Does a Small Farm Farmer Need a Tractor? YES!

A couple of days ago, I was watching YouTube and saw that Joel Salatin had posted a short video claiming that farmers don’t need a tractor. I skimmed through it but didn’t click, and the gist I got was that Alan Nation suggests if you don’t have a certain number of hours on a tractor, you don’t need one.

Well, as a small farmer who does about 70% of the labor myself—though my wife helps a lot—I’ve got to say, if I didn’t have a tractor, I’d be up the proverbial Schitt’s Creek. Rather than argue against Salatin, I figured I’d walk you through what I actually use my tractor for over the course of a year. If you’re on the fence about buying one, maybe this will help.

Buying My Tractor

I bought a brand-new Kubota in 2010 after returning from a tour in Iraq. At the time, I had an old Ford 4000 I’d purchased from my wife’s family, but it had been passed around a lot and needed repairs. I knew I didn’t have time to mess with fixing a used tractor, so I decided to buy new. After consulting with folks on TractorByNet, I settled on a Kubota M4060 with four-wheel drive—essential in the steep foothills of the Appalachian Mountains where I farm.

Here’s a breakdown of how I use my tractor throughout the year:

Mowing

I have about 60 acres of pasture on my 80-acre farm. At our peak, we had 60 ewes, each with two lambs, so maintaining those pastures was critical. After the sheep grazed an area, I’d mow it to remove invasive species—something that’s inevitable on an old farm. In peak growing months, I’d also cut back overgrown pastures to prevent them from going to seed, ensuring fresh, vegetative growth for the sheep when they returned.

Light Brush Cleanup

With my old Ford 4000, I used a 5-ft bush hog to clear thicker brush, but when I upgraded, I switched to an 8-ft flail mower. This mulches grass better than a bush hog, breaking it down faster. It also handles small saplings and multiflora rose, preventing the pastures from closing in. I also use it to cut trails around the farm for campers who visit through Hipcamp, making for a nice network of interlocking paths that we enjoy hiking ourselves.

Moving Hay

Initially, I used square bales, but as our flock grew to 40 ewes, round bales made more sense economically. These weigh between 1,500 and 2,000 lbs—impossible to move without a tractor. We feed hay on pasture during winter, targeting areas we want to improve, so being able to transport those bales is crucial.

Fence Post Installation

While I’ve relied on Premier Nets lately, I used my post-hole auger to build my sorting area and ram pen. With upcoming fencing projects, I’ll be using it again. It’s also useful for planting trees—I haven’t done much of that yet, but I can see a tree auger bit being handy in the future.

Trimming Overhanging Branches

Branches grow into pastures over time, creating a nuisance when mowing. To trim them, I mount an empty 250-gallon liquid tote cage on my pallet forks. A worker stands inside the cage while I lift them up to cut branches safely. I also use a branch cutter, but this method works better for higher branches.

Compost Turning

We’re currently building a compost system, and I plan to use my tractor bucket to turn the piles. The setup will have a concrete floor and cinder block walls, making it easier to lift and aerate the compost. Right now, I do it by hand, but at 62, I’d love to let the tractor do the heavy lifting.

Moving Water Totes

In summer, we move sheep to outlying pastures and neighboring properties. While we’re working on a water station system, we still don’t have hydrants in remote areas. So, I haul 250-gallon totes from the local water department—where filling up costs just 75 cents—saving our well water and reducing daily trips with 35-gallon containers.

Forklift Work

My pallet forks get plenty of use—whether for trimming trees, moving water totes, unloading equipment, or handling logs. Just having forks on a tractor makes farm life significantly easier.

Logging

We heat our house with an outdoor wood furnace, which means cutting, hauling, and splitting firewood all winter. The tractor is invaluable for pulling logs from the woods, lifting them for easier cutting, and moving them around. I plan to add a winch plate and electric winch to pull logs from hard-to-reach spots.

Grading and Road Maintenance

While we don’t have many farm roads, the ones we do need maintenance. My box blade attachment is a lifesaver for keeping the driveway in shape and preventing erosion in areas where I haul wood in winter.

Future Plans: A Second, Smaller Tractor

I’m planning to buy a smaller 30-40 hp tractor to complement my larger one. I want to build a wood-processing area, like the setups used in Canada, where I can keep a log splitter attached to the 40 hp tractor under cover and use the 60 hp tractor to move logs onto a cutting buck. I’ll also use it to mow trails weekly for campers, reducing ticks and making hiking more pleasant. Additionally, I plan to use it for leveling gravel floors in some of our buildings and cleaning out our livestock barn.

Final Thoughts

Joel Salatin loves to pontificate, but I don’t think he fully grasps what life is like for those of us running small farms largely on our own. Without a tractor, I’d either need 15-20 unpaid interns or a lot more hours in the day. If you’re farming solo, a tractor isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Just be sure to choose the right size for your needs and consider what implements you’ll require. And if you live in an area with frequent power outages, a PTO-powered generator might be a good investment too (I don’t have one yet, but it’s on my wish list).

At the end of the day, I can’t imagine farming without a tractor—and I don’t plan to anytime soon.