The Contrary Farmer

by Gene Logsdon

  To find good buys, you have to look hard at farm sales, study the classified ads of local papers and farm magazines, and haunt used equipment lots. But the real secret is to make friends with other farmers. Although I often criticize commercial farming, I don't blame most of the farmers caught in its ruthless economy. As things stand, they have little choice, and privately they grumble just like I do. They are, by and large, some of the most responsible and sensible people in society. My experience is that if you are friendly to them and acknowledge their expertise with a little humility even if you don't agree with their methods, they will be glad to help you, once they realize you really are serious about farming. Only with their help was I able to find the tractor and equipment I bought so reasonably. The advice one of them gave me bears repeating: "If at all possible, buy your equipment from other farmers. If you go through a dealer you will pay considerably more than you need to. Dealers are being squeezed just like farmers and selling new machinery is slow going these days. They have to try to make up the difference by inflating used tractor prices."

  On the other hand, buying through an honest dealer generally means he will stand by what he sells. At auction or through private treaty, you run your own risk. If you are mechanically illiterate, buying a tractor from a reputable dealer may be wiser, even if it costs you a thousand dollars more.

  On the other hand again, when you deal with farmers in your own neighborhood, where everyone knows everyone, they generally go out of their way to be honest about what they are selling. Everybody knows the few who lie. This is another advantage of a stable community. We don't need bureaucratic regulations to keep us from cheating each other.

  Buying used farm equipment is fraught with peril for the amateur. Always check the oil in any tractor that you contemplate buying. If the oil is grayish instead of blackish, it has water in it, and invariably that means the block is cracked. But a cracked block is not necessarily the end of the world. I bought my first tractor with a cracked block (cheap) because I knew where there was a good block in a junkyard to replace it.

  A piece of used equipment for sale might have missing parts. For example, the disk I bought cost me only $100 but I then had to figure in the cost of a hydraulic cylinder and hoses to raise and lower it, and these necessary accessories did not come with the disk. Chalk up another $70, at least. The plow I bought for $30 was made for a Category I threepoint hitch. To make it fit the Category 11 hitch on my tractor required three bushings I could easily carry in one hand. Cost of the bushings? $38 at the dealership; $14 at one of the chain farm supply stores. An older, self-propelled combine in good shape that my nephew just bought for $1600, a real bargain, has belts on it that might need replacing soon. Just one of those belts costs $400. My 50-horsepower tractor may need overhauling in a year or two, which could mean spending over $1000. But still, compared to buying anything new, my nephew and I are way ahead. Even the smallest commercial farm combine made today is priced at nearly $100,000. A new 50-horsepower American tractor costs in the neighborhood of $35,000 to $40,000.

  Most older motors were made to use leaded gas. When you burn unleaded gas in them, you should add lead substitutes or convert the valves for unleaded use. Most gas stations carry the lead substitutes. For a dollar and a stamped envelope you can get information on valve conversion and other matters from the International Society for Vehicle Preservation (Box 500046-1046, Tucson, Arizona 85703-1046).

  The typical cottage farmer will usually have very little detailed knowledge about the tractor or other machine he buys, if purchased used. There may be problems with that particular brand and model that only a person who worked many years with it can tell you. In any event, there will be attachments, adjustments, and functions of the machine that you aren't familiar with. If you are new to farm equipment alto gether, then your situation is very difficult indeed. You can't just "figure it out.

  First you must get an operating/maintenance manual for your tractor or for other complicated machinery such as a harvester. For almost all equipment still in use, even if not manufactured anymore, these manuals are available through the dealers. Dealers will order the proper one from the company for you, if it is not in stock. The dealer will need the serial number of your tractor. In fact, whenever you order any part for anything, the parts service people can order accurately only if they have serial and/or model numbers.

  Another source of written help are publications about old tractors put out by collectors. There is at least one for each major brand of "tired iron," as collectors call their tractors. Here is the list of magazines and newsletters that I mentioned earlier.

