Farming advise

My grand father in-law does everything with a farmall M and a AC 190XT. My dad use to do everything with a AC B, ford 8N, Ford NAA, JD 301B, and a AC 6080.

With just 40 acres the 45 will do just fine.  A lot of farmers covered a lot of ground with less.  On the other hand, big tractors are cheaper then the newer, smaller ones.  I only farm about 140 acres, more then half in hay and I've got a 7580 for tillage work.  I've only got about $6,000 in it and it has a cab, etc. I started with a CA and a DC Case and 40 acres in the early '70's.  Got a tractor with a cab in the late '80s and now the flagship Kubota M110 seven years ago.  Put a couple hundred hours on the M110, in climate controlled comfort, 25 hr. on the 7580. Both do the jobs they were made for.  One piece of advice - Wear hearing protectors on any non cab tractor.  In 20 or 30 years you will know why.  Many of my friends and neighbors have hearing aids, I'm still ok - so far.  

If you already know about ear protection, then good.  If not, then I agree about the prior comments about hearing protection.  I keep a box of those orange foam ear plugs behind my pickup seat.  That makes them handy.  My wife knows when farming is in full swing cause I usually have an open pair & several non opened bags of plugs in my front jeans pocket that she finds before doing laundry.  My Dad ran 2 WDs, farmall M, 2WD45s, D17(here where I started), Cat D4 straight pipe, 2JD4020s, - all open station tractors.  Now at 84, he can't hear good.  If you're alone with him in a quiet place, he can hear, but not around any outside sounds.  When I got a job off the farm, hearing protection was mandatory with hearing tests annually.  I was fortunate to experience the difference.  My kids have always got the talk, "put on your ear muffs or ear plugs - before you get on that tractor or mower."   Good discussion on this farming topic! 

When I was a kid we did that much with a WC, 2 bottom IH trailer plow, a pull type disk. a two row planter.  Later we got a sprayer.  We truck farmed.  Hand planted everything but sweet corn and pop corn.

Hears a point i want to make. If you ever seen the promo video for a allis chalmers B it was advertised for the small farmer with 100 acres or less. I know things have changed but 40 acres ma seem like alot with a wd-45 but think what 80 acres seemed like to a guy with a B. thats my 2 cents

ya'll wanna talk overkill? right now, untill i retire from my job in the big city, i have all but 70 acres in CRP. that remaining 70 acres are taken care of by: 7080, 7010, 190 xt, 180, and a few other smaller tractors, 2- caseIH combines, a 1460 and a 1440, 6 and 8 row planters, 18 and 22 ft disks, 3-4-&5 bottom plows, 60 ft self propelled hagie sprayer, 2- 500 plus grain trucks..(just sold my semi) 5 300 bu gravity wagons, i still have my 2 gleaner combines, a "G" and a "K". a new holland baler with accumalater, plus other farm equipment. burn about 4-500 gal of fuel a year.  now...THAT'S overkill! lol

KC-WD45, I am in a similar situation as you. I currently own 50 acres with about 40 tillable. It's hard to justify spending a lot on eguipment for that amount of acreage, but the good thing about it is that you can always sell the machinery if you decide it isn't worth it. Personally, I am enjoying the heck out of it as a hobby and am considering adding a Gleaner combine to the ever growing lineup of equipment. Overkill-probably, but if it's what you love to do in your spare time then it's worth every penny you spend. I own a 6060, D17 and a WD. They all get used for certain tasks, but the 6060 gets the most usage because it has a cab with air & heat so I use it for snow removal too. It's nice to have air on those 95 degree days when you are making hay after working all day at your real job in town (at the machine shop in my case.) I guess it depends on what you plan to grow for crops as far as what other eguipment would be considered "essential".