LS Tractors Near Columbia, MS: Sizing Up for Marion County Land

Marion County land has a way of running together. Piney woods butting up against creek bottoms, a few acres of open pasture that somebody cleared for cattle years ago, food plots cut back into the timber, and a gravel road that gets ugly every time it rains hard. The tractor that lives on a place like that has to do all of those jobs and be ready for the next one.

If you are shopping for an LS near Columbia, the question most buyers wrestle with is the same one every time: how much tractor does your place actually need. The honest answer comes down to acreage, the heaviest job you will ask it to do regularly, and whether a cab matters to you.

The compact range covers most places under 40 acres

For the average Marion County property, one of the LS compact tractors gets the work done without stepping into utility territory and the cost that comes with it.

The MT232HE runs 31.7 horsepower on a Yanmar-built diesel with a hydrostatic transmission. No clutching, no gear changes. Push the pedal forward, the tractor goes. Let off, it stops. For loader work and rotary cutting, where you are constantly changing direction, that transmission makes a real difference by the end of a long afternoon. It pairs with the LL3003 front loader, which lifts just over 2,500 pounds with a 66-inch bucket. Feed sacks, gravel moves, pine tops from the timber cut, round bales on a smaller operation. The 26.2 PTO horsepower runs a 5-foot rotary cutter through pasture grass without straining.

For a place in the 10 to 35-acre range, that is usually enough tractor. The MT232HE is also on 0 percent financing for 120 months on select MT1 and MT2 models, which makes the payment manageable without much math.

When to step up

If your place is bigger, or if you are cutting heavier brush along timber edges and creek banks, the MT347HC makes more sense.

It is a 47-horsepower turbocharged compact with a factory-sealed cab, heat and air conditioning, and a Cat I hitch that lifts 2,755 pounds. Same hydrostatic transmission as the MT232HE, but more engine under the hood. The additional power shows up behind a 6-foot rotary cutter in late summer when the grass in a Marion County creek bottom has had all year to grow.

The cab is what separates this machine from an open-station tractor in South Mississippi. By mid-June, the heat index near Columbia is running well past 100 degrees most afternoons. Open-station work is manageable for a couple of hours. If you are feeding cattle, cutting pasture, or cleaning up storm damage for most of a day, the cab earns its cost inside the first summer. The MT3 series qualifies for LS financing at 0 percent for 96 months, which keeps the payment reasonable even on the cab models.

Attachments worth adding

Marion County has no shortage of gravel roads that wash out and timber trails that need periodic maintenance. An LS box blade or land grader behind either tractor handles both jobs. The MLG3060 is a 60-inch land grader that drags on a Cat 1 quick hitch and keeps gravel roads level after a heavy rain. It runs on anything from a sub-compact up through the MT242HE. If you have half a mile of driveway to maintain, this is the attachment that justifies owning a tractor.

A rotary cutter is usually the second purchase. The MRC3060SC is a 5-foot slip-clutch cutter that pairs well with the MT232HE. The MRC5072SC, a 6-foot heavy-duty version with a 75 HP gearbox, is the right fit for the MT347HC and anything larger.

Getting to Collins from Columbia

Dykes Motors is on the US-98 corridor. Take US-98 east out of Columbia and follow it toward Collins. We are at 3069 Hwy 49 in Collins, and the drive from Columbia takes under an hour. It is worth making the trip to put your hands on both machines before you decide which one fits the way you farm.

More detail about what Columbia-area buyers are running and which models are available is on the LS tractors Columbia page. You can also call (601) 516-7255 to talk through your land and your list of jobs before you make the drive. Come run one on the lot.