Buying my First Tractor
If you’re interested in learning a little more about our tractor, here are some more specific details about ours and why it’s proven to be one of the most important investments for my business.
First— this is the first captial improvement (and the only one to date) that I’ve taken on debt for. I made a down payment on the tractor like you would a car and then paid low monthly payments to pay it off. I’ve really worked hard not to accrue debt, investing as much of our profits as I can back into my company each year.
But I got to a point where it just seemed silly not to acquire this machinery. I was loosing potential business because I was working too hard and too slowly.
Classes of Tractors:
We have a compact tractor. I found our tractor used and in good condition at an agricultural machinery dealer. I purchased a John Deere 3025E. It is considered a compact tractor. It was like new, had low running hours (like mileage on a car) and cost me about $17,000.
Generally speaking, tractors fall into a few categories based on size:
Lawn tractor (the kind you can buy at Lowes/Home Depot) for mowing your lawn, etc. These can also be help for toting/pulling dump carts.
Sub compact tractors are generally a little larger and have less than 25hp (horse power). Many sub compact tractors will allow for mower deck attachment between the axles
Compact tractors are bigger still and have less than 60hp.
Tractors are generally even larger and have 40-100+hp.
NEEDS:
My choice of tractor had to do with a few things. I wanted:
a means to off load deliveries with a forklift attachment and a decent weight lifting ability.
a size that was not going to overwhelm our small property and narrow spaces.
the ability to scoop up materials with a bucket for moving compost/mulch easily.
the option to add attachments like a PTO (power take-off) shaft for running a pull behind tiller, mower, undercutter, snowblower, etc. White these things may seem unattainable to a new grower (they did to me at the time), I knew that I would want the option to add them in the future.
ADD-ONS:
Some add-ons:
weighted tires (this is achieved by adding a liquid to your tires to help the tractor weigh more)
an engine block heater for cold weather use
Let me know if you have any questions about our tractor (or tractors generally— I’ll do my best to help!). Choosing which tractor and how much to spend and learning how things worked seemed so overwhelming to me at the time. I hope I can help same others that stress!
