How the times have changed the size of tractors we use!!

JD Seller

Well-known Member
In the earlier discussion about IH "H" tractors many talked about how they farmed with one. That would have been most common in the early to mid 1950s. Around here the size race was going on in the mid 1960s already. The JD 4020 and the IH 806 where spreading fast.

So jump ahead to now. In my mind a JD 4450 is still a pretty good tractor. I was at a sale last fall. I bought a JD 4450. I also bought a 4 year old JD 1770 16x30 corn planter. So Rather than making another trip I thought I would just drive the tractor pulling the planter home. Well WRONG!!! LOL The JD 4450 would not even pickup the hitch on the JD 1770 planter. Front end with a full rack of weight was too light/small.

We had a farm " business" meeting this afternoon. My sons have picked up more ground for this year. So we have been trading around some jobs for the different tractors. We even have traded two off on two better ones. Not new just equipped better for what they need. Tires and transmissions.

Now the thing that kind of shocked me. The only tractor under 200 HP that will be used this year in their crops is one of my JD 4455s on the sprayer. There will be a JD 8410 and JD 4960 doing the heavy tillage work. They will have two JD 8210s on the planters this year. They are chipped too. The 16 row planters pull HARD on slopes in worked ground.

You need to look at the work they will be getting out of those four tractors. They will cover just under 7500 acres when you include their custom planting/farming work.

So for a tractor 7-10 times the size of the IH "H" they are doing 35-40 times the work. This is figuring a 100 acres for the IH "H" and 3750 acres for each modern tractor. (Assuming that each modern tractor tills and plants half the total acres)

To me they are getting pretty "new" equipment. My boys got a laugh out of me saying that since the "newest" tractor is 13 years old. They reminded me that when they where smaller and I was farming more seriously I was using equipment that was not any older than that.

Times are changing!!! I don't even try to keep up any more. I will use my JD 4440 on my JD 7000 8 row 36 inch planter. I will not even try to run their GPS auto this and that systems. LOL
 
You might want to rethink the power chips, we chipped our 8330. When the JD mechanic was out doing some work on the hydraulics I mentioned we had put one in and we were pleased with the power. He told me to take it out before we blew it up, the last 3 tractors and 2 combines he'd seen come into the shop had chips and were getting new engines.
 
Putting a chip on a diesel won't hurt it, look at all the pickups,
semis And tractors that have them, we have a case ih Steiger
435 we have chipped since it was new in 2011 and we've put
on 1500 hours no problems and yes it makes a big difference,
on our 64ft field cultivator, no chip = 6th gear, 15% bumps up
to 7th gear and 35% takes it up to 8th pretty easy, running
close to 7mph. I don't see what they hurt, and we even asked
the case ih dealer if it will void the warranty and they said no.
 
These two JD 8210s have he 8.1 without any of the pollution crap on them. They will hold up fine at just 220 HP. That is not chipped too much on them. The JD 8410 has basically the same motor that is factory 230 HP.

Your JD 8330 has a much more complicated motor that will not take the extra fuel/horsepower as well.
 
When I was growing up on the farm in the 50s and 60s, we farmed about 300 acres of crops plus hogs, cattle, chickens. My dad had a John Deere A, G, 730 Diesel and a Farmall B for running elevators and small jobs.
 
When I was old enough to drive tractors in the 50's, our big tillage tractors were GB Moline wheat land tractors,(about 50HP ?). By the mid 60's we were over 100 hp, by the mid 80's we were over 300HP articulated 4WD tractors. We retired a couple years ago and the fellow farming our land is at 600 HP for quad track tillage tractors and combines. Things change :)
 
We went the other way for awhile. At the start of the 70s, we were farming with a JD 5020 and 4020. By 1979 we were farming with a Versatile 950 and JD 4640. Here's the kicker. Our farm never increased in size during the 70s. Wasn't until 1983 we bought more land. So our tractors actually got fewer hrs per year and fewer acres per tractor then the older ones.
 
We plant with 7250s and a Steiger Cougar 1000. The steiger was available when the 4840 needed a transmission.
12 row planters. We moved me back down to 12 rows from 16 and I can plant as many acres a day as with the big planter simply for being a little less clumsy. Stepping up to 24 would require leveling terraces. The steiger also runs the grain cart.
A lot of stuff doesn't need that big of a horse to pull it but does need the weight to control it.
 
