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Investing in equipment

sirrloin

sirrloin

Active Member
Next spring I plan on starting a couple food plots on my property. This is my first go around and the warden has me on a budget so I've been exploring my options. My property is on the back side of some large hills with timber facing the middle river. There's some sporadic river rock but overall nothing huge.

For about 4 acres to plant would it be better to get something like an 850cc atv with a tow behind like a DR...or bite the bullet and get a good compact utility tractor?

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Speaking from experience. I would find a good small tractor ! 4 acres is a lot of stuff. 4 a quad ! Yes it can be done but its lots of wear n tear on the atv. And just another day for the tractor !

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The breaking of sod the first time is the hardest part make sure you kill with gly first and give plenty of kill time for the root base to break down make things much easier for you !!!

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Yep, 4 acres is huge for an ATV. It'll do a poor job compared to a tractor and an atv will be worn out many times over in the lifetime of one decent tractor.
 
I agree with what has already been written...but at 4 acres, you can pull it off with an ATV and associated equipment. While not the best approach in terms of time and wear and tear on the ATV, I used an ATV for several years before I was able to get a tractor. While I didn't plant everything at once, I probably had 7 or 8 acres "under till" with the ol' ATV every year and mine was only a 350cc, air cooled.

Look for a used, small tractor...you can probably get one for the same, or less, than 800c+ ATV anyway. I have seen people use small tractors like the one I linked below successfully. https://iowacity.craigslist.org/grd/d/ford-601-tractor-model-641/6716855386.html Good luck!
 
I would definitely bump up and look for a tractor, if you look around you'll be surprised what you can find a older tractor for. My first food plot tractor was a Case 730 with a front end loader, it made short work of the 5 acres I was plotting at the time. On attachments just pay attention to local farm auctions or older farmsteads with old used equipment sitting around, I bought a disc and field cultivator for scrap price after I seen them sitting behind a house, farmer was happy to get rid of them.

Nice thing about a older decent tractor is the hold there value and even appreciate. I bought my 730 for $3,500 sold it for $5,000. Browse around on tractorhouse.com and you can get a good idea what you can get for the money you want to spend.
 
I do some of my food plot work with ATV, but tractor would be better. I rely on farmers to leave corn or beans for me, but in this case, with 4 acres, guessing it would have to be small plots. Alfalfa might be a nice option for part of the acres.
 
I use an ATV for about 1.5 acres and it is a lot of work. If I had somewhere to keep a tractor I would be getting one. My vote is for tractor like the rest of the guys. Good luck
 
I also debated going the less expensive route and buying attachments for the ranger. Even though it would be easier on the pocket book, I knew that I wouldn't be happy with going that route overall. While looking at tractors, I had to keep in mind that I wanted one machine to do my 1.5 ac of mowing around the house and buildings, maintain my paths on the property, and be reasonably big enough to do the other work required on a property being developed for wildlife, and family enjoyment. After several months of looking at various tractors, I ended up purchasing a Kubota B2601, with 4wd, 60" drive over mower deck, 60" loader Attachment, and 58" Land Pride Rototiller (more to come). I tilled 1.5 acres with it so far for my plots, and it worked great! I couldn't be happier that I made the purchase! Its a solid machine inside and out! I got the industrial tires, rather than the turf tires. They dont tear up the yard unless its as wet as it has been. In that case, I just dont mow until it dries out. I would advise to go with the Industrial tires for the added traction if your property has any hills, or low spots that hold moisture like mine does. My neighbor has turf tires on his larger John Deere. They do good enough for most applications, but may limit you in some situations. Then again... he is mowing, while i have to wait a day or 3 until it dries out. Ag tires are just too much tread for a tractor this size IMO. Esp if you're planning on using it in the yard or shorter yard length grass/paths. If it was just being used for plots, and that kind of work, then it might be a different story.
 
kelcher said:
I use an ATV for about 1.5 acres and it is a lot of work. If I had somewhere to keep a tractor I would be getting one. My vote is for tractor like the rest of the guys. Good luck
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FYI, you can get a 20' used shipping container for around $2000. Wind and water tight, pretty secure. I keep my tractor in one, only it is 40'.
 
