Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[farmerjan]

A word to the wise on JD tractors. There has been a real problem with the technology... especially on the bigger farm tractors... IF/WHEN some of these stupid electronic sensors go bad/ something sets them off... the tractors can only be worked on by JD techs due to some "secret" agreements that will not let any other tractor techs work on them... I am not totally up on all the stuff, just know that there have been lawsuits and other stuff over all this because the JD computer information, specs and all that, are like NASA protected... and no one can have access... I am not sure if it ever was totally settled... your average mechanically inclined farmer cannot do some of the most simple stuff on them due to not having access to the computer info and codes.... NO OTHER TRACTOR COMPANY has this restriction...

DS said we will never buy a JD tractor because of this... and besides that, ALL the new ones, any brand.... have so much electronic crap on them.... don't know about the smaller "farmette sized ones"...
The big JD that he bought off doug's estate... is like 30 years old... and it is an expense any time anything needs replacing... their shop rates are exorbitant... JD parts are like gold plated xxxx.... and ours does not have near the electronic crap on it that the newer ones do. Plus the JD drinks fuel like we had our own oil well right there on the farm for it's personal fuel source...
When it runs, it does it's job... but he prefers the Agco, and the Deutz of the bigger tractors... or any of the older Allis Chalmers... which are now part of Agco...
Actually, Kubota has a very good reputation in larger farm tractors now, also. They make alot of very big earth moving and heavy equipment.... so have the reputation....

Whatever you buy, get a 4 wd tractor... you can do more with less horsepower with 4wd and the resale is better... plus the one time you need it, you will be sooo glad you have it... that is the saving grace of our JD... it is 4wd....

 

[Baymule]

I live Layne’s big 100 HP Kubota and I definitely love my small 23 HP Kubota.

Layne also likes Massey Ferguson. I think he said you can get up to a 75 HP without the DEF.

 

[Ridgetop]

DH likes the John Deere because with his bad knees that don't bend easily (and needing tummy space) it is more comfortable to get in and out of, and drive. He tried the Kubota but found it uncomfortable to operate since his knee won't bend enough to get his foot back far enough to operate the rocker type of foot pedal. We love the fact that John Deere is offering 0.9% interest rate to purchase. They also have a good warranty.

Still trying to decide what size to get. Started looking at the 4052R series (39.9 hp pto), then at the 4066R series (52 ph pto). Definitely getting 4WD. Have decided to just get the tractor and get the mower or hay spears separately from another maker. We will get those separately somewhere else, and mich cheaper. DH and DS1 decided to get the 3rd function for the grapple which costs more, because they think they might want to get attachments that will require it. DH is trying to decide between the 4052R and the 4066R - will the 4066R have better resale value with more HP? DS1 thinks that the 4052R is enough tractor and is definitely more affordable. Not sure that we will ever need or buy a grapple either but DH decided to get the 3rd function now just in case.

DS1 found a hay spear that will also convert to a fork lift on Amazon with free shipping. It is by Titan and is cheaper than the Frontier hay spear from JD. Still checking stuff out and looking at dealers and tractors. There is a New Holland dealer in Sulphur Springs I would like DH to visit with DS1 just to check out. We will still have the FarmTrac repaired for a back up.

DS1 finished the shelter in Pasture 2 today. He needed both of us to help move the metal roof panels and lift them onto the structure. First we took the teepee structure apart and dropped the panels flat. We picked them up and slid them onto the top of the pickup bed then DH drove the truck from where they were over to the posts. At the peak DH attached a pipe. We slid the panels onto the posts and DS1 used corral butterfly clips to attach the panels to that pipe. Then he attached the downslope edge of the panels to the 2x6's across the lower posts. Total cost about $100 for the pipe, 2x6's, and metal attachments. We already had the roof panels, corral clips, and upright posts which saved us a bundle. We have another 3 complete roof panels and another 4 or 5 frames without galvanized roofing. We will put the galvanized roofing on those as we build more shelters.
Photos showing downslope edge
of shelter. The lowest edge is 5' high so we can get under it easily and it gives plenty of air flow. We can also put the mineral feeders under the shelters and feed gran there as well when it rains.
The shelter is 12'x16' the center roof peak is about 6' high. The corrugated roofing allows for attaching tarps in the winter weather.
DH after we finished it with DS1 still reattaching the roofing panel screws (we had to remove some of the screws to get the pipe attachments over the frame and under the galvanized sheets to screw to the 2x6.)
The girls in front of the shelter. The blue thing to the right is a street sweeper brush that DS1 mounted in a pipe frame. The sheep like to use it to scratch when shedding. DS1 said it might be too low though so he might raise it a little. DS1 said that if he had the new tractor he could have done the whole thing himself. LOL

The ewes are all in great condition and we will put the new ram in with them in another week or two. He had a case of bottle jaw so we wormed him with Safeguard today. In a week or so when we put him in with the ewes we will worm them with Safeguard and give him a dose of Cydectin. Everyone will also get a dose of Bo-Se. We might remove the other ram from the other flock of ewes, but if we can move them so they are separated by more than the electric fence we may keep him with them and let the ram pens recover.

 

[Baymule]

Get the 52 HP tractor. The 39 won’t be big enough for the farm work.

The shelter looks good.

 

[farmerjan]

I definitely would go with the bigger one also... 39 HP is a large lawn tractor...
Any add ons, like a grapple... would not be near as safe on the 39 HP tractor...

 

[SageHill]

Yup - bigger tractor. Like everything else (i.e. barn size, etc) get the bigger one if you can because we all know the "extra" will definitely be put to good use. Smaller and there will be times you think - should've got the bigger one!

