Vanity:Advice on farm utility vehicle/tools for pasture and livestock (Wardaddy the uninformed)

self ^ | 11-12-12 | wardaddy

[wardaddy]

Hi All.

Sorry for the vanity in a time of the utter collapse of our way of life but I do have a practical issue I need help with.

I have plank fenced in 10 acres of my homeplace and built a barn and acquiring horses...have a few already and will end up with 5-6..maybe some other critters too.

I need a good FUV...farm utility vehicle...those bench seat style 4 wheelers that can tow rakes and harrows and seeders etc or maybe timothy bales and whatnot

and take to deer camp...

yep...I know they aren't cheap but seems most are offering low rates

I have no experience at all..my last deer camp vehicle was a Suzuki 250 ATV and a EZ-Go electric cart with knobbies and camo paint

I have looked at Polaris rangers...Kubota and Yamaha too..as well as Bobcat online

I know some will even carry a bushog in front or back..depends

and so forth

right now manure dispersal is my main thing but winter grass planting maybe too..and of course hay bale moving

there is always something..i was foolish to think my old dodge would do it all

I know a small conventional tractor is a possibility but it has limited use...so I'm checking

also...any advice for best manure tool...harrow rake?

any brands folks like?

diesel...gas...?

will big electrics like Bad Boys work? ..sounds crazy right?

I like JD but it's high....so far probably Kawasaki Mule and Polaris are my favorites but I'm open

thanks for any advice and God bless us all ...I know you guys like me are walking around still in a fog shellshocked

[vetvetdoug]

I’ve got a small farm. I don’t have an ATV or a “mule”. What I do have are two tractors, both diesel. A 1972 MF 135 and a Ford 1961 841. Both can do the farming and logging chores and they are easy to maintain. Parts are plentiful and easy to obtain. I have a diesel storage tank with 300 gallons of fuel. Gasoline won’t store as long and gets water easily. Farm implements for these are fairly cheap and also easy to obtain. I have one tractor hitched to a small wagon that I use to carry my chainsaws, axes, and lubricants. I can use the wagon to transport firewood and limbs and to carry riders also. I thought about draft horses but the tractors are easier to maintain (and I am a veterinarian). Old tractors like these are easily found in and around the Nashville area...the MF 35, 135, and Ford 801/841 diesels can be purchased in good shape for $2500 to $5000. I didn’t care if the metal was rough if the engine, transmission and PTO was in good shape.

[FerociousRabbit]

“I worked with everything you listed and will always stand by John Deere. I know they are expensive but they are worth it.”

Yes, JD makes good equipment. Lord help you, however, if you ever need a part. I have had the same experience at every JD dealership I have ever been to. If you are not there to buy a NEW JD they would prefer you not bother them.

Case/IH, on the other hand, are always a pleasure to deal with. Unfortunately, I find I need IH parts on a very regular basis so maybe that’s why!

[Noumenon]

Yep - that works, too.

[wardaddy]

yes..i know...i am a glutton for punishment

[wardaddy]

yep..Gators are nice..no question

I went to a church dove hunt this year and the gators were ferrying hunters back up the hill like nobody’s business

I would probably..like I said...take it to deer camp..where walking into 5-10,000 acres of hunting lease is kind of hard...especially with young kids and gear in tow

[wardaddy]

Kubotas look very solid...there is a dealer on Columbia Pike near me

I think they make the Bobcat diesel no?

[wardaddy]

I know logically you are correct...a tractor is better for farm app

no doubt

but you see I am cheating/sneaking this into deer camp vehicle segway with the real lord of the manor...

the split tail who writes the checks with money I make (prolly not a foreign concept to men here..lol)

my Dodge Ram is old too..I have to sneak this and a newer used truck past her hawkish gaze...not an easy feat you know

we had an old thumper 3 cylinder Ford...1960s model at my warehouse a few years back...they are handy..i think the RPM was like 500 or something...like an old ship’s main engine...

newer tractors are not like that are they?

i may break down and buy an old tractor...just cause I like them

[wardaddy]

I have a generator to run my CPAP first and foremost..in that case

man...i can’t sleep without it and will wake up feeling like I’m breathing thru a coffee straw..sux

last time power went out...I drove 20 miles to a La Quinta..swear to God

left wifey who was asleep already a note..lol

me and oldest boy

[wardaddy]

don’t anybody laugh but couldn’t I simply drag a decent TSC chain harrow behind my RAM 1500 for now just to spread the horse manure?

it’s dry here in Middle Tn for now?

