Spinoff from Tractor Love: your must-have/favorite implements?

[deltawave]

We all can agree that tractor = good. But how about a list of the implements you have, the ones you lust after, and the ones you simply can't imagine doing without?

HAVE:
loader
brush hog
snowblower
flexible harrow
manure spreader
seed broadcaster

LUST AFTER:
box blade/back blade
tiller
sprayer w/boom and pump
more aggressive harrow to turn my sacrifice paddock footing into FOOTING, like the kind you can ride on. I know it's do-able, the soil is sandy and perfect, just needs ripping up regularly. :p

CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT:
loader and brush hog get the most use--we don't have a lawn yet (2.5 years later) :uhoh: so the brush hog mows everything, including the paddocks.
harrow is VERY handy and was a bargain
snowblower obviously crucial for 5 months out of the year
seeder/spreader--meh, could do without them

[camohn]

Have:
manure spreader
sprayer for the weeds along the fenceline
bucket for poo pile and snow plowing
utility cart for taking stuff to the burn pile, tools/fence supplies for fence repairs etc.
Chain harrow
posthole digger
Box blade story: Our neighbor had a tractor with a box blade to level out his gravel drive that washes out a lot in heavy rains. His OLD tractor died and he didn't want to buy another one just to grade the driveway...so he offered a deal. He would give us his box blade if he can put it on our tractor and use it to level out his driveway every once is a while. Sold!! He does tons for us anyway.....so would have done it even without the blade trade.


I think we have acquired everything we need in 10 years now! The sprayer has gotten really necessary for weed control on 34 acres. Ya just can't weed whack that many weeds, work a day job and keep up with it. You need to kill them.

[JSwan]

Neener Neener - I have a box blade. :D:lol:

Have:
Box blade
Forks
Broadcast seeder
Bushhog
Post hole digger
Harrow
Front loader with hooks welded on it
Grading blade

Lust After:
A bigger tractor. This one is too small. But it's paid for.
A more aggressive harrow
No till seeder/seed drill
A new seat

Can't live without
Front loader and bushhog.

[Bluey]

Had a PTO post hole digger for over 50 years and it was a PITA in some of our harder soils.
Now have an HYDRAULIC post hole digger and it is WONDERFUL, worth every penny.

I was spreading the manure by dumping it slowly out of the bucket and if it fell in clumps in some places, running over it backwards with said bucket to spread it a little more.
Just found a hardly used, greatly discounted Millcreek manure spreader and I am liking it very well.

The pallet points on our tractor are what we use the most, from handling panels and pipe and posts, to pulling posts, moving pallets, using pallets to stand on and reach higher places to repair, weld or paint and to move big bales.

Our tractor came with a bucket, blade for the back and mower for fields, along the fences and barditches.

Our pastures consist of native, short prarie grasses and we don't mow, fertilize or manage them directly, nature does.
We only have to pray for rain and rarely control some invasive species, like cacti, mesquite or broomweed.
Our only real management of the pastures, since we are talking hundreds and thousands of acres in the semi-desert, with little and unpredictable moisture, is to stock them lightly or pull stock off in droughts.
We don't need a tractor to do much to them.

For the first time, we have a cab with heater and air and it is a luxury that has been worth it all the way around, as it was hard to have enough protection with face masks and safety glasses, to keep allergies at bay.
In the cab, the dust, pollens and molds are at a minimum.

We use an old tandem plow for the arena, but would like to get one of the newer arena grooming tools, just don't know which one.

[JSwan]

Blueys post reminded me and implement I forgot to mention

The post pounder - not THAT is a fantastic implement. We got it used at an auction - some parts were bent and it wasn't working. We fixed it for about 40$ and it's been a great implement. Puts up a fenceline pretty fast and those posts don't move at all.

[CatOnLap]

oh great you guys. I just emptied the bank account on the tractor and now I need
-a post hole digger
- a manure spreader...

I'll stop there :lol

[horsetales]

Have
Bucket
Back blade
drag/harrow
Post hole digger
Brush hog
Round bale spike

Want
Manure spreader
snow blower
heated cab with cd player :) (a girl can dream of being able to afford it)

[baileygreyhorse]

HAVE:
snowblower
manure spreader (broken)
scraper/blade
mower

LUST AFTER:
harrow (for pastures)
sprayer w/boom and pump (we have a little one for the small mower)
front end loader
a WORKING manure spreader

CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT:
mower (for pastures)
snowblower (sees much too much use)
the blade is useful for scraping down gopher mounds

[camohn]

Oops. I forgot the pasture mower.....a MUST have!!

