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

[billbill1]

I grew up in a farming local, some large and some small. My Dad had a garage and worked on all of the equipment so I was around it all of my life. My Grandfather was a farmer and lived 1 mile from my folks so I started helping him at around 5 or 6 years old. You drove the tractor in the hay field to pick up bales as soon as you could reach the pedals. I bought a "B" Allis in 1982 and my two sons used it for transportation. Farming and gardening have always been in my blood and I guess it gets worse the older I get. I have 3-1/2 acres now and I'm in the process of buying 5 more right behind the property I now own.

 

[johnday]

Both sets of my grandparents were farmers in the thumb of Michigan. One of my granddads ran the old JD putputs. I was driving the tractor and actually helping out at the old age of 8. Later he sold the farm, and I started working part time for a tree farmer. I was introduced to backhoes, bulldozers, and big trucks then. Finally bought my retirement home upnorth of 21 acres of trees and swamp. I knew I was going to need a tractor of my own, ya know. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Being a builder, I learned the hard way that you should use a machine whenever possible.
I like BIG machines, lakefrieghters, tugboats, and I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, big powerplants. Machines have always influenced my life. Especially earthmovers and such. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[RoyJackson]

The first year we moved to this place, we got snowed in. Both trucks were 4WD, so it wasn't a disaster.
However, my little Wheel Horse tractor, as nice (and old) as it was, just wasn't much help in clearing the drive.
Then, I destroyed that little machine by trying to cut brush it just wasn't made to cut.

So, I needed something to clear the drive, do some brush cutting and mow the lawn. A Kubota BX2200 (which I fell in love with at a dealer in Bird-In-Hand) seemed to be the right machine. Or....just a bit bigger machine, the B7500.

However, we didn't want to spend the $13K-15K it would have cost for the tractor/loader/snowblower. Frankly, we couldn't really swing the money then.

So, that old Deere 670 was found..ran it for 2½ years. It did every thing I needed. Great tractor for my acreage.

But, I need more PTO HP for the chipper I wanted (about one third of our property is wooded), so...looking for a bit more PTO HP. That's when I found my 790. A 790 is a descendant of the 670 series machines...rock solid tractors.

I'm from a suburban area of Baltimore, MD. Since I'm 55...the suburbs were a bit more rural when I was growing up. I moved to PA in '87...been in a rural environment ever since. You couldn't pay me to live in a city...

 

[RalphVa]

I grew up on the farm, when we weren't in California (started school in Salinas and went my Jr. yr. of HS there), in Oklahoma. I loved to drive the Allis or Farmall B (might be wrong: one where you sat over the left axle, bigger than the A). Then we moved into the "city" (600 people) when I was 14. My Dad took up running service stations. I helped him and was an auto detail specialist before the term got invented. Loved cars, too.

Went to OU and graduated at the top of my chemical engineering class and took off for Princeton with a Tau Beta Pi fellowship. Worked summers in California and Texas.

Met my wife in Princeton. Still married to her.

Messed up and resigned from Humble Oil and got drafted. The army gave me my first introduction to the Far East. Good thing, because I then went to work for Exxon Research & Engineering Co. and travelled all over the world working on plants making lubricating oils. Loved working on those big rotary vacuum filters, scraped surface heat exchangers and various kinds of compressors and pumps.

Didn't have enough acreage or time to do tractors living in NJ and certainly didn't the 4 1/2 years living in Singapore. Came back to the US and took an Exxon job in Baton Rouge. Still really didn't have enough acreage there (2.2) to have a tractor. Got a good TroyBilt shredder and used it and a push cart a lot.

Finally, with retirement, we could pick where we wanted to live, near a university, etc. A Gravely with seemingly all the attachments I'd ever need kinda fell into my hands here. Found I really needed a bucket loader and more hauling and mowing capacity. So, I began looking for what tractor to buy. Knew I only needed one a bit bigger than the 12 hp Gravely as that thing will power a 50" mower and a cart capable of carrying 1,000 pounds. An 8 hp shredder was big enough.

Initially, I had my eye on a BX1530 but then figured if I went up to a BX1830 I could eventually get a PTO generator where I wouldn't have to turn everything else off to run my well pump. Looked at JDs, too, and found the 4010 is the smallest and is supposed "full" Cat 1 capability. After driving the 4010, 2210, BX1830 and B7510, I bought the 4010.