It seems to me that from a business perspective it is a balance of $/HP, HP/acre, and $machinery/Net return.
The balance of getting more acres for higher gross=higher net is in battle with the cost of machinery and the return per unit of production/hour of that machinery.
Finding the right size HP for the acres/time you have seems to be what we all are shooting for (while still leaving either enough extra $ of HP so that you can take expansion opportunities as they come up).

Any way you look at it the most limiting factor is time. Larger equipment solves this if it can be done cost effectively.
 
That's just it - sometimes you need the size for safety sake. The 8430 is overkill on the 650 bushel cart, but I don't want to be around when that cart decides to shovel a tractor around. It was the first time any of us could remember the pto on that tractor being used. We used to use a Farmall H on the grain cart. That cart now would only hold half of a combine full with the 9500's grain tank size.

It takes lots of tractors to farm these days with the tillage and crop management equipment involved. You aren't just disking and planting and harvesting anymore. I got rid of one of the 4440's when I bought the 7800 a year ago. It was a huge mistake. The worst is haying. Now I'm thinking of something a little smaller than the 4440 to help with raking, square baling, etc. The worst part about the new machines is that the are all dualed up. The only thing that can run a square baler right now is the 4020. Raking with a dualed 4440 ahead of the baler is no fun.
 
Don't all this big machinery and tractors cause compaction? The colleges were talking about this back in the 60's. Now look at the size of equipment today.
 
we have an 8410t with a chip it works good the extra power is needed to pull big spud equipment tractor has been fine the local big big farmer runs 8430 chipped up to 8630 hp but they trade tractors about every ten years
 
loosehandle:
Two of the tractors will till the entire 7500 acres. The other two will PLANT the entire 7500 acres.

In the early 1950s a guy with just one tractor would have easily planted a 100 acres of corn. He would have started plowing as soon as harvest was over. Hoping to get it all done in the fall. Then disking or harrow the ground and then planting all maybe using the one tractor.

The two tillage tractors used today will not be planting any thing. The two planter tractors will not be doing any spring tillage.

These where just some rough numbers to make you think about how productivity has in creased in todays farming world.
 
NEKS:

That IH "H" would have weight around 3800-4000 lbs. They were rated at 25 HP. So take 3800/25=152.

So that IH "H" would be 152 lbs per hp. The tractors we are using to day usually do not weight that much per HP and then you have taller and wider dual rear tires. Then you add in lower operating tire pressures you can actually get the newer larger tractors to cause less compaction than the older smaller tractors.
 
When I first started helping my Dad we had a hired hand and always had two tractors the same.The first ones I actually ran not just drove were SMTAs and we pulled 3 bottom plows planted 4/38 rows.When I actually started farming with my dad my first tractor was a 1206[reason I like 1206s] which pulled a 6 bottom plow and we planted with 2 separate 4/38 planters with part time help.Then We switched to JD went to 30in rows started with 6 and today plant 24.Our first 4WD was an 8630 that pulled an 8 bottom plow and was nice but was beginning of update after update from front to rear.Not on the 4WD but we put close to 900 hours per year on our row crop tractors.Fast forward to 2010+ we use 500+ track tractor about 350 hours ,the combine gets around 300 separater hours my 8330 planting and grain cart tractor also gets around 350 hours and my loader tractor we use most everyday for livestock gets about 750 I wonder how we were able to get everything done.No wonder some of the farmers spend so much time at elevator or coffee shop.
 
