3 ms·

Yes. I've got a 28HP Kubota L-series, and have been contemplating upgrading to an M-series, but even 46 would probably set us for a good while and lots of farme

by xoa 6y ago

Yes. I've got a 28HP Kubota L-series, and have been contemplating upgrading to an M-series, but even 46 would probably set us for a good while and lots of farmers around here still find use for tractors 50+ years old that are smaller than that. Yes there are huge JDs beyond that, and the M-series tops out at 168 HP, but 70 HP still seems way beyond "hobby" level and I'm honestly and genuinely surprised to see it called that way. I mean sure I understand that in the midwest there are ginormous scale farms which are very important and a backbone of certain parts of our agriculture, but there are still plenty of farms in New England and other areas which are doing a few hundred acres or less, and experimenting with different kinds of farming (like paddy farms for rice) and intensity which alter the need for sheer power. I don't have the slightest disdain for the megafarms, but it seems a bit blinders to consider them to be the only thing in existence too. Not that there couldn't be other issues with this, but 70 HP would be plenty useful at the right price and running cost. Calling it "hobby level" seems dismissive. Something kind of roughly equivalent like the M4-071 is at least $50k, I'm not sure how many hobbyists are dropping that kind of capital on a whim in the country. At $50-100k most families are going to be thinking about commercial ROI aren't they?

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
I think it depends on the kind of crops grown. Combines, grain bins, harvesters etc are a whole diff ball game when it comes to grain or corn on 1000+ acres for commodity crop farms
- xoa 6y ago
  Oh, absolutely. There are major farms operating on a completely different scale for mass staple crops, and bless them because it's an efficient backbone to a lot of our core foods. But I don't think the continued existence of small farms is that obscure either is it? This is now 3 year old (2017) data [0], and the last few years have been hard. But it's not that out of date yet nor did it shift that much from 2012 [1], the overwhelming majority of the few million farms in America are small family owned operations with <$100k annual income. Average size just 450 or so acres and even that is skewed up by the few percent of enormous farms. I guess I'm just kind of fascinated the first few comments on something like this would be about it being "hobbyist". Anything that could lower operating costs and externalities for small farms also deserves a bit more positive attention. ----- 0: https://www.usfarmdata.com/percentage-of-small-medium-and-large-farms-in-the-us https://www.usfarmdata.com/percentage-of-small-medium-and-la... 1: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2016/SmallFamilyFarms.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2016/Small...
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    I am in agreement with everything you said. That’s why I divide Agtech into Large commodity acreages(single harvest) and small acreage for food and cash crops(a 100-200 acre crops growing multiple perishable fruits/vegetables/flowers throughout the year for local fresh consumption. Automation is a necessity for the latter. The former is already hyper optimized w/mechanization.

by xoa 6y ago

jelliclesfarm 6y ago

I think it depends on the kind of crops grown. Combines, grain bins, harvesters etc are a whole diff ball game when it comes to grain or corn on 1000+ acres for commodity crop farms

xoa 6y ago
Oh, absolutely. There are major farms operating on a completely different scale for mass staple crops, and bless them because it's an efficient backbone to a lot of our core foods. But I don't think the continued existence of small farms is that obscure either is it? This is now 3 year old (2017) data [0], and the last few years have been hard. But it's not that out of date yet nor did it shift that much from 2012 [1], the overwhelming majority of the few million farms in America are small family owned operations with <$100k annual income. Average size just 450 or so acres and even that is skewed up by the few percent of enormous farms. I guess I'm just kind of fascinated the first few comments on something like this would be about it being "hobbyist". Anything that could lower operating costs and externalities for small farms also deserves a bit more positive attention. ----- 0: https://www.usfarmdata.com/percentage-of-small-medium-and-large-farms-in-the-us https://www.usfarmdata.com/percentage-of-small-medium-and-la... 1: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2016/SmallFamilyFarms.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2016/Small...
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  I am in agreement with everything you said. That’s why I divide Agtech into Large commodity acreages(single harvest) and small acreage for food and cash crops(a 100-200 acre crops growing multiple perishable fruits/vegetables/flowers throughout the year for local fresh consumption. Automation is a necessity for the latter. The former is already hyper optimized w/mechanization.