti DK40SE Hydro) several years later. I just needed more FEL lifting power and a bigger bucket. I had used gear drive and shuttle shift tractors and wouldn't trade my hydro drive for anything. 
www.kioti.com

I also chose not to get a backhoe, & have't really needed one. My neighbor has a big JD with a BH attachment, and to be honest it's kind of a pain to hook up or detach. He wishes he had bought a used BH instead of the tractor attachment. Go to TractorByNet.com for all you ever wanted to know about tractors....it's a great forum.

RD


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## gink595 (Aug 30, 2009)

I wouldn't buy one of those small tractors, their a joke for much work. I might buy one for the boy to drive out to the sand box, because thats about all they are is a toy. Not good for 80% of the work you'll want to do. ANd they are damn expensive. Either get a older IH utility tractor with loader for about 4-5K that is capable of doing hard work or buy that backhoe, they are handy too. But I use my skidsteer the most for my needs


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## Chuck Diesel (Aug 30, 2009)

I have a ford 555b 50hp. Its to big for firewood. The only thing that i use it for is to push snow, and dig poop holes.
In my opinion go with a 40hp. compact w/72" bucket.


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## TJ-Bill (Aug 30, 2009)

Thanks guy.. I guess I should mention that my fields are basically fill.. where the horses are was a swamp.. previous owners filled it in so it not a field,, grass grows if we keep them off of it.. the rest of the property is a slight up hill of woods.. In about 2 weeks I'm having a crew come in and dig me a pond and do some drainage! spending about $2000-$3000... 

I have no fields to hay, no garden to till (that else where and I have a tiller).. 

I can see the 3 point hitch and its benifits.. but I have little need right now for most of them,.. Neighbour put soem quick disconnects on his hoe hyldraulics and runs his splitter off it


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## Woodcutteranon (Aug 30, 2009)

I wouldn't't buy anything new. THere are way too many old tractors out there that are capable of working daily without breaking down. Take the money you save and buy a chainsaw. If I were you I would buy a late 60's to early 80's tractor with a front end loader. Make sure it has the three point hitch and a live PTO. The loader, IMO, is the most priceless thing any farmer could ask for. You will use it 100 times before you will the backhoe. You can always get a 3 pt. backhoe to go on the back of your tractor anyway. Its easier to borrow your neighbors' or trade work for its use. My recipe for your success...an early 70's Ford 2000 3 cyl diesel with a front end loader. 

Good luck.


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## England14 (Aug 30, 2009)

I just woke up and am not thinking very much yet. What is a CUT???? :monkey:


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## flewism (Aug 30, 2009)

*C*ompact *U*tility *T*ractor or CUT. Usually 17 to 45 Hp diesels, 48" rear wheel track, smallest CUT's, 60" rear wheel track midsize CUT's, 72" rear wheel track the largest CUT's


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## England14 (Aug 30, 2009)

Wait till I tell my wife I need a CUT! :jawdrop:


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## Dalmatian90 (Aug 30, 2009)

I second Woodcutteranon's advise.

You have a hobby farm, not a hobby excavation business.

Buy the used *utility* tractor -- notice the lack of "compact" -- like he said.

Contract out, rent, trade for backhoe services unless you have a fire burning in your wallet for a 3-point hitch unit (not as powerful) or used backhoe as a seperate machine.

CUT must be a newer acronym. Used to be called Compact Tractors. Sales people must've been getting asked too often why the Utility Tractors were bigger, did more, and cost less. Instead of answering that they sold one of them to sucker homeowners, and the others sold to farmers to knew how to pencil out the value of a machine...they did some smoke and mirrors to distract you with what they call them


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## greengoblin (Aug 31, 2009)

Go to a consignment auction and I bet you can get an older but still reliable tractor like a IH 560 with a loader for 4k to 6k....compare that to an new CUT for $40k, leaves quite a bit of money for a backhoe.


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## Wolfcsm (Aug 31, 2009)

My little JD790 (yes a CUT) does just about anything I need to do around my place. The loader is great. Won't fill a dump truck in five passes, but I don't fill many dump trucks. It does move the rocks, dirt, grass, trees and such that I need to move. I started with a box blade and a mower as my attachments. I have added a blade, landscape rake, and a lifting arm to them. I am always using one. Put on a quick hitch for the 3 point. Makes changing implements a 5 minute job.

A little more horsepower would be nice but not mandatory. Things I can't do, I wait and rent a large tractor for a weekend and get several out of the way at a time. A backhoe would also be nice to have. But, it seems that in order for it to really do some digging it needs to be a fairly large tractor - again for the few times I need one, I am better off renting one.

Hal


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## gink595 (Aug 31, 2009)

Wolfcsm said:


> My little JD790 (yes a CUT) does just about anything I need to do around my place. The loader is great. Won't fill a dump truck in five passes, but I don't fill many dump trucks. It does move the rocks, dirt, grass, trees and such that I need to move. I started with a box blade and a mower as my attachments. I have added a blade, landscape rake, and a lifting arm to them. I am always using one. Put on a quick hitch for the 3 point. Makes changing implements a 5 minute job.
> 
> A little more horsepower would be nice but not mandatory. Things I can't do, I wait and rent a large tractor for a weekend and get several out of the way at a time. A backhoe would also be nice to have. But, it seems that in order for it to really do some digging it needs to be a fairly large tractor - again for the few times I need one, I am better off renting one.
> 
> Hal




And how much did that little dude run ya?


