Farming advise

A wd-45 will do 40 acres and all you need is implements.

For 40 acres your WD45 will do fine as your tractor.With the equipment you listed you'll also need a harrow or disc as a must have,and a sprayer would be nice too!!!

Edited by RSponenberg - 08 Feb 2011 at 3:12pm

Not too far from my house there was a guy that was retired and decided that he wanted a hobby, so he bought a 150 acre farm just 3 miles down the road and then went and bought a WD45 and implements to match it. Bought an old Gleaner combine and farms the whole place with just that equipment. Yes, it does require alot of seat time but thats what he likes AND his equipment investment is just peanuts compared to to other farmers around him that have the newer bigger stuff but they both get the same price for their crops when they sell.  He could afford to replace his whole tractor for just an engine repair on their equipment.  You ought to see the smile on his face out there putting in the seat time!

My vote would be a 6080 or even a 6060 if WD's are like D17's a 6080 will be a lot nicer.  The 6080 will run on a fraction of the fuel and if it's got better hydraulics and more comfortable.  On the other side of the coin my grandfather made a living farming about 80-90 tillable acres with a D17 and C.

6080 is over kill

I have a 7060PS,D17 gas for 5 acres!!

My grandfather and uncle  farmed over 600 acres with four  8N Fords and an Allis WC (WC never had the cornpicker taken off of it)....and they only believed in farming till 6:00 at night! I'm helping him average out the numbers LOL!

Doug, You have all the tractor you ed need for a 40 acre farm, Like the guys said above get a two or four row planter, 8' to 10' disc, a good sprayer, and a old E Gleaner combine and your good to go. A 190XT is a little over kill and you'll get done to fast! LOL

It seems the old days everyone talks about on this thread had good old weather conditions.  I remember the same.  Good planting, mowing, spraying, & harvest conditions where 3-6 weeks were favorable for any or each of those tasks.  Today, especially the last 3 years, have had difficult weather patterns.  Some of these patterns developed some seriously wet soil conditions throughout the whole growing season.  Get that WD45 & 8' disk hooked up, run a few quarter mile passes, then turn around to see rain barrelling down on you.  Put that scenario into late June and that 40 acres could seem like 240.  You may want to upgrade to bigger cheaper hp with wider equipment?  I am thinking something versatile like a good AC200 tractor with 18-20' equipment.  The 301 gets good fuel economy.  Around here, that size equipment used to go cheap at farm auctions?  Scrap iron prices, & high grain prices have raised it now though...   That AC200 could also haul grain wagons to the elevator.  It should be able to do spring tillage, NH4 application, plant, sidedress, spray, row-cultivate, mow, haul grain wagons, & fall tillage.  You're right, it is overkill if the weather is good, but if not then even a 7020 or 8010 would be a wish list for that 40 acres.  Actually a 7060 might be just as cheap to purchase.  It would use more fuel, but could handle equipment with ease.           

Eric[IL wrote: ] It seems the old days everyone talks about on this thread had good old weather conditions.  I remember the same.  Good planting, mowing, spraying, & harvest conditions where 3-6 weeks were favorable for any or each of those tasks.  Today, especially the last 3 years, have had difficult weather patterns.  Some of these patterns developed some seriously wet soil conditions throughout the whole growing season.  Get that WD45 & 8' disk hooked up, run a few quarter mile passes, then turn around to see rain barrelling down on you.  Put that scenario into late June and that 40 acres could seem like 240.  You may want to upgrade to bigger cheaper hp with wider equipment?  I am thinking something versatile like a good AC200 tractor with 18-20' equipment.  The 301 gets good fuel economy.  Around here, that size equipment used to go cheap at farm auctions?  Scrap iron prices, & high grain prices have raised it now though...   That AC200 could also haul grain wagons to the elevator.  It should be able to do spring tillage, NH4 application, plant, sidedress, spray, row-cultivate, mow, haul grain wagons, & fall tillage.  You're right, it is overkill if the weather is good, but if not then even a 7020 or 8010 would be a wish list for that 40 acres.  Actually a 7060 might be just as cheap to purchase.  It would use more fuel, but could handle equipment with ease.

I agree with Eric....overkill is good.  I only farm 20 acres and use a 140hp  and a 62hp FWD.  I even bumped my G up to 23 hp lol.  So often the difference between making a profit and losing money is having equipment big enough to do the job during a small spell of good weather. Timing is everything.

I would go through 1 or 2 seasons with the equipment you have though, make a little money, get some experience and then look to upgrade.  Your decision making will be better after a year or 2 of experience.

KevinON wrote: If you wanted to upgrade at all, I would consider a 180/185.  They are very good, efficient tractors.

X2

And reliable as an anvil.  With the extra power, you might still have time for fishing on the weekends!!

KC-

Stan IL&TN wrote: You are going to waste way too much time changing impliments.  You need a tractor for plowing, a tractor for disking, one for planting, another for cultivating and another for a wagon puller.  You'll need five to start with.  Maybe another for mowing.  The possibilities are endless to acquire more orange.

If you have a full time job get a 190xt and matching equipment or something close. Much faster but first see how 15 acres works out first. Might be all you care for and will still give you a chance to work the equipment you have. 

Edited by Lonn - 09 Feb 2011 at 7:50am

I had a long post, but my puter shut down.  Here goes again.  You can start with the wd-45 and see how you like the seat time.  I would look at a 7060 for a tractor, like Ben(MI) said.  Around me, they are cheaper than a 180, 190xt, 200, and all amaller 7000 series tractors.  I would go with a White planter and no-till.  I don't know much about JD planters, but the Whites are cheap to maintain.  The older 5000 series whites are cheap, but will need no-till coulters if no-tilling.  Our 6000 series doesn't need the coulters to no-till in our soil.  Get a decent sprayer, or hire it done.  You might need to take a pesticide applicators training class to purchase/use most chemicals.  Otherwise hire it done.  A small combine can be found cheap enough, and that is the best part of farming for me.  Getting to see your crops yield first hand is good info.  Hiring it done is an option, and around me it runs $25-30+ an acre.  There is no maintainance when hired done, and they might supply a grain cart or truck.  Lots of ways to do it, and none are wrong.  All depends on how much time and money you have to put into it.