Highflier450
New member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2009
- Messages
- 2
While I am not new to farming, acreage or tractors, I am new to TBN. I am a retired captain with a major US airline, but my grandfather and uncle both farmed all their lives and I used to stay with them summers and work on the farm, so I learned to love the lifestyle.
I was lucky enough to marry a wonderful woman 28 years ago and luckier still she still puts up with me! We moved from Texas where I'd been flying corporate and had an aviation business when the airline hired me. Knowing the fickle nature of the airline industry I wanted to be someplace we could make it with a small house payment if things turned sour. I was fortunate to never be furloughed and had a good career flying everything from the B737 to the B747 and B777, not tractors, but pretty cool anyway!
In 1999 we bought 12 acres with a very unique house that had been let go for a number of years due to the previous owners health. We got things in shape and then had to decide how we might make this small place profitable...being an entrepreneur at heart. We made the decision in 2001 to buy our first alpacas, and it was a great one, just wish we could have done it sooner!
The first tractor we bought is a 1953 Ford Golden Jubilee (NAA) with a loader. Perfect at first to do minor dirt work with the loader and 3-point blade, and mowing with a 6' Bush Hog. When we decided to build a large barn for the alpacas (36' X 96' with 12' sheds on each side) I had an old structure, trees, etc to remove and knew the cost to hire that done would be substantial, so I convinced my wife we needed a bigger tractor! Enter the JD4020 with Du-Al 345 loader and grapple. What a great piece of equipment! I still use it quite a bit, pulling a 10' box blade to do driveways, landscaping, moving hay and basic farm work (pulling a 16' offset disc, swather, baler, etc). While at a sale a couple of years ago I bought a Jinma 254 w/loader...I'm pretty well set tractor-wise.
One of these days I'll post some pictures, we are now building our dream home, an oak log house that overlooks the pond on our property. We plan to add a Bed 'n Breakfast to the mix after the house is finished. I am building the house myself, so it is a long project!
I was lucky enough to marry a wonderful woman 28 years ago and luckier still she still puts up with me! We moved from Texas where I'd been flying corporate and had an aviation business when the airline hired me. Knowing the fickle nature of the airline industry I wanted to be someplace we could make it with a small house payment if things turned sour. I was fortunate to never be furloughed and had a good career flying everything from the B737 to the B747 and B777, not tractors, but pretty cool anyway!
In 1999 we bought 12 acres with a very unique house that had been let go for a number of years due to the previous owners health. We got things in shape and then had to decide how we might make this small place profitable...being an entrepreneur at heart. We made the decision in 2001 to buy our first alpacas, and it was a great one, just wish we could have done it sooner!
The first tractor we bought is a 1953 Ford Golden Jubilee (NAA) with a loader. Perfect at first to do minor dirt work with the loader and 3-point blade, and mowing with a 6' Bush Hog. When we decided to build a large barn for the alpacas (36' X 96' with 12' sheds on each side) I had an old structure, trees, etc to remove and knew the cost to hire that done would be substantial, so I convinced my wife we needed a bigger tractor! Enter the JD4020 with Du-Al 345 loader and grapple. What a great piece of equipment! I still use it quite a bit, pulling a 10' box blade to do driveways, landscaping, moving hay and basic farm work (pulling a 16' offset disc, swather, baler, etc). While at a sale a couple of years ago I bought a Jinma 254 w/loader...I'm pretty well set tractor-wise.
One of these days I'll post some pictures, we are now building our dream home, an oak log house that overlooks the pond on our property. We plan to add a Bed 'n Breakfast to the mix after the house is finished. I am building the house myself, so it is a long project!