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## crashagn (Aug 31, 2009)

We have a IH 656 utility hydro. Got it for around $6000. All new tires except. Ive since bought a new 1 since having it repaired 2 times. It has a freeman loader on it. 7.9 acres and its done a ton of work. Bought a 16ft spring tooth cultivator and cut it down to 12ft to make it through the gates and easier to handle in the garden. Also got a post hole digger. Built a weight box for the back. Used a couple of 2 point quick hitch arms. I cant tell you how easy it is to hook up. Just back up to it and lift, or unhook just undo the releases and lower it and pull forward. I wouldnt dare put a 3 point backhoe on it. To much wear and i know it would break something. Now i have seen them 3 point hoes but also with a under carraige iron that goes under the whole tractor for strength, but for the cost of it, we will just go rent a mini excavator and save the costs on repairs on the good ole hydro.


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## TreePointer (Aug 31, 2009)

I use a '99 John Deere 4600 utility tractor to maintain 75 acres. Less than half of it is pasture/crop fields.

43 hp diesel
2WD/4WD hydrostatic transmission
Cat1 3pt hitch
FEL

Just over $20K new. I did some snooping around the Internet and found similar used models for as low as 13.5K.
http://www.google.com/products?q=john+deere+4600+tractor&hl=en&aq=f

Here's mine:







My point in making this post is not to tell you to get a 4600 or even a John Deere. It is to let you know that you can get something like a very capable *used *4000 series utility tractor for the price of a *new *2000 series utility tractor. Just like buying a car, go to the dealers, ask your questions, and take your test drives.


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## crashagn (Aug 31, 2009)

TreePointer said:


> Just like buying a car, go to the dealers, ask your questions, and take your test drives.



If you are going with a tractor do your research. Most of the time they will come with 2 hyd remotes. If your planning on running alot of hyd intensive attachments look for the gpm on the tractor. Also look at if its shuttle, powershift, Hydro, geared. All of these have there ups and downs. Hydros are "shiznit" for loader work but dont expect to be pulling 15,000 pounds up a long hill without doing some damage or even tearing up the pump. They wernt made to do that like power shift or geared rearends. Parts availability is a plus. Front wheeled assist? It would be nice.. but gotta look at the terrain and how your gonna use it and justify the cost. You will hear people that go by the make and brand and have a favorite.. Orange, white, or Green or Red. Really its down to that certain piece of machine that will do the job required efficiantly and effectively


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## Mud23609 (Aug 31, 2009)

Well I own a few regular farm tractors and a cut. Personally I would go with an older utility tractor if I could only have one. In your shoes I would also get one big enough to handle round bales. Much nicer to drop one of those in pasture every once in a while than to deal with feeding squares all the time.

My two big tractors get used only for making hay, and I will use one of them in the winter for moving bales to the cows because the case has a cab. other wise they are two big (both are 100+ hp)

Otherwise I use my old 3020 John Deer or my iseki CUT (great for raking hay and narrow trails. uses almost no fuel) around the farm and house for most tasks. Had a backhoe. A 680 H case to be exact. Sold it because I never used it enough and it was pretty expensive to fix comparatively speaking to my farm tractors.

I also bought a used three point backhoe for those odd jobs. Mounts on my 3020 and while it wont dig like my old 680 did for the two grand I have stuck into it, I think it dose just fine. Only gets used for popping stumps and burying cows anyway.

If I could only keep one tractor it would be my 3020 hands down. Big enough that in a pinch I can run my round baler on it (small for the job though but I do make 1800 pound bales). Small enough that it can be used around the woods for firewood although it is a bit large for that.

One thing to note though I am talking about the older 70 hp 3020 john deers. (mine is a 68) I have no experience with the new plastic ones that they make now.

Figure on spending four to ten grand on a good used utility tractor in the 40-80 hp range. I paid 5 for my 3020 but I pretty much stole it. The guy had no idea what it was worth.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Aug 31, 2009)

Having both I will say that the tractor gets much more use around the farm. The backhoe is good for digging and pushing, but thats about it. It spends most of its time parked. While the tractor with FEL can push snow and manure as well as skid logs, mow, plow, disk, plant, cultivate, etc.


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## RRSsawshop (Aug 31, 2009)

chevytaHOE5674 said:


> Having both I will say that the tractor gets much more use around the farm. The backhoe is good for digging and pushing, but thats about it. It spends most of its time parked. While the tractor with FEL can push snow and manure as well as skid logs, mow, plow, disk, plant, cultivate, etc.



Nice backhoe but get prepaired for the ribbin from the guys for letting the wife play with itopcorn:


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Aug 31, 2009)

Anytime she volunteers to clean the manure out of the barn in the middle of the summer, I gladly accept.


