2002 New York State Farm Show
Text and photos : Muhammad Chishti

The sky was gray and the temperatures low, but the indoor setting of the New York State Farm Show 2002 made for clean tractors, and lots of displays.

The annual farm show, held in Syracuse, NY at the state fair grounds, is home to hundreds of farm-related manufacturers and distributors for three days in February. This year, the show was held on February 21-23. I attended on Saturday the 23rd, the final day of the show.

The exhibits were located in five different buildings, so we did have to take a few walks between buildings to see the different exhibits, as the tractors and related equipment weren't all in one building, but rather spread out across three buildings.

After spending the better part of the day at the show, I saw a lot of what has already been seen, as well as a few new-to-me products and tractors.

Starting at the John Deere display, the new 4000-TEN series tractors were on display. Since these tractors aren't a whole lot different than the first generation 4000-series, a fellow TractorByNet.com member asked a representative from a dealer at the show to show and explain to us the new features.

The eHydro, a new hydrostatic transmission available on the 4000-TEN series, features a push-button FWD engagement button on the fender, on a console that also holds the speed set control and LoadMatch (a feature designed to help prevent engine stalls while working with increased loads) controls, if equipped. The durability of the console buttons will likely be the first concern of many buyers, as the buttons are exposed to all weather conditions.

eHydro also features an updated pedal pressure, said to be reduced from about 40lbs of pressure on the old system, to around 20lbs on the new system. That change should help reduce leg fatigue after long hours of operation.

John Deere also had a Frontier landscape rake on display with one of the 4000-TEN series tractors, and in typical John Deere fashion, a massive 4WD ag tractor somehow managed into the building for the show. No paper documents on the 4000-TEN series were available.

The only disappointment I had with the John Deere display, was the lack of a 110 TLB, John Deere's latest and greatest machine.

Moving along to the other major manufacturer displays, the New Holland offerings were fairly basic and seemingly cramped into a small display, considering the size of the manufacturer. Several compact tractors were available, but no new models, and no news of any New Holland plans for future model releases was mentioned.

Kioti's single-tractor display was a point of interest, since a Kioti rep was available to answer a host of questions about the tractors, how Kioti came about, and their future plans. Aside from plans to continue to grow in the market, we're Kioti does not plan any subcompact tractor releases anytime soon.

Kubota's place at the show was nicely tucked into a corner of the building, but much like John Deere's missing 110 TLB, Kubota's display didn't include a BX22 TLB, much to my disappointment. However, the courteous and knowledgeable regional sales managers were very interesting to talk to, and not surprisingly, log on to TractorByNet.com from time to time.

It was hard to avoid talk about the BX22, and also how the 110 TLB from John Deere might challenge the L35 and L48, since those two models make up most of the news in the market this spring. But more general points about Kubota's position in the market was just as interesting. One rep mentioned that Kubota likes to think they have about a third of the market, but they "don't know for sure." While we have a pretty good idea about Kubota's market share, the general consensus is that Kubota's market dominance continues, and seems as strong as ever in the under-50 horsepower market, and more specifically, strong in the under-25 horsepower market, with the BX series.

The Kubota reps were also proud to say that the M-series tractors can and will run with the best in the ag markets. How long it will take Kubota to achieve a substantial market share in the 50-100 horsepower market, however, we don't know. But we do know that the M-series are worth a look, and as the reputation of a tractor gets stronger and stronger, the color of the tractor matters less and less.

AgCo, Long, Massey Ferguson, Case-IH, Century, and Mahindra (with a particularly large display of tractors), among others, were present at the show as well.

Items of unique interest would be the Brown tree cutter, a massive rotary cutter-sized PTO-powered destruction implement, designed to chop material and trees up o 8" thick. While the paint finish may not be the best, the construction quality is simply intense. The unit on display had a 72" cutting width, 1/4" deck plate with 1/2" reinforced walls, a 625lb blade holder (1" steel construction) with replaceable alloy bushings, and a total unit weight of 2,250lbs. To play with this bad boy, you'll need a 70 horsepower tractor, minimum. But there are few cutters as heavy duty as this one, and if chopping 8" trees is in your plans, you should take a look at the Brown.

Also, perhaps the most exciting item found at the show was the BuckTop, a very well designed canopy. Actually, it was the best canopy I have ever seen. Comfort features like a weatherproof AM/FM/tape player with 4 speakers, a dome light, and light receptacle were just the kickers. With fiberglass construction and wood runners, a 1" drip edge, rugged mounting brackets, and a sleek design to match the John Deere 4410 it was mounted on, this one gets my vote. The company also makes units to Kubota, New Holland, and other manufacturers' tractors, and the cost is competitive with other canopies on the market.

All things considered, the 2002 New York State Farm Show as a pleasant show with much to offer for all visitors. Remember, the 2002 Empire Farm Days, held in Seneca Falls, NY, will be held August 6-8 at the Rodman Lott & Son Farms on Route 414.