Someday isle
5 year old buck +
If I could have one do over or take back from when I got started in the land and habitat management game last year it would be an equipment choice. After purchasing the property (36 acres) I really struggled with whether to purchase an ATV or a sub compact tractor for habitat work. Last year worked out great and I have no real complaints. I have no regrets but I do wish I'd made a different choice. Let me tell you what I chose to do and why and then what I wish I would have done differently. After purchasing the land I was pretty budget conscious. I had lots of trails and an old campground to clear. I started by buying a STIHL backpack sprayer and rented a walk behind brush mower for a few weekends. I honestly don't believe a tractor could have done better than what I did with the brush mower last year.
After I got everything cleared I went the ATV route. I bought a new, but previous year model, Can Am Outlander 450, a 50 inch pull behind disc and a 48" field tuff cultipacker (excellent choice on that one by the way). I also bought two earthway bag seeders. I used a push lawn spreader to spread lime and fertilizer - that was a lot of work.
I seeded what amounted to just under an acres worth of trails with the LC cereal grain mix, minus the peas, with very acceptable results even with a very low PH and no soil test. After having a soil test done this year and evaluating both the property and our goals I've got a better picture of our equipment needs.
I'm keeping the food plot trails and we've been working on opening them up a little bit. A couple of these trails will be turned into long term clover plots with a mix of medium red and ladino from last years planting and Kopu II from frost seeding a couple weeks ago. Those will of course need to be maintained. We are also in the process of clearing what will either be two or three additional 1/4 acre food plots. Two of these are being opened up adjacent to and connected to our trails. The other is in a separate area and may or may not get done in the next year or two.
My campground is about a half acre. Eventually the plan is to gravel a portion of that and put another layer of gravel on the "driveway". The rest of the area was seeded in Dutch white clover. Both the gravel and the clover will need to be maintained. There is also a carport in the campground that was there when I bought the property. It's in good shape and right now is being used to store firewood. It's about the size of a one car garage.
There is also a boundary trail on the west side of the property that runs right at a quarter mile along the fenceline. It's at least ten feet wide all the way down. After re-opening it last year I'd like to keep it mowed. The east side of my property is the easement road that the four property owners all share. I'd like to be able to keep my side of the road mowed as well. The neighbors do a nice job of maintaining that area but I'd like to share in its upkeep and not be dependent on others.
One of the reasons I went with the ATV last year is related to storage. I can easily keep the ATV in my home garage. I can also keep a SCUT tractor in my garage too but I don't have room for both. This is definitely an either/or choice. I have a fourteen foot trailer that I store at a local trailer storage lot but I can't store anything else there.
I know that was a lot of information - but it leads to this - I'm considering upgrading from the ATV to a sub compact tractor. I can still use my disc and cultipacker with a sub compact. I can mow with a tractor and not have to rent the walk behind brush mower every time I need to mow. There are so many things I could do easier and better with a tractor with a bucket. Cost is of course always an issue but more than that is storage space. I also need something with some maneuverability. I won't ever have a one or two acre food plot to work on this property. It's all wooded except for the cleared areas I already mentioned. Most of my work will be in tight turning areas or areas that just aren't very wide. A big day of mowing or discing would probably be a total of about an acre or an acre and a half at a time at the most. Discing and cultipacking would only happen a couple times a year. Mowing maybe once a month in some areas, a little more or less in other areas depending on weather and opportunity. Probably yearly maintenance on gravel and driveway areas.
There's a Kubota dealer within 15 miles of my property and a John Deere dealer about the same distance from my home (actually several Deere dealers within reasonable driving distance). My neighbor has a BX Kubota which he is in love with and he's brought it over to show off what it can do a couple times. Its a great machine and would certainly handle anything I'd need it for. A friend of mine has a B series Kubota at his place that is 23 horsepower that I've seen him work with and it's great machine too. I've looked at the Deere though and I think I actually prefer it a little more. I'm a pretty decent sized guy and honestly getting in and out of the Deere is a lot easier and the ergonomics just seem to suit me a little better. The Deere dealer said a 1023e with a loader and a four foot rotary cutter would do anything I need. I'm leaning towards the 1025r though just to get a little more HP from both the engine and the PTO (24 and 19). Anything bigger than that just isn't practical for me.