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## Steve NW WI (Aug 31, 2009)

TJ-Bill said:


> Well I'm at the point where I'm planning on getting some type of equipment on my 10 acre hobby farm.. We have 2 horse on about 2 acres of pasture/field(filled in swamp) the rest is forest.



Notice the filled in swamp comment. Forget about a backhoe, to get around decent on that type of ground will require either tracks or a 4wd backhoe, both of which aren't cheap. Backhoes are not much more than a headache on wet ground, too much iron and not enough tire, also the torque converter transmissions on most of them do not pull real well when the going gets tough.



gink595 said:


> I wouldn't buy one of those small tractors, their a joke for much work. I might buy one for the boy to drive out to the sand box, because thats about all they are is a toy. Not good for 80% of the work you'll want to do. ANd they are damn expensive. Either get a older IH utility tractor with loader for about 4-5K that is capable of doing hard work or buy that backhoe, they are handy too. But I use my skidsteer the most for my needs



I agree, a decent used smaller "farm" tractor in any brand will do well for you. If you find an older one you think you like, ask around to see how the local dealer is, a bum dealer for any piece of machinery is no good, and will only make you hate that piece of equipment. Also do a little research on the internet on the model you're interested in so you have an idea what weak spots to look at when you go to check it out. The forums at www.YTMag.com are a great resource for older and smaller iron.

I like playing with tractors (GASP) more even than I do chainsaws, and on most of the older stuff, a good set of hand tools, a shop manual, some stout jacks, and a cherry picker, and you can do most all the repairs yourself.


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## time warp (Aug 31, 2009)

Go buy a skid loader with some attachments & be done with it. My neighbor has a backhoe & 2 tractors but still borrows my bobcat at least once every 2-wks. It can get in the tightest places & with the rubber tracks on it goes anywhere.


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## davec (Aug 31, 2009)

Wolfcsm said:


> My little JD790 (yes a CUT) does just about anything I need to do around my place. The loader is great. Won't fill a dump truck in five passes, but I don't fill many dump trucks. It does move the rocks, dirt, grass, trees and such that I need to move. I started with a box blade and a mower as my attachments. I have added a blade, landscape rake, and a lifting arm to them. I am always using one. Put on a quick hitch for the 3 point. Makes changing implements a 5 minute job.
> 
> A little more horsepower would be nice but not mandatory. Things I can't do, I wait and rent a large tractor for a weekend and get several out of the way at a time. A backhoe would also be nice to have. But, it seems that in order for it to really do some digging it needs to be a fairly large tractor - again for the few times I need one, I am better off renting one.
> 
> Hal



If it's the one in your Avatar, it don't look too "compact" to me... Now you won't be haying the entire West side of Iowa with it, but for someone with 10-40 acres, it looks like it covers 99% of anyones needs.


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## A. Stanton (Sep 1, 2009)

TJ,
I would look at the Kubotas. Get a sub compact like the BX series or the next step up. You can drop the hoe and put a wide array of implements on the back. The tractors coming thru with a stock back hoe already attached have a heavier frame and are more beefy. A good used BX 24 are now selling for 12k-13k. Attached is a pic of my BX 25 with the hoe off. The other is an earlier model the BX 23 which I traded in with the hoe attached.


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## TJ-Bill (Sep 1, 2009)

Wow thanks Guys for all your input. I'm still on the fence. I can see the usefulness of a Tractor and I can see the benifits of a backhoe. I guess I'll have the winter to think about it. I'd love to have something before the snow flies but with a little one on the way it's not in the budget right now.


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## jerry wayne (Sep 1, 2009)

*35-45 H.P. tracktor*



TJ-Bill said:


> Well I'm at the point where I'm planning on getting some type of equipment on my 10 acre hobby farm.. We have 2 horse on about 2 acres of pasture/field(filled in swamp) the rest is forest. Before you get to excited we're the 2nd owners and he land is pretty picked, I have a couple dozen or so good sized trees but nothing to write home about. I'm thinking about getting a tractor, I was set on a farm tractor with a front loader until I talked to my neighbour. He has it all.. a couple of farm tractors with implements. a old backhoe, a dozer and a 3 ton dump truck.. plus much more... Anyway I'm young and I've gotten to the point where I understand that I should learn and take what I ca from my elders.. He's telling me that I need a backhoe instead of a tractor.. I see his point, but I weas thinking of maybe getting a newer 25-30hp tractor with a loader and then hopefully geting a BH attachment later. ( who know how much later) He says I'm wasting my $$ on a small tractor and that I Should spend the $$ and get a good used Backhoe..
> 
> 
> I guess my question is to you guys out there with a small tractor with the hoe attachment,, does it work well? is it powerful enough? I realize after typing all of this I've already made up my mind... Backhoe..:greenchainsaw:



Tracktor dude tracktor


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## gink595 (Sep 1, 2009)

jerry wayne said:


> Tracktor dude tracktor



Backhoe or skidsteer dude!!:greenchainsaw:


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