Who are we??????? And where do we come from??????

[Mith]

Thank you John - yes it would be nice to have my own land, here in the UK land is kinda pricey
as to a fleet of tractors - its good to dream hey /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif - its good to start early eh /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My 4 year old grandson is becoming a "tractor nut" )</font>
i sure would have like a grandfather with a tractor
i know that even now when im given a go in a 'proper' tractor the smile doesnt come off my face till the next morning
i hope your grandson enjoys having someone with tractors as much as i would have /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[EastTexFrank]

City boy ... big city boy. Never lived in a town of less than 200,000 people. I got married to a Texas girl 25 years ago whose parents "hobby" farmed raising beef cattle on 170 acres. When we used to come over from the UK on vacation I used to help out around the farm and that was my introduction to tractors. Never really got hooked then but at age 35 I had a high stress, 24/7 job and started piddling around in the garden growing vegetables just to get away from the phone and got interested in the "tools". I've been a vegetable gardener ever since. When we moved to Dallas in '85, we used to spend most week-ends at the farm just mowing and fixing stuff. It slowly dawned on me just how much I loved it out there, chasing cows and running around on the tractors. When early retirement came we packed up and moved to our present place about 8 miles from my M-I-L's farm. Got MY first tractor, B2400, and was amazed at what that little thing could do with the right attachments. I didn't really have any idea up till them since the farm tractors I was familiar with were used almost exclusively for bush hogging. Got hooked. I still work at the M-I-L's a couple of days a week just to get my bigger tractor "fix" although we do have a few more attachments now to cut down on the "brute force and ignorance" work.

I may have been born a city boy but let's just say that right now I am where I want to be, doing what I want to do. I think it's a lot like Eddy Walker said, at the end of the day I like to look out there, at what I've been working at, and think to myself, "I did that and I didn't make too bad a job of it".

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

Well, EastTexasFrank, and anyone else that it applies to, being a "country boy" is a birthright when you're from the boonies, but it's not impossible to become one in time. To me, "country" is a state of mine, and not an address. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[FrankenmuthTom]

I'm the new guy on the board, and thought I'd reply and greet all you guys.

Was the LAST guy in the world who was going to be a farmer, my mother and dad both came off farms, but dad was a factory worker in Midland, MI. I worked on the farms the summers I was in Highschool, and after college, left for the military, followed by various government and high tech jobs.

When we finally moved back to Michigan, 10 years ago, I found myself a little 20 acre farm just south of Frankenmuth and moved in. Neighbor across the road helped me restore my first tractor (a 49 Oliver Row Crop 66) and talked me into doing a bit of farming.

So here we are, nearly 10 years later. I have a John Deere 830 Metric Utility and all the regular field implements, many of them I built from larger stuff, enough to run a nice little Pumpkin Farm in the fall time. Gave up mowing with the tractor and a finish mower and went to a John Deere 737 ZRT mower, and can cut 4 acres of grass in a little over an hour.

So now, the boss lady and I are looking very seriously at moving to Okeechobee, Florida to start selling Branson and Kioti tractors. We are actually waiting for a Commercial Sales License for the site, and will then go ahead with my dream of being self employed and a tractor dealer to boot.

I guess this tractor thing is really in my blood!

 

[johndeere2210]

Born and raised on a farm in SE Nebraska, graduated from HS in 1967, went to college, did the Army thing for a couple of years and in 1972 took over the family farm (240 acres). Started farming with an H Farmall and a 460 International. In 1982 the operation had grown to 2200 acres with five tractors (H farmall, 656 International, 4010 JD, 3010 JD, 1135 Massey), two Massey 410 combines, two Peterbuilt cab overs and assorted pickups (Fords).

In 1983, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was forced into selling everything and taking an off farm job. I left the area and managed a farm store for several years. In the late 80's I went to work for a discount store operation as a store opener. It was at that time that I met a beautiful young lady in Friona Texas and we got married. I then went to work for a Ford dealer in Canyon Texas as a service advisor until 1995. We then decided to move back to Nebraska to help my Mother take care of my Dad who was in failing health.

I worked for a neighbor for a couple of years as a farm hand repairing machinery. Then I went to work at the local JD dealer as service manager. We now are living in the house that my Grandpa and Grandma lived in for 70 years.

I have always loved tractors and equipment and playing in the dirt.

I also think it is pretty amazing how we seem to come full circle in our lives. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MrJoe]

This guy grew up in Brooklyn NY, moved to Conn. 25 years ago and never looked back /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Lived in a Conn. city for 24 yrs, then bought 2 ac. w/ a house /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Well if you have land you need a tractor right? Took aout 6 months to research the tractor, decided on a Case. That's my story. Joe

 

[Varmintmist]

The house I grew up in was on 3/4 ths of an ac. However, there was nothing but fields and woods around it. You could see one neighbor at night in the winter when the leaves were off if he had his lights on. The dog and I spent most of our time in the woods.

The family biz. was blacktop. I was running loaders at 8, and other stuff as I got older. I can run about anything, but I can operate a grader, and am pretty fair on a hoe.

In 72 we bought 6 ac with a barn and horses, another 14ac followed, then a garage with 12 ac. All in seperate places. I got to doing farm stuff by way of the horses. Never wanted a tractor specificly, just land. Father "retired" and bought 100 ac in WVA and makes his own hay and enought to sell. Most strait tractoring I did was done there on his JD950, which was used soley as a backhoe in the blacktop operation.

I left at 17 into the Marines, had pretty well figured out after a year of living in barracks and shipboard that I wanted land. Went from there to college, from there to eastern PA on the Deleware commuting into the Peoples Republic of New Jersey. It is basicly like NJ.

Had the first kid and no desire to raise her there.

Transfered to the other side of PA and bought 52 ac and needed a machine to manage the woodlot and the ground.

 

[frank_f15]

WAS BORN and raised on a farm( truck farm) berries , tomatoes, pears, concord grapes, also helped out on my uncles farm(across the road) mix of truck and dairy, been driving tractors since i was 8 years old farmalls, massy harris, cletrac and cats, and a few fords and jd's thrown in. also i do remember one old silver king. Guess tractors are in my blood. can never think of a time when i did not have a tractor or at least had access to one.

 

[Freds]

I grew up in the burbs where the Gravely lawn tractor was the only experience with "tractors" I had. I always like the neighbor's JD, though. It was much faster and had a clutch. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
I started doing sheet metal work when I was 12 and when I turned 14 started getting paid for it (father's shop in the beginning). Mostly commercial stuff and industrial fabrication. Still no tractors in the picture, but lots of equipment I miss. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

After losing most of my hearing, but none of my fingers in 26 years I moved out to the country a few years ago to open a boarding facility. Moved in in February 2002, went back to a 4WD truck and it never snowed again. By the time April was here I looked at my 13-1/2 acres and said, "Wholly @@@@, I need a tractor". /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Now if I could only justify a backhoe...

 

[NIXON]

I lived pretty much all over the world growing up and into my 40's . My dad was career army and I was career AF . So I didn't really pay much attention to tractors and the like . After I retired , I took a job as a construction Superintendant in Montgomery Al. We had An old Ford 3000 and a JD 450c crawler . Well it didn't take long to learn how wonderful it is to be able to use a machine like these to get things done !
When We moved to Pa and built a house , One of the priorities was a Cut with Fel . Thanks to the great advice from folks at TBN I managed to find a machine that can make hard chores easy ! John