70 acres with 65 Massey ?

If I do try my 65 Massey what size or how heavy disk should I use ? Wonder how many hours it would take to disk it like I said earlier its gently rolling . 55 acres the bigger field is about 75% flat and the other fields are6 ,3,3acres with the rest scattered .Where can I check for # to see what year 65 I have ? Thanks

If you have the serial # just look to your left and see "Serial numbers" for other info look up "external_link"

Jim

No numbers , where on the tractor are they ? Thanks

It usually tells you on Tractor Data but they aren't always right usually on the right side under platform on belly of tractor.

Jim

It says it's on the instrument panel.

Jim

Thanks Jim

Maybe a 6 or 7 footer....what engine does your MF65 have? If 6 foot width, expect about 10 to 30 minutes per acre......there are so many variables. So 70 acres, you will be in the seat awhile....12 to 36 hours.

You could farm it with your 65 I guess,but it will take some time and work it pretty good. I figure you could buy a 5-10k tractor and if you take care of it you won't loose much if any money on it. If it costs you $300-400 to plant an acre of corn do you want to be broke down fixing it or hunting for another tractor.

Sounds like your in way over your head.If you don't know anything about tractors or farming better leave it alone.An experienced farmer could make a few bucks on 70 acres,not likely with a novice.

70 acres with a 65 Massey is not much at all. We farmed a whole lot more with less. With todays way of farming it wouldn't be much at all. Work the ground, plant it and spray it. A ten foot chisel a thirteen foot disk and field cultivater should wook great and not cost much.

Jim

I covered alot of ground one yr. with a 3 plow tractor when my big one layed down . I got the job done but took a long time and was hard on that little tractor and hard on me . If I were you while the money is good get a older tractor like a IH 806 and dont pull the biggest equipment it will pull but get a disk a few feet shorter and not work it to hard . I run a 706 now with a 310 and pull a 10 ft. disk with a springtooth drag behind it and it dont work the tractor hard at all but can run at a good speed and getter done . Gota remember these tractors are as old as we are and need to back off alittle . PS DONT GET A GAS TRACTOR !!

It has 683944 serial # which if I looked correctly tells me its a 1961 model.

683944 # 1961 50 hp gas engine, any knowledge on that engine Jim ?

Maybe , but how is my boy ever gonna get the chance he really loves the farming business. I used to pull beans out of fields in the 70-early 80's drove plenty of tractors bailed hay , it was for a friends dad alot of hard work . I was also told I could never learn how to program robots also.

Back in the day my elderly neighbor ran his 40 acres, and rents another 40 acres one like away, and raised a famly of 3 kids using a Ford N as the main tractor with oats, wheat, corn, & beans as the only job.

So yea, a 50 hp tractor will handle 70 acres.

But I assume you have a real job, and farm ecconomics & people's lifestyles have changed a bit so how many hours do you have available?

It gets hard to farm with just one tractor. Your 50 hp will pull a 4 or 6 row planter or bean drill. A bigger one would be hooked up to the tillage equipment, and it's a lot less stressful hooking back & forth...

Sounds like you are pretty new to all this, and probably want to do it for fun, experience, & pride as much as anything?

But it will be a hobby, and so needs to be somewhat self-supporting, and somewhat fun.

A little bigger setup will probably be funner, and easier to have pride in.

Would you be set up to rent out the 50 acre field to a neighbor, make some good solid income there, and farm the remaining small parts yourself? You could easily do them with your current tractor, and learn about farming on a small scale. Then in a year or 3, when you are a little more used to things and have your equipment set up comfortable, you can take over the whole thing. You'll know then what time you have avaialble, what size equipment you'll need, and so on. Typically old small used equipment what you buy now you can sell again for the same money in a couple years; so even if you have to upgrade or swap out some machinery as you go, you won't lose much money on the deal.

Might want to consider the baby steps. 70 acres of grain is big enough to really cost you if you mess it up; in today's world, you gotta put $400 into an acre to get a good crop out of it, and mess up the weed control or planting time & you can lose out big time; never mind mother nature coming along & wiping out your crop.

