I grew up on 5 acres. It was a tract of land that in my young mind was wide and expansive; a battlefield, a playground, a nature preserve, and so much more for a young boy. On the slope of a clay hill, our acreage was divided into two parts – the field and the woods with our house in the middle. My grandfather had carved out trails in the wood with his tractor; wide paths for you to wander in pristine PNW woodland, huge huckleberry bushes to pick from in the summer, and burning nettles that reminded you to stay on the path.
The 2+ acres of field needed mowing and it was Dad’s job to start up the tractor, put on a ball cap, and mow down the chest high grass. He’d mow for what seemed like hours and then come in to drink an ice cold Coke while he surveyed his handiwork. We’d build things around the property – a pond, countless treehouses, a playhouse, and the rumbling Diesel was a part of all of these projects. When it rained so heavy, rivers would start to flow over the soft clay and wash out our driveway, that old tractor came out to rescue us. When the gravel road needed to be graded that old workhorse led huge dust clouds up and down the road until all the pot holes where filled. That tractor was perfect for us, a Swiss Army Knife for any project we had going on – plus I think Dad liked figuring out how to use the tractor even when we didn’t really need to.
The Sub-Compact tractor we used was a Ford 1320. It would sit through the Winter, rainy Spring, and crisp Fall in a wood shed and I can’t remember a time that it didn’t start up right when we needed it to. Even before quick Skid Steer style attachments, I remember quickly and easily locking the bucket into place, slipping the lynch pins in, and standing back to watch Dad dump out the water that had collected in it. The tractor had to slip between the barn and our neighbor’s fence, so the sub-compact size was perfect and I can only remember one time the thing we were lifting or pulling outweighed the little tractor, but to avoid OSHA violations I’ll say we stopped and found a different solution instead of just piling heavier and heavier things & people into the bucket until the stump was ripped from the ground.
Best Tractor for 5 Acres Today
Today if we were to were to still live on those 5 acres, we would probably be using one of two models, the New Holland Workmaster 25s or the Yanmar SA223.
The Workmaster 25s is the spiritual successor to the tractor we used out in the county all those years ago. Powered by a 3 Cylinder Yanmar 3TNV80F Diesel engine producing 24.7HP, the Workmaster 25S would be right at home mowing the field, building tree forts, bushwhacking through nettles, and grading the gravel road out at our old homestead.
Yanmar wasn’t selling their tractors in the US at the time, but since then my Dad has bought a Yanmar to replace his old New Holland. The Yanmar SA223 is powered by a 3-cylinder Yanmar 3TNM74F Diesel engine producing 21.5HP. What it lacks in horsepower it makes up for in lift strength, being able to lift more than any other tractor in its class, in addition to being incredibly easy to operate.
Both models come with a loader standard and can have a mid-mount mower and backhoe attachments easily added. The Yanmar SA223 and New Holland Workmsater 25s are budget friendly as well, from $17k to $22k depending on the model and attachments, so either model is perfect for making your own memories out on 5 acres of land. If you need something a little larger the Workmaster 25 from New Holland and the SA325 and SA425 from Yanmar give you the next upgrade step up. BRIM has been selling and serving tractors just like these for over 55 years, so if you are wanting the Best Tractor for 5 Acres then come to any of our dealerships in Oregon & Washington to see, learn, and demo two of the best tractors on the market.