[theoldgreymare]

Have:

-Box blade
-Pallet Forks
-Bushhog
-Finish Mower
-Post hole digger
-Front loader
-Rake
-Discer/Cultivator
-Bale Spike
-spray tank

Want:
-Manure Spreader-DH flat out refuses to spread manure on the fields. All poop is removed from fields by hand (not mine!), composted and then traded to a landscape supply co. for sand, mulch, etc. Seems stupid to pay for fertilizer every year but I am done arguing about it with him.
-Cone Broadcaster for seed, lime, etc


Can't live without:

-front loader (used daily for mucking)
-bale spike (for moving round bales)
-pallet fork (can't imagine unloading a tractor trailer full of bedding by hand!)
-Rake (drags drives and is great for getting loose hay out of the fields)
-finish mower (never want to have to mow with the zero turn again!)

[WorthTheWait95]

Not mine but I love having our gator and manure spreader at my barn. It makes life so much easier when I house sit or help with chores.

We have a giant, brand new hay barn that is almost bigger then the actual barn that we keep hay, shavings, jumps, etc in and having the gator is a life saver. There is no way we could get hay/shavings in a timely fashion otherwise.

And the manure spreader is awesome too. It allows us to keep the manure pile at the very farthest, back corner of the property where the pick up service can come and go on a service road they built without disturbing us, the horses or dogs. Not to mention it cuts down on the smell/sanitary issues.

I never use it but BO's husband and dad LOVE their mower. It's the kind with the hand controls and can pivot/turn on a dime that pro companies use. Makes mowing the pastures and property less of a chore.

[ReSomething]

Tractor is DH's toy. He loves it.

Has: Kelley backhoe
FEL
finish mower
rototiller
posthole digger
box blade
bush hog

he wants that rock picker that somebody (Tom King maybe? linked to on another thread) and the posthole digger is not able to cope with the rocks here so he is building a rock buster hydraulic auger sized for our little tractor. (I am crossing my fingers it doesn't just hydraulically toss the tractor into space and leave the auger stuck in the rock). That and he wants a thumb for the backhoe bucket. And I am sure there is more.

[Bluey]

Tractor is DH's toy. He loves it.

Has: Kelley backhoe
FEL
finish mower
rototiller
posthole digger
box blade
bush hog

he wants that rock picker that somebody (Tom King maybe? linked to on another thread) and the posthole digger is not able to cope with the rocks here so he is building a rock buster hydraulic auger sized for our little tractor. (I am crossing my fingers it doesn't just hydraulically toss the tractor into space and leave the auger stuck in the rock). That and he wants a thumb for the backhoe bucket. And I am sure there is more.

No worry, there is a shear pin on the shaft and all that will happen is that he will spend all the time changing shear pin bolts.

Tell him to buy them by the box, is cheaper.;)

[Hilary]

Have:

FEL with hooks welded on
Brushhog
arena drag (a piece of dog kennel with timbers and rocks for weight - not sure it really qualifies as an implement!)
6 disc hay mower
tedder
side delivery rake (IH 1948)
pinwheel rake
baler
plow
harrows

These aren't actually an implement, but my Pat's Easy Change hooks are DA BOMB! I can hook my mower by myself.


Lust after:
Snow blower
back blade
bale buncher (an implement for an implement!)
Sprayer would be really nice now that I think of it!

[msj]

I've just got 5 acres so my needs are minimal but I:

HAVE
1. Massey Ferguson tractor with:
a. loader
b. snowblower
c. enclosed cab with heater
2. Wheel Horse mower 60' deck
3. York Rake for Wheel horse
4. Broadcast speader for fertilizer
5. battery powered sprayer for weed killer etc.


CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
1. York rake for dragging ring, dragging droppings in pasture, dragging hardpacked clay hoof prints in sacrifice paddock come spring.
2. Battery powered sprayer
3. Snowblower for paddocks and around barn. I'm getting too old to shovel a lot. :D

LUST AFTER
1. Manure spreader (but I don't have enough property to use :()

Anything else, like a back hoe to bury the horses/dogs/cats, would be overkill and the farmer has that.

[county]

Have
Manure Spreader
Loader
Mold Board Plow
Chisel Plow
Feild cultavator
Brillion Seeder
Grain Drill
Corn Planter
Haybine
Round Baler
Square Baler
Hay Rake
Corn Picker
Sprayer with boom and hand wand
Post Hole Digger
4 Hay Wagons
Back Blade
3 Harrows 8 foot, 16, and 32
Rock Wagon
Forage Chopper
Feeder Wagon
Forage Wagons
5 Gravity Boxes
Brushhog
Disk
Fertilizer Spreader also use for lime

Lust After
Tiller

[Tom King]

one of each, two of some

[vineyridge]

I have a tiny tractor without loader and lust after that. I also lust after a tiny (50 gal) boomless PTO sprayer that is sold at Gemplers. A lot of the heavy work, my farm tenant does with his huge tractors when they are already working out here.