  The 9N, 2N and 8N Newsletter (Fords)

  Gerald Rinaldi, 154 Blackwood Lane, Stamford, CT 06903

  Old Allis News (Allis Chalmers)

  Nan Jones, 10925 Love Road, Bellevue, MI 49021

  Green Magazine (John Deere)

  Richard and Carol Hain, Rt. 1, Bee, NE 68314

  Old Abec News (Case)

  Dave Erb, Rt 2, Box 2427, Vinton, OH 45686

  Red Power (International, McCormick Deering)

  Daryl Miller, Box 277, Battle Creek, IA 51005

  Prairie Gold Rush (Minneapolis-Moline)

  Roger Baumgartner, Rt. 1, Walnut, IL 61376

  Wild Harvest (Massey Harris, Ferguson, Wallis)

  Keith Oltrogge, 1010 S. Powell, Box 529, Denver, IA 50622

  Antique Power (all tractors)

  Patrick Ertel, P.O.Box 838, Yellow Springs, OH 45387

  Oliver Collectors News (Oliver)

  Dennis Gerszewski, Rt. 1, Manvel, NL7 58256-0044

  The second critical source of information is other farmers. There is nothing like mechanics to show the value of community knowledge and wisdom. How you cultivate these rich sources of information is more important than how you cultivate your crops. For example, yesterday our veterinarian, Dick, came to neuter our ram lambs and give all the lambs their over-eating shots. I had my John Deere loader tractor sitting in the driveway because we had just used it to carry the newly slaughtered steer up through the mud from the barn to where Neil, the butcher, could skin and clean it. (A sub plot to this tale of communal collaboration would star Neil as the hero who, more familiar with the JD 2020 and loader than I presently am, was able to maneuver it out of the mud hole where I got stuck and gave up.) Dick, the veterinarian, momentarily forgot about the lambs in his delight to find another cottage farmer who had purchased a JD similar to the one he had bought. He began to tell me things about my tractor I didn't know-really valuable information. He told me about a nylon universal joint on the oil pump that "almost always goes bad on older JDs," and how to replace it for a couple of dollars. "If it starts to rattle funny, replace it immediately because if you keep on operating with the worn one, you can find yourself facing a much more costly repair job," he said. He showed me what a peculiar mysterious slab of steel bolted to the draw bar was for (an adjustment for the three-point hitch). He pointed out my error in concluding that the plow I had bought would not fit the tractor properly. I just didn't understand how to make the proper adjustments. In fifteen minutes he gave me several years' worth of experienced knowledge that I desperately needed.

  The most essential key to communal mechanical know-how for the cottage farmer is the country or village machine repair shop. Another sign of the deterioration of commercial farming is that farm machinery dealerships are getting farther and farther apart. That is, many of them are going out of business just like the farmers they once served. While the ones that remain still can provide excellent service via phone and United Parcel Service, when your tractor needs to be worked on, you can't ship it to that dealer by UPS. What is happening, at least in our area, is that the country repair shop is returning. There are two within driving distance of my tractor, one just down the road. Both are operated by an excellent machinist.

  Dealing with tires is often the first repair or replacement job you have to do when buying used. Because all farmers, little, big, medium, conser
vative, liberal, contrary, or dittohead, need tires changed on the farm, the demand and therefore the competition has generated excellent service. New tires are available for every make and model of farm tractor still running, as far as I know. You will bless your tire serviceman many, many, many times.

  In any event, don't view old tractors as you would old cars. Old tractors can be fixed indefinitely because most parts are still available. There's very little thin body metal to rust out.

  Obviously, the drawback of buying used machinery is that you must expect to spend more time and money making repairs than with new equipment. But on very small farms, that often turns out not to be true after initial reconditioning. The reason is that on a small farm, especially one based on a pasture system, you will not be using your used machinery hard and so it may not break down as fast as new iron would on a commercial farm. This fact, along with the comparatively low cost of older used machinery, is leading to a somewhat amusing but advantageous situation. Many small farms, run by astute farmers with mechanical ability and an outside source of income, are much more over-equipped than the most advanced agribusiness farm. But for the little guy, that is not a detriment because it is not costly. For example, a neighbor who has farmed fifty acres all his life, and also worked as a machinist in town until retirement, owns four tractors that I know of, two trucks, and several cars, along with a very complete line of equipment. Most of these vehicles he literally rescued from the junkyard and restored. He has in them mostly labor, not much cash. Most of these tools are no longer depreciating, but are in fact gaining value from inflation and from collector interest and because, with only occasional light use, they are in excellent shape. By relieving his aching back and muscles, the many machines allow him to continue farming into older age. When he does sell the equipment at full retirement, it will prove to have been an excellent investment. Better than Social Insecurity.

  In shopping for a used small tractor, be aware that there can be, between models of equal size, a price difference that has little to do with inherent value but a lot to do with popularity. For example, Fords from the late 1940s and early 1950s, especially the 8Ns and 9Ns, are favorites of the cottage farm set. So their prices are a little high for what you are actually getting in horsepower-they average about $2500 presently in north-central Ohio in good condition. A slightly newer and considerably more powerful Ford or Ferguson from the late 1950s and early 1960s will go for only a little more, $3000 to $3500 if you bargain, and give better service than the 8N or 9N; Fords are foolers in that throughout that period, the frame of the tractor stayed about the same size, but succeeding models packed more horsepower in the same space.

  However, a less popular Allis Chalmers, a WD or WD 45, more powerful than an 8N or 9N but the same vintage, can be purchased in good shape for $1500. These Allis models, with both hand and foot clutch, represent about the earliest example of live power-take-off, a wonderful asset when using PTO-driven equipment. You can push in the hand clutch to stop the tractor's forward motion while the PTO shaft keeps on turning until you push in on the foot clutch. These old Allis models also have an accessory belt pulley that enables you to run a small stationary sawmill by belt, as well as many older stationary feed mills, threshers, corn shredders, and so forth. My Allis WD is not as handy to drive as a Ford 8N or 9N-the seat is too far away from the clutch-but in all other respects, I believe it is a better tractor.

  Tractors and other machines offered for sale at antique shows are usually restored with love, not with the desire for money, and so are usually in good running order and worth more than what the restorer can get for them.

  The Most Useful Equipment for a Cottage Farm

  • After a team of horses and forecart or a tractor, the most essential equipment on a farm in my opinion is the pickup truck. If you own one as your primary or secondary means of transportation, you have already justified the cost and can use it almost free of charge for the hundreds of hauling tasks on the farm. If you can afford a fourwheel-drive model, you will find it a godsend in snow or mud country. But if you have a tractor, you can use it and your manure spreader (or a wagon or cart) in place of a four-wheel-drive truck for hauling through snow. If old pickups interest you, there's a publication that will help: Plugs N Points (Torn Brownell, Route 14, Box 468, Jonesboro, Tennessee 37659).

  • The handiest tool on any farm is the hydraulically-powered bucket or manure scoop for farm tractors. There is a model to fit almost any tractor. A farmer usually gets a "loader," as it is referred to, to handle manure, but then finds scores of other tasks that loaders can do to save his or her back. Think of all the things you lift or drag in a year's time on the farm: sacks of feed; sacks of fertilizer; rocks; large dead animals; ricks of wood; logs; piles of dirt; gravel; bushels of apples, vegetables, grain; piles of compost as well as piles of manure; piles of leaves; corn shocks; piles or windrows or bales of hay and straw; fenceposts; rolls of fence wire; cement blocks; stacks of lumber. Not to forget: loading and unloading heavy machinery such as plows. Loaders can be used often as jacks: to lift barn beams so you can insert a new brace; to pull cornerposts and fenceposts out of the ground; to raise and hold stud walls or beams in place until they are properly nailed; to hold meat-animal carcasses up in the air while skinning and butchering them. You can use a loader as a little bulldozer to build a driveway and to scrape a gravel drive smooth, or to push dirt back into an excavated tile line. My father used his loader to scoop out an excavation for a farm pond, although I don't recommend that. A dam site can be too steep for a farm tractor loader, and heavy clay soil too much for such a loader to handle efficiently. The most bizarre use of a loader that I've ever heard of was lifting and freeing a ewe stuck in creek mud. I've had a ewe in this predicament and it took all my strength to free her. Next time comes the loader. But using tractors to pull animals out of swamps, quicksand, or mud is very tricky, since you could easily injure or kill the animal.

