We are in the market for a small tractor for farming and property maintenance on our small farm. Front end loader, backhoe and a tiller would be the required attachments, we don't really need the mower. Pros, cons, and any first hand experiences you might have would be appreciated. Thank you.

I have a buddy who buys and sells little Japanese tractors. Kind of interesting niche. Personally I wouldn't buy anything that wasn't fully supported with a dealer network. There is a big Kubota dealer here in town that sells to all of the vineyards. They like small tractors to work in the vineyards.

I own a kubota BX2200 and would highly recommend a kubota. I have had it for 24 years now and it does everything that I throw at it.I have a front loader, a mid mount mower deck, a rear box blade, and have used a large 6 foot wide tine rake behind it. Mine is a hydrostatic transmission, 3 cylinder 22 HP diesel, and other than regular maintenance, it has not been any trouble. www.Tractorbynet.com is a great forum for tractors like Moparts is for our cars.

Thank you, a lot of information there.

I also own a Kubota. L3400HST. Great tractor. I would skip the Hydrostat though. A geared tractor will continue to pull once you reach its limits and bog down. A Hydro just kicks out and relieves, not allowing the tractor to "work" its way through. A hydro is super easy to use, but a geared/shuttle shifted tractor offers some advantages no doubt.

We've been mainly looking at Massey Ferguson tractors, good reputation and an American company. Although I know these tractor manufacturers have plants all over the world including here in America, MF is USA based as is John Deere. Kubota is Japanese, Kioti, LS and TYM are South Korean, Mahindra is Indian and it appears New Holland is now headquartered in Italy. Pricing is pretty consistent across all the manufacturers so unless there is something standout about one of them over the rest I guess it comes down to priorities.

I have a TYM compact tractor. It's a 4WD, 23 HP Mitsubishi diesel with a front loader, rear PTO and 3 point hitch. It has been an excellent tractor, with the only problem of blowing O rings in a hydraulic fluid junction block right under the seat. It's a hydrostatic drive, and if I had it to do over again I would get a shuttle shift. Load the rear tires on whatever tractor you get. Mine has more front loader capacity than it has ass end weight, so I have to be careful. The thing that sold me on the TYM was the warranty, and the fact that the front loader has quick disconnect levers like a Bobcat. Flip 2 levers and swap the bucket for pallet forks. There are no tractors under 45 HP that are made in the USA, so be aware of that going in. There are several brands (I forget which) that are just rebadged Yanmars. If I were buying a new one right now, it would more than likely be a Mahindra or another TYM with shuttle shift. When you get one, you will find a million things you can use it for to make life easier.

My younger brother has had a Kubota with hydrostatic drive for over 20 years and has been very pleased with it.

No recommendations but some background. Case/New Holland are owned by Fiat.

John Deere is still very difficult to get repair information or aftermarket parts for.

Mahindra has been around for a long time and seems to have a decent reputation

Kubota,little more costly but worth it.

I had a Kubota L3830 with a hydrostatic trans and FEL used mostly to run a wood chipper.
If you plan to do mostly FEL work get the hydro. Also stay with the 25HP or below models to avoid Tier 4 emissions. Yes, the EPA ruined diesel tractors also. I sold my tractor a few months ago for a nice profit since it was 38hp pre-tier4 low hour unit.Lot people thought the asking price was nuts for a 15 year old tractor but it sold in 2 weeks.

Thanks for all the info guys, appreciate it. I've been digging around the internet and it's a convoluted mess lol. We don't have a lot of dealers around here so getting parts or getting it serviced without driving a couple hours one way is a concern. We do have a Kioti dealer local though and they have a good reputation. Our neighbor has two of them, a subcompact and a much larger one (I don't know off hand what model) that he is happy with, so we are going to check them out.

I have a Ford (which is now Case-New Holland) 24hp compact that is 35 years old now and a 47hp Kubota. Both are hydrostat. The way that I use my tractors, there is no way I would have a compact tractor without hydrostat. Just ask this question; will you mainly just load the tractor in a long straight line? Or will you be frequently changing directions and/or speeds? That would be the determining factor(s) in my opinion. Test run both systems as you expect to run it in service to decide which one best fits you and your usage.

And tier 4 would be a deal breaker for me, too. They want you to have an annual service that includes a computer flash. My Ford has been in the shop once in 35 years for replacement of a front wheel bearing that I should have changed myself. I still don't understand that one going bad, but........

Popular tractors like Kubota have a surprising amount of aftermarket support. A couple of years ago I stuck a limb through the radiator of the Kubota. The plastic grill didn't offer much resistance. Kubota wanted $900 for the radiator. Aftermarket was under $200.

All the new tractor engines are tier 4, there is no escaping it.

There is one way. I bought my Kubota used. It is the only used piece of diesel equipment that I have ever bought. It was a tough call, but I just didn't want to be dealing with a Tier 4 situation in the years to come. So I watched the used tractor sites for a couple of years until I found a very clean low hours machine without the emissions crap. Paid a lot for it, not as much as new, but a lot. Have had it for several years and have been very happy with it. No computers, no DEF, and most diesel shops (and often myself) can diagnose and repair most anything on it. IF it needs it. So far, it hasn't.

But if you have to have one right now, then new may be your only choice. Good luck.

I am looking at skid steers now no way I will buy a Tier 4 machine. If I was in the market for a new tractor I would look at a Kubota L2501. 25hp so no Tier 4. I think emissions is worse on tractors than pick-ups. Ford,Ram and GM probably have huge engineering budgets to figure out emissions plus plus there are delete kits.Not for tractors.

Better look again, they are all tier 4.

Watch for a used one. I picked mine up with less than 300 hours and it had been stored inside its entire life. Now they are not as reasonable, but at least you avoid all the new emissions junk

Yes. Tier 4 compliant but Indirect injection; mechanical fuel injection
Tier 4 regs are complex, the criteria for the power and application of the engines that are required to meet these standards
have broadened significantly.
I see a lot of just under new 25hp diesel equipment. I know Kubota discontinued their F3990 mower(39hp) because so many emissions issues. My neighbor has a newer Deere 1025 tractor with no emissions. It's sub compact though.

We are only looking at subcompacts with 22-25 horsepower, but thanks for the heads up, I'll be sure to check them out.