Baby steps? You are set up well with the big field and small plots to start out small but still get a good rental income from the big field..... Best of both worlds.

--->Paul

The last 10 years, my neighbor to the other side has a 40 hour factory job, and farms 100 acres now - was 40, expanded to 100 about 10 years ago.

He's come up to a 120 hp tractor, a 95hp tractor, and a little one or 2 others. He's got a 8 row planter, 20 foot field cultivator, 4 or 5 row plow, etc.

The little equipment in our unpredictable weather is just too hard on the nerves, when you have to work around your real job. Also if you have a son that wants to work it too I see, you can each be doing something if you have 2 tractors.

70 acres is just hobby size for sure; but it will involve some real $$$$ nuimbers, and you better be sure you can manage the money side of it, which means timely farming, getting the jobs done when needing to be done.

I have another friend with close to 200 acres, and he's got way big equipment, he has 8 row planter, and thinking of getting a 12 row to keep up. Between the real job & the weather, one gets real small windows to actualy get the farm work done.

Think it through.

--->Paul

Pa farmed 250 acres with big tractor being a Case 700 (52 hp) But I admit Mother and I put a lot of hours on that tractor doing the tillage while he planted with the JD-A.

Really appreciate all the advice. I am gonna look at a 1959 65 Massey tonight just found it in paper. I was thinking about my boy being on one and myself on the other with a 8-10 ft disc. I have good neighbors who will help with the combining and I sent the soil samples off Thursday should be back by Tuesday. My boy will be out of school Thursday so hoping to both get working it Friday . The ag man will do the spraying and lime or what ever it needs. If all goes well be planting beans early next week. Im retired and got the time to spend in the field plus my boy is gonna be hard to get out of the field. If I dont like the tractor I gonna look at some bigger ones tomorrow. Thanks

I farmed just under 300 acres for 35 years, with a 63hp, 47hp, and 38hp tractors. Yeah, I was busy at times, but not overwhelmed by any stretch. No one was happier when no till came along!

Some of the smartist guys you'll ever see have went broke farming,that has nothing to do with it.If you have plenty of money to spend go for it.There's easier ways of getting into farming without jumping off a cliff.

As most posters have said, 70 acres with a M-F "65" is a no-brainer. A 10 ft disk at 4 mph will cover about 40 acres in a 10 hr day; an 8 ft at 5 mph will do the same. Around 'here', an 8 foot disk would be a better match. Ignore the nay-sayers; you'll notice they never list their experience/'bona-fides'.

My Dad and Uncle farmed 685 acres with 2 WD-45 Allis's.

paul & thurlow seem pretty much on the mark to me.

No I don't but we had a neighbor that had a 65 and a 90 and wouldn't trade them for anything. He had them for years and wasn't real good to either but when his son took over he was a LOT better to them.

Jim

So if you program robots, you do have a day job. Don't think this is going to go great guns the end of this week. Patience is a vurtue- or people in a hospital. I have bought 25? 30? tractors over the years, none have gone to work the day it came home. You got to make sure it ain't junk, you must learn how to safely and carefully operate 'it', no two act exactly alike. Your brand of new fluids go in, look at the old stuff coming out, smell and color means alot, bet it needs a tune up. your kid has to get used to it too, after school, before dark.... this is just the tractor!! You worry about scheduling a disc harrow? As soon as something goes west, flat tire, rock, stump, wet spot...the clock stops! Hey last week I got stuck to the axles in a tomato patch! Longest hour of my life. The North American continent is a month behind in planting, if you get-anything- accompished this year, without a person or machine getting hurt, that will be excellent! Put your calender and tractors in low, and leave it there. This year you learn. Next year will go fine. Good luck, be careful.

I am hoping to pull a 4-row JD 7000 with my MF 65 in a no-till system, if I can get the add-on hydraulics to work correctly.

Very good response Paul. I think your right on.