In order to get a loader I will have to buy a new tractor, and this one isn't paid for yet. :(

[foggybok]

Have
Box scraper with adjustable tines
flexible harrow
loader

(have a seeder and wagon for the small lawn tractor)

Have access to post hole digger

Lust after
Hydraulic post hole digger (the new fence was a pain because we have shale everywhere.....)

Can't live without
Loader, serves many purposes from moving dire, rocks etc to winter snow removal....
Box scraper had also been well used!

[foggybok]

No worry, there is a shear pin on the shaft and all that will happen is that he will spend all the time changing shear pin bolts.

Tell him to buy them by the box, is cheaper.;)

Went through a ton of them last summer putting up the front fence.....

[PONYPULR]

All I have is a front loader and a TR3 Arena Groomer and I can't live without either!

[Bluey]

Talking about fancy farm implements, I would like to have one of those bale handlers that you can pick up five to ten small bales and stack them.
Would make filling the barn so much easier, but there are no used ones for sale around here and they cost too much for a luxury, when we can do it by hand.
There are several models, JD has one, Steffen Systems do also and this is what they look like:

http://www.thebalehandler.com/


This is what many here are using for grooming arenas and they prefer it to the TR3 rake, because it handles more materials, driveways, etc.:

http://lucasmetalworks.com/GroundHog/photogallery.htm

[ponygirl]

Have:

-Box blade
-Bushhog
-Post hole digger
-FEL
-drag

Want:
-sprayer with boom
-seeder


Can't live without:

-FEL
-bushhog

[theoldgreymare]

Talking about fancy farm implements, I would like to have one of those bale handlers that you can pick up five to ten small bales and stack them.
Would make filling the barn so much easier, but there are no used ones for sale around here and they cost too much for a luxury, when we can do it by hand.
There are several models, JD has one, Steffen Systems do also and this is what they look like:

http://www.thebalehandler.com/



OOOOOHHHHH! I didn't know such a thing existed! I bet that would cut the time of offloading the trailer to fill the hay barn considerably. Will have to show that to DH. Thanks Bluey!

[Mudroom]

How useful do y'all find a finish mower as opposed to a bush hog? Can they only handle grass that you mow really frequently? Do you use them for pastures?

[Tom King]

It depends on the finish mower. The Heavy duty ones can cut grass as thick and tall as a bushog can. The advantage is that they have wheels all around that keep the sides of the mower from scalping the ground in some spots like a bushog can. The disadvantage is that the blades are just like big lawnmower blades and if you hit something that they won't cut they can't swing back like the bushog blades do.

[Bluey]

OOOOOHHHHH! I didn't know such a thing existed! I bet that would cut the time of offloading the trailer to fill the hay barn considerably. Will have to show that to DH. Thanks Bluey!

Around here, feedstores have those on fork lifts or small tractors.
When they get a load of small bales, the truck unloads itself on the ground and they use that bale handler to put it in their barns and later to load trailers for costumers.

The one I see most around here is this brand.
They make them for small and bigger tractors/bobcats.
Watch the video:

http://www.steffensystems.com/Handlers/Options/index.htm

One of the local high school shop kids was going to make one this year and I offered to buy the material and buy it when done, but they decided on a bale wagon, so I have to wait for another year, another kid, if I don't find a used one before.:)

[NoDQhere]

The one thing I need that I don't have is a snow blower for our JD 4430 tractor. After this hellish winter I've made it my mission before next winter to have one. I've been scooping snow with the front end loader, and scraping it with a rear blade. But yesterday I broke the blade! It looks like a big solid blade but wasn't :no:. Snapped that sucker right off :eek:.

[hosspuller]

Have:
45 Hp Ag tractor
FEL
Pallet forks
6 foot Bush hog
Post hole auger
30 foot boom sprayer
12 foot chain harrow
Safety manlift Cage for forks
Single point ripper
"Road Boss" instead of blade for gravel road maintenance
http://www.roadboss.org/products/how_it_works.shtml

FEL a poor digging tool, so a full sized backhoe. All 13,000 pounds of it.

Have access to neighbor's disk harrow, back blade, tillage tool, 2 bottom plow, & 1000# broadcast spreader

Most luxurious piece of equipment: An electric fuel pump and 12 foot hose.:yes:

Simplest piece of essential equipment: High strength chain with grab hook & slip hook ends

Most complex essential... understanding & indulgent spouse.:winkgrin: