For food plots up to 2 acres, a 25 to 35 PTO-HP compact tractor with a 5-foot rotary tiller or 5-foot disc harrow does the job. For plots over 2 acres or heavy clay soil, step up to a 35 to 50 PTO-HP compact with a 6-foot tiller or 6-foot disc and a 3-point broadcast seeder.
Food plot work is ground-engagement work. PTO HP, weight, and lift capacity all matter more than engine HP. R1 ag tires beat R4 industrials anywhere the soil is soft.
Heads up: this list is filtered on PTO horsepower only. Drive type, hitch category, and three-point lift aren't filter criteria here, so check each one on the model's spec sheet before you buy.
Attachment classes covered on this page: rotary-tiller, disc-harrow, rear-blade, box-blade, Listed PTO HP, 20 to 50 HP, Tiller width, 5 to 6 ft, Tires, R1 ag preferred. Recommended models are filtered live from the tractor and implement records, so a newly verified model appears here automatically. The list is filtered only on the criteria this job requires: horsepower, loader capacity, hitch category, three-point lift or sub-compact class. Other figures in the spec grid describe the job and do not filter the list, so check each against the model's own spec sheet. Each figure comes from manufacturer documentation with its source and verification date on the record.