 

[Ridgetop]

All of you are right about getting the larger size tractor. Cody (our friend who leases the 30 acre hayfield) also said "Bigger is better". LOL DH likes the Kubota, but it is not friendly to him with the foot pedals due to limitations in his knee motion. Cody's Kubota is 85 hp and has different controls.

DH found a Massey-Ferguson dealer outside Sulphur Springs, also a Kyoti dealer near the M-F dealer, so the guys will look at them. DS1 also read a review of the Bobcat tractors that are not well known but seem to have a good reputation. DH said that the New Holland dealer only had large tractors and it was so high he had a hard time getting in and out.

Hopefully the mobile tractor guy will be coming ut this week and can fix ours. Mainly we need it for the auger so we can get fencing in before DS1 and DH have to go to California in October. We need to move the sheep out of their current pastures asap. I will stay here since I have ewes due to lamb in October and November. If worst comes to worst, we will have to turn all the ewes and new ram in and let them have the run of the remaining acreage until the next set of fences can go in. At least we finally have the pasture layout measured out which was what DS1 said was hlding him up.

The conex boxes are in place and leveled. DS1 and I set up the 3 sets of shelves. DS1 attached them all together so we have an extra pair of end pieces. These shelves hook together so they can make a continuous row of shelving instead of 3 separate sets. The interior dimensions of these 20' conex boxes are only 17' so the 3 sets of 6' wide shelves would not fit in them unless he put them together this way. I will buy another 2 sets of shelves on Friday when we go to Costco and we can set up another row of shelves in the second container using the extra supports and only using 3 shelves instead of 4 shelves. Emptied some of the closets and moved a lot of stuff to the shelves. Using only 3 shelves will make room for the larger stuff we have to store.

 

[Ridgetop]

Today DH and DS1 went to check out more tractors. While the John Deere was more comfortable for DH, @farmerjan's warnings about repairs were worrisome. For the dealer to send out their mechanic from Sulphur Springs to Yantis - 15 miles - the charge is $500 and that is before they do any work! The work charge is $195/hour. Ridiculous!

We decided to check out other brands. DS1 said that the Bobcat tractors seemed to be more flimsy and he was not impressed. Then they went to look at Massey-Fergusons. The MF 2800m tractors had the controls that DH wanted, had a wider step making it easier to get up in the tractor, and the price for a FULL CAB tractor with the same PTO and HP was cheaper than the John Deere! The disconnect on the bucket and other stuff was easier to use than the Deere as well, and it comes with the rear function. The tractor is heavier built too. However it does not have the rear thingy that allows you to back up the tractor while standing on the ground which is handy for placing the auger and backing up to mowers, etc. if doing stuff alone. In fact, the dealer had never heard of that function. They also have a good reputation for being able to get parts even for older MF tractors and a reputation for reliability. Another thing that impressed DH and DS1 was where the fuel inlet was located. You gas it down low near the step instead of having to climb up onto a stool to pour the fuel into the tank up high.

Drawback is that the interest rate is 3% for 84 months. That is balanced by the payment being the same as the JD at .9% interest since the tractor is cheaper. DH found that another model of MF tractor - actually the same model but last year's - is going for 0%. We just have to find a dealer who will sell us one since the article DH found said that the dealers are pushing the newer ones at 3% interest. If we decide to go with the Massey Fergusson at 3% interest we will pay it off when we sell the California house. Oh, and they might take the FarmTrac in trade.

We will keep looking and comparing, but the Massey-Ferguson has now stepped up as first choice.

Sadly I will not be able to use the name I had chosen for the tractor. I was going to call it "Bambi" because it is a Deere.

.

 

[fuzzi]

Today DH and DS1 went to check out more tractors. While the John Deere was more comfortable for DH, @farmerjan's warnings about repairs were worrisome. For the dealer to send out their mechanic from Sulphur Springs to Yantis - 15 miles - the charge is $500 and that is before they do any work! The work charge is $195/hour. Ridiculous!

We decided to check out other brands. DS1 said that the Bobcat tractors seemed to be more flimsy and he was not impressed. Then they went to look at Massey-Fergusons. The MF 2800m tractors had the controls that DH wanted, had a wider step making it easier to get up in the tractor, and the price for a FULL CAB tractor with the same PTO and HP was cheaper than the John Deere! The disconnect on the bucket and other stuff was easier to use than the Deere as well, and it comes with the rear function. The tractor is heavier built too. However it does not have the rear thingy that allows you to back up the tractor while standing on the ground which is handy for placing the auger and backing up to mowers, etc. if doing stuff alone. In fact, the dealer had never heard of that function. They also have a good reputation for being able to get parts even for older MF tractors and a reputation for reliability. Another thing that impressed DH and DS1 was where the fuel inlet was located. You gas it down low near the step instead of having to climb up onto a stool to pour the fuel into the tank up high.

Drawback is that the interest rate is 3% for 84 months. That is balanced by the payment being the same as the JD at .9% interest since the tractor is cheaper. DH found that another model of MF tractor - actually the same model but last year's - is going for 0%. We just have to find a dealer who will sell us one since the article DH found said that the dealers are pushing the newer ones at 3% interest. If we decide to go with the Massey Fergusson at 3% interest we will pay it off when we sell the California house. Oh, and they might take the FarmTrac in trade.

We will keep looking and comparing, but the Massey-Ferguson has now stepped up as first choice.

Sadly I will not be able to use the name I had chosen for the tractor. I was going to call it "Bambi" because it is a Deere.

.

You still can call it Bambi!

Or Miff (MF)

 

[farmerjan]

Massey Fergussons are good tractors... Been around a long time...