Way back many moons ago at my uncles place spring tillage was done with 3 crawlers , and O C 3 and O C 6 and a D 4 cat one set of 2x16's one set of 3x16's and one set of 5x16's . we started early and between my uncles and the neighbor we covered over 1200 acres . Sometimes they ran 24 hours a day and help was not hard to find . Spent may Saturdays playing follow the leader in the seat of the O C 3 and running second gear you were not setting any land speed records . Never had to worry about that wet spot just keep her running for all she had .When it came time to do the discing it was all three again . when it was time to plant then the D4 was not used but the Ferggy 30 came out and hooked onto one of the two row potato planters . There i would ride one of the planters and make sure that the seed taters were feeding correctly and that the fertilizer was working . Then in the fall of 58 two new BIG tractors showed up a Farmall 460 Diesel wide ft. and a 560 Diesel wide ft. and two new sets of plows and two new disc. Then in the spring came the first two new FOUR row planters . That summer was spent between culivating setting irrigation pipe and spraying and with tater wagon building as the new harvester was coming for harvest and the old bushel baskets were going to be a thing of the past and the army of field hands were not going to be needed anymore . Between my uncle and Paul they bought 6 old two ton trucks and installed brownnie transmission’s and installed the beds on them and also made three wagons with the same beds only to find out that we did not have the tractors to handle them with full loads . I set here thinking about the days of driving them old Cheve and Dodge two tons in the fields as they were plum JUNK plum wore out burnt oil had blow by really poor brakes pump three times and pray . And OH that new tater harvester it was more then the 560 could handle on it's own unless it was on one of the flatter fields and the ground was popcorn fart dry . For the most part the O C 6 was hooked to the ft. by a chain. Not untill the fall of 63 did we have a tractor that could handle it even thought Paul bought one of the first 4010's , Not until the 806 arrived . Paul traded the 4010 for a 4020 and the 806 would still out do the 4020 . I will tell ya what i miss about the OLD days of farming , it was the lunch breaks and dinner breaks that we had out in the fields under as we called them the dinner tree , my aunt and Paul's wife would bring out a spread and we would all set down and have a good meal and relax for and hour or so . Now today everything is a rat race hurry hurry go fast no i don't have time to stop and eat , no time to socialize no working with the neighbors . Seems like today not many would drop what there doing to give a hand . Years back if you were out working ground and ya looked across the way and ya saw some one stuck you would grab a chain and go give them a hand , now to day and you got stuck and someone saw you they would just laugh and keep on with what they were doing and let you fend for yourself.
 
That is not true, chipping within reason is probably OK, but any increase in HP stresses the drive line components.
 
My 1987 6610 was 15 years old when I bought it. My dad bought his 1951 MH44 when it was about the same age.

We farm about 200 acres with the 4020, 6610 and Farmall H, but we borrow the 8400 series from neighbor for tillage. It would really be nice having a 140HP tractor for running 12 row planter, it really works the 4020.
 
(quoted from post at 22:56:04 01/25/15) loosehandle:
Two of the tractors will till the entire 7500 acres. The other two will PLANT the entire 7500 acres.

Yes, but the one H has to till AND plant the entire 100 acres.

If the farmer had 2 H's and 2 operators, one to till and one to plant, you'd have a valid comparison.

You also don't consider time in the field. A farmer with an H might only run for 8 hours a day. He had chores at home, limited fuel, and the H was far more tiring to operate than those modern JDs. Your boys can put in 12-16 hour days in those air conditioned cabs with the powershift and fingertip steering.

I also submit for your consideration that your boys spend many more days in the field working those 7500 acres than the farmer with the H would working 100. If the farmer with the H worked as many days and as many hours as your boys do, he'd cover more acres too.

The increase in productivity is still impressive, but it's probably more like a factor of 8 rather than the 35-40 you're claiming.
 
The farmer I worked for as a kid had a 45 cow dairy. His "big" tractor was an Oliver 1550. I spent most of my time on the 77, but I was loving life on the rare occasions I got to use the 1550 pulling a 3 bottom semi-mount.
Pete
 
The 435 is the same tractor as the 535, exept no twin turbo, it can handle extra power, same motor, same frame, there identical besides the extra turbo.
 
I don't know, lot of guys up here got up, did chores and went to the field. Then they came out of the field to do chores in the evening and then went back to the field till 10 or 11 if they had lights and if not till sun set. Yesteryears farmers also worked on equipment, cut wood for heating and mended fences when it was too wet or there was nothing else to do. They didn't finish up harvest and take the winter off. When we first moved up here a lot of those old timers were around and still farming. They started farming with horses and mules and later went to tractors. Those old guys knew how to work. In the summer of 72 I helped an 81 year old farmer put hay in the barn, no elevator. We carried each bale up a ladder. He said he was too old to be spending money on something like an elevator that he might only get to use one or 2 haying seasons. When dad bought this place he was on a budget and the first 2 years he plowed and planted he did the plowing with a 2-12 plow. Lot of time in the field between chores and after. Those old guys did what they had to do to get the job done.

