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Discussion on ATVs for pasture management?
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Member:
Imogen
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Posted on Monday, Jun 20, 2005 - 2:31 pm:
Does anyone use an ATV for pasture management? I see that in New Zealand they now use independently powered mowers towed behind ATVs for pasture management. I'd love to know if they work. I have also seen ATVs used very effectively for weedkilling and for a small area like the one I look after of 15-25 acres a tractor is really overkill.
Any feedback gratefully received...
Imogen
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 11:58 am:
Hello Imogen,
I am not intimately familiar with an ATV, but if you are able to put attachments on it for various chores such as weed killing and pasture mowing then check it out. I am not sure how you could use it to drag your pastures for manure management though. Hopefully someone who manages small acreages will have a suggestion. There are mini tractors available. Run a Google search on mini tractors UK and see what is available.
I suppose the ATV might be less expensive and easier to fix than a mini tractor and could be a deciding factor in your decision.
Hope this helps  .
Susan B.
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Member:
Stina
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 12:15 pm:
I am going to assume that by ATV, you also mean 4-wheeler. If so, they are an invaluable work horse. We use ours for snow plowing in the winter, weed spraying and harrowing spring and summer, and manure hauling with Rubbermaid cart as long as there is no snow. We bought ours in 1995 and it was 2 years old then. It is still running strong and is in good condition. Previously, we lived on 11 acres and now 40 so we have a tractor too. But believe me, the tractor has in no way replaced the 4-wheeler, it is just an adjunct to it. I have said more than once to my husband, "man, this 4-wheeler is worth its wait in gold."
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Member:
Chohler
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 12:39 pm:
Imogen 4wheelers for small places are invaluable as far a managing a small spread. You can get all kind of attatchments for them and still go play in the boonies and other fun things. Although to buy everything new, your looking at close to the same price as a new small tractor setup. Used is awesome.
Even with the 4wheeler, I still have to rent a skid steer with a scoop for the weekend to remove waste on a yearly basis.
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 12:51 pm:
Love my ATV!! I honestly don't think I'd make it on my own without it... I've recently looked into mowing attachments...not too bad ($1000), so I'll probably get one next year so I don't have to break my back
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Member:
Warwick
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 1:38 pm:
Hi Imogen
ATVs are awesome and so versatile. I think you'd find one would work very well for you.
On the other hand don't discount the smaller tractors. Last year we bought a new John Deere 2210 with mower, front end loader and tag-along dump cart for our 5 acres and we find it invaluable. It's in the Subcompact class of tractors and perfect for smaller properties. We use it for mowing fields, moving and spreading manure/sand/gravel, and harrowing - plus there's now a small backhoe attachment available that my husband has his eye on for drainage work.
Either machine would work well for what you need - and both are a blast to operate!
Cheers
Sue
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New Member:
Julieh
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 3:35 pm:
We have just recently leased a barn with 90 acres and our son's four wheeler is going to be the farm work horse. We have looked into the attachments and there are all kinds of different attachments for this thing. The first we are purchasing will be the mower. There are a couple of different sizes, but if you already have the ATV, it will be cost effective to buy the attachments.
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 7:07 pm:
We purchased a Polaris Ranger 6x6 for work on the ranch I manage. It has a bench seat with 3 seat belts, a dump bed for carrying hay or weeds or manure or gravel, fencing supplies, etc. We have towed with it, pulled trucks out of mud, winched broken panels, mats, cement curbstones, telephone poles, etc. (The winch is good for up to 4000lbs.) The land here is almost straight up in some places, so we cannot use it for pasture work due to the chances of rolling it when going sidehill on the turn arounds, but we are moving to a more level area with a sand arena, round pen, run-ins and lots of level pasture, and I know it will work well for dragging and mowing and helping to clear out weeds. We could not have managed here at all without our "Grunt." I have experience with golf-carts, Gators and now the Polaris Ranger . . . depending on the grades of your slopes and your weather and road/driveway conditions, any one of the above machines may be an invaluable help to you.
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Member:
Imogen
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 22, 2005 - 2:39 pm:
Wow! A big round of applause for the ATV then! I see the European ATVs tend to be Honda or Polaris in the main, I wondered if anyone has direct expereience of Hondas?
One worry I have is that the mowers etc. tend to be made by obscure companies in New Zealand and you'd worry a bit about getting them serviced... The cost is way more than the US though, most of the toppers (mowers) are about £2000 here as far as I can see. I was thinking 2nd hand ATV with a new topper and a weed wiper. But it's all dream stuff really depending on finally getting paid for a contract I finished work on 2 years ago...
Best wishes
Imogen
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Member:
Imogen
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 22, 2005 - 2:40 pm:
Oh, and interesting to find out that they are called 4-wheelers in the US, that might explain the poor results on my Internet searches! They are called All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) or Quad Bikes here.
Imogen
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Member:
Paul303
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 23, 2005 - 3:03 am:
Imogen: I've got a honda lawn mower and a honda snowblower that I bought new over 20 yrs ago. Never any trouble and after their seasonal lay-ups we just fill 'em up, one pull and they start. Because of this experience, when we needed a "get around" work horse to complement the farm equipment, we looked only at cub cadets, which have honda engines.
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