I'd be comfortable storing the rotary cutter under the carport out in my campground and just transporting the tractor back and forth when I needed it.
I'm still not 100 percent committed to replacing the ATV this year, and its certainly not a necessity, but I am leaning that way right now. I'd love to hear an comments, suggestions, experiences that any of you may have.
After I got everything cleared I went the ATV route. I bought a new, but previous year model, Can Am Outlander 450, a 50 inch pull behind disc and a 48" field tuff cultipacker (excellent choice on that one by the way). I also bought two earthway bag seeders. I used a push lawn spreader to spread lime and fertilizer - that was a lot of work.
I seeded what amounted to just under an acres worth of trails with the LC cereal grain mix, minus the peas, with very acceptable results even with a very low PH and no soil test. After having a soil test done this year and evaluating both the property and our goals I've got a better picture of our equipment needs.
I'm keeping the food plot trails and we've been working on opening them up a little bit. A couple of these trails will be turned into long term clover plots with a mix of medium red and ladino from last years planting and Kopu II from frost seeding a couple weeks ago. Those will of course need to be maintained. We are also in the process of clearing what will either be two or three additional 1/4 acre food plots. Two of these are being opened up adjacent to and connected to our trails. The other is in a separate area and may or may not get done in the next year or two.
My campground is about a half acre. Eventually the plan is to gravel a portion of that and put another layer of gravel on the "driveway". The rest of the area was seeded in Dutch white clover. Both the gravel and the clover will need to be maintained. There is also a carport in the campground that was there when I bought the property. It's in good shape and right now is being used to store firewood. It's about the size of a one car garage.
There is also a boundary trail on the west side of the property that runs right at a quarter mile along the fenceline. It's at least ten feet wide all the way down. After re-opening it last year I'd like to keep it mowed. The east side of my property is the easement road that the four property owners all share. I'd like to be able to keep my side of the road mowed as well. The neighbors do a nice job of maintaining that area but I'd like to share in its upkeep and not be dependent on others.
One of the reasons I went with the ATV last year is related to storage. I can easily keep the ATV in my home garage. I can also keep a SCUT tractor in my garage too but I don't have room for both. This is definitely an either/or choice. I have a fourteen foot trailer that I store at a local trailer storage lot but I can't store anything else there.
I know that was a lot of information - but it leads to this - I'm considering upgrading from the ATV to a sub compact tractor. I can still use my disc and cultipacker with a sub compact. I can mow with a tractor and not have to rent the walk behind brush mower every time I need to mow. There are so many things I could do easier and better with a tractor with a bucket. Cost is of course always an issue but more than that is storage space. I also need something with some maneuverability. I won't ever have a one or two acre food plot to work on this property. It's all wooded except for the cleared areas I already mentioned. Most of my work will be in tight turning areas or areas that just aren't very wide. A big day of mowing or discing would probably be a total of about an acre or an acre and a half at a time at the most. Discing and cultipacking would only happen a couple times a year. Mowing maybe once a month in some areas, a little more or less in other areas depending on weather and opportunity. Probably yearly maintenance on gravel and driveway areas.
There's a Kubota dealer within 15 miles of my property and a John Deere dealer about the same distance from my home (actually several Deere dealers within reasonable driving distance). My neighbor has a BX Kubota which he is in love with and he's brought it over to show off what it can do a couple times. Its a great machine and would certainly handle anything I'd need it for. A friend of mine has a B series Kubota at his place that is 23 horsepower that I've seen him work with and it's great machine too. I've looked at the Deere though and I think I actually prefer it a little more. I'm a pretty decent sized guy and honestly getting in and out of the Deere is a lot easier and the ergonomics just seem to suit me a little better. The Deere dealer said a 1023e with a loader and a four foot rotary cutter would do anything I need. I'm leaning towards the 1025r though just to get a little more HP from both the engine and the PTO (24 and 19). Anything bigger than that just isn't practical for me.
I'd be comfortable storing the rotary cutter under the carport out in my campground and just transporting the tractor back and forth when I needed it.
I'm still not 100 percent committed to replacing the ATV this year, and its certainly not a necessity, but I am leaning that way right now. I'd love to hear an comments, suggestions, experiences that any of you may have.
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