What Ever Happened to Mid-Mount Implements Anyway?

Ledgemere Farm · Oct 22, 2004

My Farmall manual has a whole list of mid-mount implements that were designed for it in the 50's. They include: planter, mower, grader blade, cultivators, hiler, etc. Most any tractor (that I have seen) of this vintage had some mid-mount attachments made for it. How many can you get now? A finish mower and an aftermarket grader blade. Why is this? My brother's Farmall 140 has a more mid-mount attachments than rear-mount ones. The view is perfect: offset tractor with attachment in front of you. One of my brothers-in-law has an Allis B and a C. They have a ton of mid-mount attachments. Am I the only one who wants a NEW tractor with mid mount options? I can't believe that I am...
By the way, I HAVE seen the Saulkville in some of my farming magazines, and I HAVE seen an old Allis G once or twice up close, but I REALLY want a John Deere or a Case-IH? Am I being too greedy? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

slowrev · Oct 22, 2004

Mid mount attachments are almost exclusively tractor specific. 3 point implements are not. I believe this is why about the only new mid mount implements you can get are mower decks, or commercial boom type moving attachments. Mid mount mowers are still available new for the old Cubs and such from woods, not cheap though.

Ben

pekabu · Oct 22, 2004

I would guess that it's partly to do with the 3 pt hitch. Fewer specialty mounts. Easier to hook up, no dragging XXX pound implements under the tractor and such.

Nomad is big advocate of the mid mount stuff.

I have been looking for a real cheap sickly bar mower near me. Really a flail but... I have seen quite a few mid mount implements on eBay lately.

bigpete · Oct 22, 2004

Yep, those dang'd ASAE (American Society of Agricultural Engineers) engineers did so much good by creating standards for implements and safety that implements began to become more standard and more safe. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

It seems that much of that old school engineering ingenuity that gave birth to some of those unique and proprietary implements was re-directed to other areas, including an industry-wide commitment to the ASAE hitch, implement and attachment standards. We should all admit it is in our best interest to be able to shop for quality and features from dozens of competitors knowing that each piece will work with all of our machines. Even though there is still a niche for proprietary attachments, it's nice to not have to be locked into a single company for both tractor and implement, and nice to not have to take a tape measure and slide rule (calculator /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif) to the dealer equipment yard. Too bad there was never room for a mid-mount attachment standard /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I still love checking out some of those old creative applications of agricultural iron.

hobbyfarm · Oct 22, 2004

<font color="blue"> The nice thing about standards is there are so many to choose from! </font>

hobbyfarm · Oct 22, 2004

I agree Green, like I stated in another thread:
<font color="blue">Are There Enough Tractor Models Produced Today? </font>
The tractor co's. are missing out by not doing a better job catering to the needs ( wants ) of the consumer.
They are missing the boat when it comes to a modern offset cultivating tractor. Or an ag style compact crawler. [Not a Struck toy], but a big three brand.
Back in the 80's, I did see an offset International 274 that was on a dealer's lot. You might find one if you look around real hard.