  Another important point: With hydraulic power on your tractor to run the loader, you are ready to use other equipment that can be raised with hydraulic cylinders connected by hoses to the hydraulic pump on the tractor. Adjusting the height or depth of plows, disks, and mowers with hydraulic power is heavenly compared to the older way where implements are raised or lowered by hand power or the motion of the implement's wheels. Hydraulically adjusted equipment is especially nice when you have small fields, like an acre or two, or for garden plots. You can raise or lower a disk precisely where you want to start cultivating and lift it up precisely where you want to stop cultivating. You can back into fence corners of the fields, lower the disk or plow, and cultivate the entire space. These maneuvers are very difficult with pull-type implements.

  The above use of hydraulic power also makes possible the threepoint hitch, the second (some would say the first) most essential tool for your tractor or forecart. Almost all smaller cultivating toolsmowers, scrapers, pole lifts, fork lifts, box lifts, sweepers, planting and harvesting tools, post hole diggers, and winches-are now made to fit the three-point hitch system, allowing the operator to raise and lower any such equipment hydraulically.

  • Primary cultivating tools you will need include the plow, disk, spike tooth harrow, spring tooth harrow, and perhaps a cultipacker. My argument for the plow over the chisel plow is made in another chapter. The disk and spike tooth harrow are, in my experience, the most widely applicable (and lowest-cost) tools for working plowed ground into a seedbed. If there is enough plant residue from last year's crop on the soil surface to plug up a spike tooth harrow, the spring tooth harrow can sometimes replace it. If there is a whole bunch of residue, you will have to work the ground with the disk alone and attach some kind of drag behind to level the disk marks. A length of log will work as a drag. I once talked to a farmer who used a small cedar tree for a drag-these trees grew in abundance on his farm. Disk and harrow can also be used to work up soil without plowing it first, especially if the land is somewhat bare, as after corn.

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nbsp; • A cultipacker would not be considered an essential tool on most farms, and I have only lately acquired one. I now believe that a packer is crucial to cottage farming if you are emphasizing grassland crops rather than grain crops because you will sometimes be planting grass and clover in summer and early fall when the soil is usually dry. If you cultipack the dry seedbed after broadcasting the seed, you will enhance your germination rate tremendously over broad casting without cultipacking. Although a regular grassland drill equipped with cultpackers is expensive, a broadcast seeder and an old cultipacker will cost you peanuts.

  • If you are as anxious as I am to avoid pesticides whenever possible, you will need a weed cultivator for your row crops. I've used a garden tiller for years to cultivate between corn rows, but am now increasing the amount of corn I grow a little, and plan to get a tractor cultivator when an affordable one comes my way. If you have a three-point hitch on your tractor or forecart, you can easily find two- or four-row cultivators, new or used, that are relatively inexpensive.

  If no-till chemical salespeople give you a hard time about how row cultivators increase erosion, just say "Monroe J. Miller" to them. Monroe is an Amish farmer who has for years been horseplowing and row-cultivating hills too steep for tractors to maneuver safely on. He does it with great intelligence using the art of contour strip farming, alternating narrow strips of clover with narrow strips of corn laid out perpendicularly to the slope of the hills. I have stood on those hillsides and been astonished to silence. There is less