>Would a tractor be absolutely necessary? If so, how small would be the
>minimum required to do the job?
No clue on dairy issues, but I can tell you that even with a small
place a fairly large tractor with front end loader and backhoe
attachment has proven a good investment in only 3 years. We bought a
new Kubota L4310 with loader and backhoe. We traded in an old Ford
construction tractor with loader that was in need of new tires and
major transmission/clutch work. We got about $6K for the old tractor
(it needed at least $5-6K work to make it safe to use again) and paid
an additional $30K for the new one. (Total cost $36K) But so far I
have calculated that to do the work we have already done we'd have
spent almost $10K just on backhoe rent if we ran it and $15K if we
had an operator. To hire someone to do the required orchard maint.
would have been another $5-7K. Since the tractor should give good
service for 20-30 years or more with good care it should be a good
long term investment. The tractor will outlive us! <G>
But we irrigate all summer, and due to the crops (trees and sheep )
and the age of the orchard (nearly 100 yrs) and the lay of the land
(slopes and rocks) we cannot use anything but furrow irrigation. So
we use the tractor to clean out the furrows with a marker in the
spring, use the backhoe to renovate or move ditches as required to
bring water to every place it historically was on this place. We use
the front end loader to move dirt, most of the rocks, fences. We used
it to hold up the posts while the new hay barn was being built and
used the backhoe to dig the foundations. Some of the rocks are too
large for our tractor to lift so we push them and some we have the
big dozer come in to move. We move pipe corral fences, pull an old
modified horsedrawn mower, move wood and remove old dead trees. We
dig new ditches, repair the old rock walls and carry fencing
materials to the job site. We also use it to hang the deer carcasses
during hunting season and have used it for the slaughter of the sheep
as required. <G>
Interestingly enough, now that we have the hay barn built, we do not
use a tractor to feed hay. We get all our hay delivered in small
bales to the barn. The winter sheep pens are built on the side of the
hay barn and we just drop the hay down and drag it to the feeders.
What used to be a couple of hours each day to feed the sheep (go load
hay from the neighbor's barn where it was stored, drive back, feed
the sheep) is now about 30 minutes every 2-3 days for the ewe bunch
and about 10 minutes a day for the ram bunch. And that does not
include the savings in wear and tear on us, bucking hay bales is a
PITA and because I sell my wool to handspinners, the large round bale
styles will not work for me even with the sheep wearing coats.
Now if I could only solve the winter water problem! <G>
--
Oogie McGuire - oogiem@desertweyr.com
Weyr Associates - Multimedia and Web Authoring Services & Consulting
Desert Weyr - CMK Arabian horses and Black Welsh Mountain Sheep
http://www.desertweyr.com/
Paonia, CO USA