Rick
 
My dad farmed 210 tillable acres with an F-20, rode lot of hours on the axle. Then he got a new Massey 44 in 1947, I learned to drive on that one, couldn't believe it even had electric start and lights!
 
oliverguy: I tried a JD 8400T 12-13 years ago and hated it on our contours. It just did not handle very well. I like the stability of a MFWD tractor with duals.
 
Sure makes you wonder how we got it all done when you had to work the ground to powder before planting and at least 2 times across for cultivating.

Where we live in the mid to late 70s stalk ground was fall plowed, in the spring twice across with disk and once with culimulcher then planted. If it rained between final tillage and the planter rolling across then another pass across usually field cultivator was needed before planting.

Not sure how we got it done 950 in row crop and 160 head of sows with farrow to finish operations with 4020 2-4010s case 800 and a ford golden jubilee.

Sure brings back a lot of memories of long days longer nights and hard work, but it made us the men we are today, wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
 

One thing we need to remember about chipping is the newer tractors aren't overbuilt as much as the old 806-4020 era tractors. New tractors are refined down to where they just can't stand as much overpowering as their predecessors. On top of that, they are pushing more HP per cubic inch than the old tractors BEFORE the chip is added. There used to be an old rule of thumb where a hard working engine shouldn't put out more than 1/2 HP per cubic inch of displacement. From what I understand the heat transfer from the piston to the cylinder wall heat transfer had reached it's limits. Some new tractors are a little above that ratio now at factory HP. How much more can that engine take before piston aluminum starts going through the turbocharger. How much more can it take before this annoying knock suddenly appears? If someone else wants to test that limit on their tractor it's up to him. Mine are staying stock HP. $10,000-$20,000 for a new engine is hard to swallow. Jim
 
mkirsch: All my boys have livestock too. So they know all about chores. I don't know about the length of time being longer. IF they have fairly good weather they will be done in about 8-10 days with all the planting. I would bet that the fellow using even two IH "H" tractors would take that long to work and plant 100-150 acres of corn in the 1950s.

It just amazes me how fast crops can be plantered and harvested these days.
 
(quoted from post at 16:33:32 01/26/15) I don't know, lot of guys up here got up, did chores and went to the field. Then they came out of the field to do chores in the evening and then went back to the field till 10 or 11 if they had lights and if not till sun set. Yesteryears farmers also worked on equipment, cut wood for heating and mended fences when it was too wet or there was nothing else to do. They didn't finish up harvest and take the winter off. When we first moved up here a lot of those old timers were around and still farming. They started farming with horses and mules and later went to tractors. Those old guys knew how to work. In the summer of 72 I helped an 81 year old farmer put hay in the barn, no elevator. We carried each bale up a ladder. He said he was too old to be spending money on something like an elevator that he might only get to use one or 2 haying seasons. When dad bought this place he was on a budget and the first 2 years he plowed and planted he did the plowing with a 2-12 plow. Lot of time in the field between chores and after. Those old guys did what they had to do to get the job done.

Rick

I wonder how much they would have gotten done if they had i phones, internet, ebay, craigslist, Facebook & tweets, 80" big screens, and tractor forums back then.....
 
(quoted from post at 23:43:14 01/26/15)
(quoted from post at 16:33:32 01/26/15) I don't know, lot of guys up here got up, did chores and went to the field. Then they came out of the field to do chores in the evening and then went back to the field till 10 or 11 if they had lights and if not till sun set. Yesteryears farmers also worked on equipment, cut wood for heating and mended fences when it was too wet or there was nothing else to do. They didn't finish up harvest and take the winter off. When we first moved up here a lot of those old timers were around and still farming. They started farming with horses and mules and later went to tractors. Those old guys knew how to work. In the summer of 72 I helped an 81 year old farmer put hay in the barn, no elevator. We carried each bale up a ladder. He said he was too old to be spending money on something like an elevator that he might only get to use one or 2 haying seasons. When dad bought this place he was on a budget and the first 2 years he plowed and planted he did the plowing with a 2-12 plow. Lot of time in the field between chores and after. Those old guys did what they had to do to get the job done.

Rick

I wonder how much they would have gotten done if they had i phones, internet, ebay, craigslist, Facebook & tweets, 80" big screens, and tractor forums back then.....

A lot less :shock: :lol:

Rick
 

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