OK CdnlnGld,
I've Got something similar to that.
13.75 Acres total - 8 Acre Property with 1.5 Acre Pond / 4 Acre Pasture / 1.75 acres of ditch to mow, Barn with 5 stalls and no indoor riding arena (that sounds nice congrats). I Have almost exactly 6.75 acres to mow on the property and the 4 acre pasture I have hayed for me (except when I mow it 5 or 6 times year.)
Telling people what they should use to do the work they have is like telling someone how to choose their spouse. It almost always gets you in a fight or belittled. I'm going to give my opinion and you can do with it what you want.
Here's the main equipment I have:
John Deere F932 - I use this for trimming along fence, around buildings and under and around trees.
John Deere 1600T Series II
TYM T390 Millenium with a front end loader
3 Point Attachments:
Post Hole Digger with 8" Auger - Need to dig a post hole or plant trees or bushes?
6' Tiller - Got a garden? What else are you going to do with all the mucking?
7' down reach back hoe - Not a necessity, but it VERY handy when you need to dig anything.
7' Blade - good for spreading and plowing snow, however, don't use as much anymore
6' Box Blade - Very handy for dirt and gravel leveling, although there are some new tools that look pretty nice out there.
HD 12 Post Pounder (if anyone needs one, I've got one cause I am done with pounding posts for a while.)
6' Snow Blower - IF you use your tractor, MUCH better than moving snow with FEL
Middle Buster - Planting and harvesting potatoes, this is the ONLY way.
Where I have bought most all of this stuff:
Govdeals.com
Auctiontime.com
Purplewave.com
HINT: If you deal with a municipality, they tend to have a lot of nice older equipment. You just need to ask them for the service records. If they are a medium to large sized municipality, they are going to have a shop with mechanics that service everything. If the service records have every hose and belt and oil change, pay 20% extra for that equipment. They have kept them in tip top condition. Farmers MIGHT do that too, but it will be more rare. You might ask to talk to their dealer where they got the service done then.
1. I'd go and get a minimum 40 HP tractor with 4WD (there are options on this, but simple 2WD is irritating and not something you'll want to mess with.) I think I would like to have a 50-60 HP version now, but 40 HP has gotten me by this far. It needs a front end loader on it and you'll want to make sure it has at least a 2000# capacity. Don't think you need to go and get a new tractor, step down to an older model and get the HP you need. Tractors are a little like tanks, if they have had the fluids changed, they will last a LONG TIME. The tractor will be your most important tool and you will use it for everything. The FEL will become your muscle and your best friend. DO NOT TRUST WALKING UNDER YOUR BEST FRIEND UNDER LOAD! And BTW, find and use the user's manual. Tractors have a lot of stuff on them that you'll wonder what they do. Know what they do. Learn about float and regen on your FEL if it has it and things like float and the adjustments for the 3 point hitch. You'll not have to wonder why, "this thing isn't working like it should" later down the road. You'll also find a lot of very nice people in user's forums talking about everything you've been wondering about.
2. Get all equipment WITH ROPS AND USE THEM!
3. DO NOT MOW WITH THE TRACTOR! Belly mowers suck and screw up all sorts of activities that you SHOULD use your tractor for. See point #1. I don't care how "easy" it is to take the stupid thing off, it will be a PITA every time you have to do it and it will happen when you need to be doing something else.
4. With that said, get something specific to mowing. Here is where you can go 2 directions. You could get a smaller Zero Turn and zoom around fast OR you could go a little slower and use a larger deck 72" with something like what I have the F932 (although, I'd step up to a JD 1445) that you can also put a snow blower on.
5. Moving snow: For you, I'd get a front attachment for the 1445 and a cab (would be ideal) and then you'd have that place clean in a short time. If you like a neck ache, then you can get a nice snow blower for the tractor and run backwards all the time. I've been moving snow out here for 11 years. No matter how good you are with a bucket and float, you're going to leave a mess and have to mess around forever cleaning up all the lines that sill off the sides. AND the snow is in big piles and going to blow back in on one side or the other. Either way you go, get a blower and get that stuff as far away from the drive as possible. ALSO, the blower can be set to float above your gravel. NO matter how good you are with the bucket, you'll lose gravel with it more than a well set blower.
6. While you are at it make sure you have a good truck / suburban and a trailer with brakes. I have a couple trailers, but I use my flat 16' double axle car trailer the most. It is handy and can carry 7000#. I use a 2013 2500 Suburban with all the seats taken out with a flat piece of plywood and a little 2" X 4" structure across the back. It is like a 2500 with a topper, EXCEPT you can get a little more in and you have access all the way through. This is where there a TON of options depending on what you really need to do. But, I like the arrangement I have. (BTW, find a fire department getting rid of these, they take EXCELLENT care of their trucks. Mine's red, wink, wink.) One tool I would add in this area would be a
7' X 16' dump trailer. That would be an ideal piece, I've just never pulled the trigger. But, that beast would come in so handy just ask anyone that owns one.
7. I just found this stuff. If you like clean fence line, you might try this too:
WeedSeal
Eventually, My place will be on this site. I'm taking pictures for them of a brand new installation. Mowing fenceline sucks and I really want to stop spraying chemicals to control grass. I'd suggest not doing it for 11 years before you do it.
I'm sure I will think of more later, I'll just add it on here.
Good luck, now I'll read what everyone else wrote during the 2 hours I spent doing this twice