Last year we bought a Ford 861 diesel tractor to go along with the 8N. We knew what we wanted in a tractor, so we narrowed our choices early. Here were my determining factors in shopping for a tractor:

#1: Nothing New. I consider any tractor made in the last twenty years new. I don’t have that kind of money, nor do I want expensive parts when I have a breakdown. I also want a solid proven design, so for me new was off the table.

 

#2: HP. I was looking for a tractor with enough HP to do round bales if we should decide to go that route in the future. So for our uses we were looking for a tractor in the 50hp range. Too much power and you burn your money as wasted fuel. Parts are also usually more expensive for the larger tractors. Too little HP and there would be no great reason to upgrade from the 8N.

 

#3: Common. In the real world common is good, it means you can keep that item going without looking around for exotic parts and equipment. I wanted a tractor that had parts availability and a following. I also wanted parts affordability, because parts availability is nothing if you cannot afford them anyway.

 

#4: Extras. Since I cannot buy a tractor every year I wanted to get everything accomplished with the additional tractor. So I wanted live PTO, Hydraulics and preferably diesel power. These make the tractor easier to use and more efficient. I currently don’t need a hydraulic outlet, but wanted at-least one outlet for possible future needs.

In my quest for the right tractor I looked at several WD45s. For the money they seemed like a good deal. While a little under powered they were also easy to find and there were several in my area for around $1300. I also looked at a diesel David Brown 880 for $1500, as well as some smaller IH utility tractors which were more expensive running around $4000.

While the WD45 had the price and availability advantage they seemed a little crude to me. The David Brown was rough and the IH tractors I looked at were not that common. I had about given up when I found the Ford 861.

The 861 was very close to home and I found it listed on craigslist in my price range. With plenty of power, live PTO and hydraulics with a single modern hydraulic outlet it was everything I was looking for. I was able to talk the seller down and bought it for $2700. The tractor was running with good rubber and only needed cleaned up and cared for.

I have since put this tractor through its paces, plowing four acres of dry rock hard sod to be put into cereal rye and spelt. I have found Powermaster a correct label, and have been pleased with this tractors ability.

 

The 861 can do work that would be at the limits for the 8N. Baling hay was a pleasure with live pto. The 861 has one more advantage, it is extremely fuel efficient. It can do the work with much less fuel than the 8N, which is great considering the 8N wasn’t a fuel hog either.

 

The best test I have for it will come this summer when it powers the combine. There is also a chance that we will buy a round baler as well. We will be adding several more acres into cultivation this spring. Our goal is to have about 20 acres in fields, the rest in pasture and hay ground, as well as some wooded acreage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changes To My Website:

When I first started the website I was having some problems with spam Comments. I have since found a filter that has done a very good job, and will be allowing comments to post immediately instead of having to be approved. This is the way I wanted it originally, but the amount of spam stopped me from doing it. I will monitor all comments to remove any offensive or spam comments that make it through the filter.