Purchased for $12,000 in Westminster, Mass. in 2000, the Ford 5600 was big enough to pull the third bottom on our our plow and has been a fine runner for us. It has a block heater, so it becomes a easy choice in the winter as it will start if plugged in.
We’ve added quite a few tractors to the fleet since 1980, but this one remains Simon’s favored steed. Versatile and strong, it can do all the small jobs — bed forming, bed cultivations and seeding, tine weeding — as well as heavy tillage. No longer a plow tractor, as we prefer the 4wd tractors now, the 5600 does disc harrowing and fertilizer spreading and compost spreading. It also pulls our two-row precision air planter and is our parade float tractor when called upon.
Model 5600
Brand Ford
Engine 3.8L 4-cylinder
Fuel diesel
Year 1980
HP 60 PTO, 50 drawbar
- Harvesting hay with the 5600.
- Basket weeding with the 5600.
- Ford 5600 hard at work.
- Our Ford 5600 tractor.
- The block heater makes it reliable in all weather.
- The Ford 5600 tractor.
- Photo of the Ford 5600 by Alison Shaw.
Originally posted in May, 2017