Ralph

 

[Volfandt]

Born & lived in in a small town in E. TN till I was 4, family moved inside the beltway of DC where it took me 18 yrs to get back to my TN rural roots. A 4 yr stint in the USMC, tech school & taking on a beautiful E. TN bride found this displaced country boy tameing a little over 4 acres and love'n it! Always tinkered w/machinery and had a bad habit of takeing things apart to see how it worked. Nowadays I don't "fix" anything until it's broke /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Still have my 1st little garden tractor, a Wheelhorse 856 and have owned a Craftsman GT6000, a JDL130 and a 1948 Fergie TE20. Recently purchased a Kubota BX23 and am now wondering how I ever got along without an FEL & BH!
My lovely progeny is a soph at ETSU and I know that working that little TLB is gonna figure prominently in my retirements plans in some way or fashion /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Volfandt

 

[wd45]

Born and raised on a farm, still live on it. Alabama has a program for historic farms, sorta like historic buildings, our's is designated a Century and Heritage farm. Our farm has been continuously owned and farmed by the same family for over 100 years (short term by european standards). My father farmed until the day he died in '87. Both of my brothers live on or near the farm also, but we don't make a living that way anymore. I'm a registered architect, middle brother is a district appraiser with Farm Services, and my youngest brother is a mechanical engineer. But we still have 25 ac. corn, 10 ac. costal bermuda and 60 or so cows.

It seems that every time I want to use one of the tractors it's busy with farm work, and I also would like a more modern tractor. Grew up with Allis Chalmers and Farmall's. Still use the Allis WD45, Super A doesn't do much anymore and have a Ford 3000. Brother has a 65 hp. AGCO a couple of years old, seems OK so far, we'll know for sure in another 30 years or so.

I've been looking at an AGCO GT45, made by SAME. Does anyone know anthing about their durability? Italian made, and the dealer is an old family friend and he recommends them. Maybe growing up looking at so much orange hood is my problem.

I know a good deal about old tractors, but this site is great for the modern stuff, of which I don't know a lot.

By the way, riding a tractor around and around a field all day is a good way for a kid to figure out who he is and where he fits into this world. Nintindo can't claim that /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[oliver28472]

Raised on a dairy and grain farm, run by Grandfather, Dad and Uncle. They sold the cows in 71 when I was 15. Dad continued to farm grain. Over the years they ran through a bunch of tractors: M, H, WD-9, ID-9, Case 500, 8N, Oliver 88, 880, 70, Super 55, Super 66, 1600, 1655, Moline G-1000, IH 806, 1206, 1256, 4156, 1066, 1466, JD 4840 and others. After college, worked in a Case dealership and IH too as parts man. Then moved to Baltimore to work for USDA for a year or so. Moved to Corpus Christi in 1980, then Pearsall, TX. In 84 moved to eastern NC and lived there almost 18 years. About 2.5 years ago I moved back home to Mt. Ulla and bought my folks place, 7.23 acres. Have a Satoh Buck and a Mitsubishi 1450 with several attachments. Like the antiques but will have to settle for the compacts for now. Have a buddy in MO who has 60 antiques including a couple steam tractors. Try to go every year for their steam show and see lots of antiques. My stepsons did not get to grow up on the farm but I wish they had. I can still remember when we moved up from Texas and dad was still farming. One of them asked: how did Grandy get all this stuff?

 

[txdon]

<font color="blue">"...riding a tractor around and around a field all day is a good way for a kid to figure out who he is and where he fits into this world." -wd45 </font>

That how I was introduced to grandpa's tractors, in the summer, when I was a kid. He had an Allis Chalmers and a JD-Johnny Popper. I couldn't believe how he just cut me loose and let me shred his cattle pastures. I guess he thought I was country savvy like my cousins and I didn't let on that I was a city boy doing a lot of the things for the first time. In the evening I would run through his fields as fast as I could. These were such good times. These good time are repeated each time I take a walk in our woods and over our hills at sunset. All is right with the world.

 

[Tom4310]

Spent about 4 years on a farm in northern Virginia (Front Royal) when I was 11-15 years old. Bailed, raked, hauled and stacked hay in the summer months and helped with the cattle. Loved to drive the tractors and have wanted one since. Moved to crazy So California and lived there until a few years ago. Had the opportunity to retire early and jumped on it. Moved to very rural NE Oregon and spend my time playing on the tractor or working in the shop. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Treed_in_TX]

I'm a recovering city boy. Grew up on a 60 x 100 ft lot in the SF bay area. Moved to Texas in 91 to buy a swimming pool service. Rented for 8 years and saved. Bought a house on 1.23 acres out of town and loved it. The dirt was mostly limestone boulders however and that necessitated a change. We bought 15.3 acres outside of Bastrop TX in September. Half is wooded and I'm shopping for a tractor. My dad and grandfather grew up and or owned farms so I guess it's in my jeans. We just became 1st time parents of twin boer goats this morning!!