I ain’t gonna lie...I’ve found my calling

if I didn’t have to work to pay for all these kids and extended family stuff

I would like to just deal with horses...just like my TWH breeder grandpa was

better late than never

I really do enjoy it and so do my boys

just going out tonight and getting a load of hay on a frosty clear nite and betting which one would run up to start eating outta the back of the truck before we could even get it unloaded was just plain fun..Old America fun

and we were right...the abused Thoroughbred we’re nursing up...first in line buddy,,at least you can’t see his ribs now

i do appreciate all the help

[Amberdawn]

The one-horse-per-two-acre-rule.

[ottbmare]

The one-horse-per-two-acre-rule.

Yes. Except that the gentleman doesn't actually have two acres of pasture available for each horse. Barn, house, garden, driveway, parking, equipment shed, well, manure pile, chicken coop and/or goat-shed, and so forth have a surprisingly large footprint and take up a lot of that ten acres. You end up having only five or so acres left. It's very easy for five or six horses to turn five or six acres into an over-grazed dustbowl in summer and a mudpit in winter. Oh, and he's planning to spread manure on his fields, which means that they're not going to be continuously available, no matter what the worming schedule is. That's not the best pasture management.

Just a suggestion, it's not really any of my business. I concede that he knows his own property and his part of the US as I do not, and my knowledge of pasture maintenance is limited to the four areas of the US where I've owned property.

[dixiechick2000]

I’m so glad you didn’t have to count on me for advice. lol

The only thing I know about horses is that it requires a lot of work to move them from one barn to another, and that it’s very expensive to have a granddaughter who rides English, and competes in dressage, equitation, jumping, and what ever else they do. I love it, though. Picasso is a sweet boy. ;o)

Dealing with animals is soothing. Did you know it would bring your blood pressure down?

Dealing with kids, otoh, is quite the opposite.

I’d say you’ve found a great mixture of kids and animals, and you, and your health, are all going to thrive beautifully because of it.

Glad to see you all. ;o)

[Errant]

I would like to just deal with horses...

That's cool, but could quickly turn into a nightmare in a SHTF situation if you aren't set up for it, or don't have the land and equipment you're going to need.

In the winter, horses consume a lot of grain and hay (twice as much as cattle). Grain may become impossible to get even if you could afford it. In my location, the cheapest feed now is about $10 per 50 lbs. One medium size horse not being worked can go through two bags a week in winter.

A single horse might be advantageous on a farm in a SHTF situation, if it will ride, pull a plow and wagon. It's going to get skinny in the winter though. Otherwise, raising horses is strictly for fun and profit during good times or for large ranches with the ability to grow and put away grain and hay, IMO.

If you have a need for electrically powered medical equipment, you need grid, solar, and wind charging a battery bank with an inverter. Also a diesel gen with extra fuel on hand for backup.

I see having a mule or ATV with a small wagon for use around your place after a tractor that is much more useful. Just have to be more convincing while convincing the wife. IF the SHTF, trips to the deer camp might be a thing of the past, unless the deer camp becomes your new home. ;)

It sounds to me like you’ve made a great start. First things first though, considering the hell we're all about to go through. Figure what you can't do without: electricity, food, water, heat, transportation, communication and etc. I hate to say it, but I just don’t see how our standard of living is not going to decline drastically in the coming months and years.

[Errant]

Guest Post: The Smartest Investment Of The Decade (Farmland)

[El Laton Caliente]

A loader bucket is great for collecting.

I have used a old bare bed spring chained to a lawn tractor as a spreader...

Still, mowing, hauling, collecting, speading seed, moving bales (except small square) and most other tasks, you need a 30 to 50 HP tractor...

[PubliusMM]

Chain harrow will work fine for breaking up large manure chunks and wet bedding, etc. Use what works...

And, I second the notion on just stayin’ home and playing around the farm. Making a living just gets in the way, IMO, but it’s a necessary evil.

[N-R-T]

Nice.