Introducing Rebecca

A busy week this past week, with lots of fun adventures to share.  My 13 year old cousin was here for a week experiencing  life on the farm.  She was great fun to have around, and very willing to help out with anything except the processing of chickens.  We stacked wood, went riding, picked vegetables, canned vegetables, moved fence, et cetera.

Also, a very intense rain came through yesterday evening causing four inches of water  to collect in our basement which meant we had to use the sump pump for the first time in a year.  At least the gardens won't need watering. 

The big, big news is that "Rebecca" finally arrived.  We all adore her, but my darling husband has certainly spent a lot of quality time with her these past several days.  I hate to admit it, but I am feeling just a little bit jealous.  And with her all her amiable qualities, flexibility and versatility, I'm afraid it's going to be a year-round love affair. 

Becca, or Becky, is a BCS 852 walk-behind tractor.  She was made in Italy, and we purchased her through Earth Tools based in Kentucky.  She weighs in at a svelte 600 lbs, has 20 inch wheels, a Lombardini diesel engine, and you start her up by simply turning a key, which is my favorite aspect of her (besides the fact that she gets things done).  We currently have her hooked up (via PTO) to a 32" brush hog and it took my darling husband approximately 2 hours to clear an acre with her. We have mowed a pathway for the pigs as well as cleared all of the 7 foot(!) weeds that were outside the Pasture A fence.  She works at three different speeds in both directions and has a wheel differential making it easy to steer.   We haven't purchased any other implements yet but a mower and a rotary plow are the next on the list.

While farms with larger acreage could use a full-size tractor, we couldn't justify the expense as we only have about 8 acres of workable farmland.  Plus, we have lots of small spaces, and one of the main uses of Becca will be to mow paths for the electric netting we use for sheep, pigs and chickens.  Other uses will be for garden prep, lawn mowing, and hay mowing (and possibly baling!).  We might even splurge and get a cart so she can haul stuff.  My darling husband and I have both spent many hours looking over all the possibilities (and watching the YouTube videos) for this great machine. After five years of living on the farm, we finally have bought a "real" piece of farm equipment.  We first found out about the walk-behind tractor from Hobby Farms, a periodical we subscribe to.  Ironically, this month's issue was highlighting the successes of real horse horse-powered farms.  Oh well, I can safely say we won't be one of them!