Food Plots Tractors and Four wheelers

[Cedarsavage]

So I got two pieces of land, 20 and 14 acres. Want to do food plots on them and be able to remove snow (we get 170” average a year). Planning on buying a riding lawnmower that I could run a blower on, and planning on getting a small tractor or four wheeler. One of the properties I wanna do plots on is too swampy to get a tractor back there but could get a four wheeler too in the right conditions. The other is flat and easy to access. My house backs up to a ton of public so I could use the a wheeler for access there. Right now I’ve got a 1/4 acre open but over time I’d like to get 2 acres give or take open. I can spend up to 30k not counting the riding mower. For sure I need a snowblower and not sure if I want a wheeler, small tractor or both. I’m close to 40 and my wife said I need to start buying equipment cuz my body is falling apart lol

What do you experienced food plotters think?

 

[LostArra]

Are you going to blow more snow or cut more grass? If it's cut grass I would get a zero turn mower for that, infinitely more efficient than those little lawn and garden mowers. Not much snow blowing around here but I would think a dedicated snow blower would be best unless you splurged on a big Grasshopper mower that has a dedicated (and pricey) snow blow attachment. Lawn mowers in general are made to cut grass not plow or blow snow.

With 34 acres you will eventually need a tractor but you can get started on plots with an ATV or SxS with a sprayer, broadcast spreader (hand spreader works) and some type of drag harrow that is easily homemade. There are all sorts of pricey gadgets for " ATV farming" but I would hold off on those for a real tractor with a disc and maybe your snow blower. Cultipackers and drills are cool, can be pricey even used and really not mandatory for food plots unless you are going to post pretty pics online. I just double the seeding rate when broadcasting seed. Deer don't care how it got there.

When you get the tractor: get MORE hp than you think you'll need and get a front end loader.
(My wife likes a SxS much more than an ATV. She doesn't drive the tractor very often)

Just my 2 cents. I'm sure others will disagree.

 

[Cedarsavage]

Are you going to blow more snow or cut more grass? If it's cut grass I would get a zero turn mower for that, infinitely more efficient than those little lawn and garden mowers. Not much snow blowing around here but I would think a dedicated snow blower would be best unless you splurged on a big Grasshopper mower that has a dedicated (and pricey) snow blow attachment. Lawn mowers in general are made to cut grass not plow or blow snow.

With 34 acres you will eventually need a tractor but you can get started on plots with an ATV or SxS with a sprayer, broadcast spreader (hand spreader works) and some type of drag harrow that is easily homemade. There are all sorts of pricey gadgets for " ATV farming" but I would hold off on those for a real tractor with a disc and maybe your snow blower. Cultipackers and drills are cool, can be pricey even used and really not mandatory for food plots unless you are going to post pretty pics on Tik Tok. I just double the seeding rate when broadcasting seed. Deer don't care how it got there.

When you get the tractor: get MORE hp than you think you'll need and get a front end loader.
(My wife likes a SxS much more than an ATV. She doesn't drive the tractor very often)

Just my 2 cents. I'm sure others will disagree.

I have roughly an acre to mow. Need to mow about once a week. This year we’ve had a ton of snow and it’s a little more than you want to do with a walk behind blower. It’s not unusual to have snow from October to may. For sure I’m buying a mower this spring, tractor would probably be next year, but I could swing a four wheeler this year. My wife probably wouldn’t mind having wheeler and tractor but we’re both very frugal so we try to get by with stuff if we can.

Maybe a wheeler soon and tractor down the road?

 

[wind gypsy]

Snow Blowers worth using on a tractor are freaking expensive as are newish tractors that will handle a snow blower. I've never heard of a garden tractor with snow blower.

Edit: Something like this might not be too bad i guess! Not going to be great for food plotting though. Could carry a sprayer, broadcast spreader, or cultipacker but I think i'd rather just put that stuff on an ATV/UTV though.

Pardon Our Interruption

So ^ + a used 2 seater UTV, 50 gal sprayer, electric broadcast spreader, and cultipacker would be enough to grow some good plots. Might want a pull behind rough cut mower for thick stuff though instead of that belly mower.

 

[Skerhunter]

Mowing with a lawn tractor/moving snow does nothing but waste time, get a good zero turn mower and an ATV with a plow.

Loader tractors that are worth buying 70-80hp+ are super expensive also. That is a much bigger purchase. If your only doing a few acres of food plots maybe hire it out and the maintain with the ATV.

 

[cnelk]

My uncle in N Minnesota used a Bercomac snowblower on his atv.
Worked great.

I have a 60” rear mounted snowblower on my 750 John Deere at my Wyoming place.
It also has a rear blade and loader for finish work

I mow my Wyoming place with a brush hog with the JD tractor

All depends on what you want to spend

 

[Agross]

Growing up we always had snowblowers for the lawn mower . Mower deck on in the spring and summer and blower on the front in the winter. Never had any issues. Those lawn tractor blowers threw a helluva lot more snow than a walk behind, farther too. I’m guessing u would get a lot of use with it in northern Michigan. Get the bigger “ garden tractor” as apposed to the lawn tractor, bigger mower deck. Then u could get a tiller attachment for it as well. Get a seeder for the quad if u get one .

I have a quad but have never used it for food plots. Have a tractor and tiller for that. As mentioned get a little more hp than u think.

 

[Beagle1]

Mowing only an acre a lawn tractor would work fine. Putting in food plots up to two acres an ATV could handle easily if you go the no till route. I’ve been doing it for years with very good results. A 170” of snow a year is a far amount of snow. How long is your driveway, flat or uphill and how bad is the wind. I get a bit less snow, have a long uphill curved driveway and get lots of wind. I plowed it with an ATV when I was younger and it was doable 95% of the time but the cold and wind knocked the hell out of me. I later put a plow on my truck then went to a 30 hp. Kubota with a front blower and heated cab. The Kubota made blowing the snow almost fun.

 

[Cedarsavage]

Mowing only an acre a lawn tractor would work fine. Putting in food plots up to two acres an ATV could handle easily if you go the no till route. I’ve been doing it for years with very good results. A 170” of snow a year is a far amount of snow. How long is your driveway, flat or uphill and how bad is the wind. I get a bit less snow, have a long uphill curved driveway and get lots of wind. I plowed it with an ATV when I was younger and it was doable 95% of the time but the cold and wind knocked the hell out of me. I later put a plow on my truck then went to a 30 hp. Kubota with a front blower and heated cab. The Kubota made blowing the snow almost fun.

Driveway is about 40 yards plus another 30 to get in and out of my barn and some other stuff. I’m not a huge fan of plowing because you clean up so much snow that your area gets smaller as the season goes on. Tractor and bucket would be handy for when you get it piled up somewhere and need to move it.

 

[rookieforever33]

Plow on a truck for snow. Garden tractor with front end loader, 4 wheel drive, and add attachments as needed for food plots and other chores. Atv or sxs for getting around