IowaBowHunter1983 said:
Would you say they are mice proof?
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Mine is mouse proof and I would anticipate that any that you buy would, even if they are used. Worst case...you could repair whatever breach may be present and make it mouse proof. They are sold in various conditions from brand new to pretty rough, mine was a used, "scratch and dent" model, middle of the road condition. I primed a couple of rough patches on the exterior so it didn't rust, but it was otherwise structurally solid...well except for where I ran the bucket of the tractor through the side wall once when I turned too sharp backing out of it. :) But hey, that was me. :)

I have had mine for 3 or 4 years and it is solid, nothing has gotten into it that I can tell. Also, FYI, I did add an approximate 2' square louver/screen on both ends to provide some ventilation so it doesn't get too hot inside in the summer. I would recommend doing that too.
 
Just a thought for you . i have both a 700 arctic cat diesel ( yes diesel) 4 wheeler and a jd 34hp 4x4 tractor . and just an idea how tough sod is ! Many times in a fallow field i have seen my 1000 lb 6.5ft disc just ( float) roll over (green) sod !! I will chew it up but takes lots of passes! My point being unless you have (big equipment) prep before tillage is equally important !! I would mow the area late fall or early spring before green up then spray gly late april. Then again early june and start tillage after a rain in july to fully break down the existing root base to get your plots prepped for aug planting fall food plots !! Hope this helps !

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Wi transplant said:
Just a thought for you . i have both a 700 arctic cat diesel ( yes diesel) 4 wheeler and a jd 34hp 4x4 tractor . and just an idea how tough sod is ! Many times in a fallow field i have seen my 1000 lb 6.5ft disc just ( float) roll over (green) sod !! I will chew it up but takes lots of passes! My point being unless you have (big equipment) prep before tillage is equally important !! I would mow the area late fall or early spring before green up then spray gly late april. Then again early june and start tillage after a rain in july to fully break down the existing root base to get your plots prepped for aug planting fall food plots !! Hope this helps !

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Yes, killing sod as far in advance of when you plan to till it is a good idea. I would even add that you could spray to kill this fall yet, burn it off next spring, wait for it to green back up and then spray it again...then commence tillage. Those sod roots are really tough to work through if they aren't long dead.
 
Tractor - I do approx. 3-4 acres per year on two different farms with an 700cc ATV. I count my blessings each Sept that I haven't blown it up yet. Pulling power isn't the issue if you have the correct sized equipment for the ATV - in my case it's keeping the ATV cooling system from overheating and burning a piston. I end up doing 30-40 minutes of tillage, then something else, then more tillage, then something else - and so on...... Not the best scenario. It's definitely doable but not the most efficient time wise. I also agree with the above statements, the budget for a solid strong ATV is very comparable to a solid used utility tractor - just takes more effort to find one.
 
I would find a small farmer neighbor to plant it for you, unless you really like the work. Probably could get it planted for and tilled for 200 bucks. Get it worked up good once then I would guess you could maybe just go the the no-till route on beans or the herbicide and throw and grow for radishes or turnips. If you really did the math on equipment cost per acre on owning vs custom, there is no way on earth you could justify owning unless you put a some type of value on personal satisfaction of doing it yourself. Tractors have a way of costing money even if they don't get used much, one set of batteries, run an antler thru the tire etc etc, one thing breaks down and you could have paid for years of having your neighbor do it for you.

But if you like doing things for yourself, like others have said get the tractor.
 
Can't really argue above. Having tractor and equipment only for deer farming is basically silly. BUT if you can justify it for other reasons...go for it. Example: get a compact tractor that you can also use for mowing your yard? Or for moving snow? That's what I ended up doing initially. I recently doubled my tractor size because power and speed is time and time is money...or less time pissing around at the farm means a happier wife and more time with kids. That's why I did it. And a loader...priceless equipment for any type of work.

If you only want food plots and only care about ag type plots...have farmer neighbor...no question. If you want to do many types and be on YOUR schedule...do it yourself.

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