It’s that squishy, messy time of year. Freeze and thaw. Slip and slog. When your chore boots need power washed every other day. And quaint farmsteads can quickly turn into quagmires.

If ever there was a machine made for the muck, it’s a compact track loader. They excel during the messy months and every other month of the year.

There’s been a decade-long trend away from wheeled skid-steers to track machines in ag applications. And for good reason — a compact track loader is a multi-tasking marvel. Thanks to hundreds of attachments, there’s virtually no limit to the jobs a track loader can handle.

Of course, if you run tracks on your big 4-wheel drive and high-horsepower row-crop tractors, or on your combines and grain carts, you’re familiar with the benefits of tracks: greater flotation, less compaction, more stability on slopes, smoother ride, better traction, and the ability to venture into field conditions that would stymie a wheeled machine.

Colin Herbold, sales specialist at Belzer Equipment in Albia, Iowa, says he’s seen a switch-over to track loaders during the past few years, especially among his cattle customers who give the machines a daily workout feeding hay, cleaning lots and moving bales.

Herbold has also sold a few track loaders to recreational property owners, who tout their versatility for cutting trails, removing debris, brush-hogging and general maintenance duties.

“The market has definitely shifted away from wheeled skid-steers to track loaders,” echoes Andy Haller, store manager at Heritage Tractor, a John Deere dealership in Jefferson City, Missouri.

All segments of his customer base have gravitated towards the track machines.

“They like the better ride quality, the flotation, the lighter footprint and the ability to handle adverse conditions,” says Haller.

In addition to feeding silage, moving and stacking hay bales, the tracked machines shine when used for scraping and cleaning out the hoop buildings used by the hog and cattle operations in his area.

Haller says there are a handful of “must-have” attachments for his cattle customers.

“No. 1 is post hole augers followed by rotary cutters and brush grapples. Customers also like the high reach of the mulcher to trim trees and brush around hay fields,” he says.

Despite the growing popularity of tracks, there are applications where wheeled machines are better-suited.

Phil Helle of Helle Ag Equipment in Dyersville, Iowa, says wheeled units still make up the bulk of their skid-steer business.

“While we’ve had some customers move to track loaders, most of our dairy producers have stayed with wheels,” he says.

They still have concrete-floor facilities, and the track treads just don’t hold up as well in these conditions, according to Helle.

Chuck Gallagher, division manager/sales at Rueters Equipment in Elkhart, Iowa, agrees there’s been an evolution toward track loaders over the past 10-15 years — with the steepest adoption among cattle producers, feedlots and forestry segments. He estimates that track machines now make up about 65% of the market across Iowa.

As the head of sales for Rueter’s, which operates seven locations in Iowa and Nebraska, and represents a long list of popular track loader brands, including Bobcat, Case, JCB, Kubota and New Holland, Gallagher offers unique perspectives on this trend toward track machines.

“As skid-steers have become larger, heavier and with higher capacity payloads, it has helped fuel the evolution toward tracks,” says Gallagher.

Hundreds of attachments make a compact track loader the ultimate multi-task tool around the farm.

Also, as a result, “there are some customers who are finding that the larger track models can take the place of a small dozer,” he says.

In his view, soil types and conditions are the most important factors in determining whether an ag customer chooses tracks. Operations that need greater flotation and lower ground pressure to curb compaction and improve traction are going to lean toward tracks.

Maintenance cost is another driver. As it has become more expensive to add tire weight and ballast to wheeled machines, customers are opting for tracks, which may require less maintenance, offsetting the additional upfront investment cost of tracks.

Gallagher has also seen a few of Rueter’s row-crop producers move over to track machines, but for these customers it’s more a personal preference.

“Some people like wheels, some prefer tracks,” Gallagher says.

If you’re mulling a move to a track machine, there are plenty of brands to consider: Bobcat, Case, Cat, Deere, Gehl, JCB, Kubota and New Holland all have worthy qualities. They offer everything from bantam-size units with 40 hp and 1,400 lb. operating capacity (lift capacity) up to heavyweight units with 100 hp and 4,500 lb. operating capacity.

Gallagher offers some useful advice for anyone in the market: “First, it’s not about the machine,” he insists. “Rather, start with the attachments and know how the machine will be used. Consider visibility and safety foremost. Then choose the right-size machine for the attachments and jobs you plan to do — a machine that offers good visibility, the right level of comfort and of course, weight and power.”

Another consideration? Resale value. With the recent trend toward track machines, there’s been an accompanying upswing in used values. And while good used wheeled models will fetch a good price in today’s hot used market, expect more modest used valuations in the longer term.

And, finally, as the world turns to EVs, Bobcat last month announced the first-ever all- electric compact track loader, which will likely set off a frenzy of new e-powered models in the years ahead. Something to keep your eye on.

Rick Haun has more than 35 years’ experience writing about ag and industrial equipment, much of that time with John Deere. A native of Wayne County, Ohio, he received his first tractor lessons on an Allis- Chalmers WD45. He resides in Shawnee, Kansas.

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I was heading north along I-35 through central Iowa on a blistering hot August day when I came upon the flashing yellow caution lights and tat…

Hundreds of attachments make a compact track loader the ultimate multi-task tool around the farm.

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