620 hp tractors and over 1000 hp choppers

Cas · Feb 27, 2015

I knew machinery would get bigger, but I never thought I would live long enough to see 620 hp tractors and the 1000 hp Claas Chopper. Boy, I am glad I am entering my retirement years.
But, I remember the old guys saying the same thing when JD4010, IH806, Oliver 1800,etc came out. I was figuring out what I had to do to buy one. How times change, but in ways they stay the same in different ways.

oldtanker · Feb 28, 2015

(quoted from post at 22:39:40 02/27/15) I knew machinery would get bigger, but I never thought I would live long enough to see 620 hp tractors and the 1000 hp Claas Chopper. Boy, I am glad I am entering my retirement years.
But, I remember the old guys saying the same thing when JD4010, IH806, Oliver 1800,etc came out. I was figuring out what I had to do to buy one. How times change, but in ways they stay the same in different ways.

I remember dairy farmers saying "anyone buying a tractor over 100HP is just showing off".

Rick

Dick2 · Feb 28, 2015

City people in ND thought it would be neat to buy a farmstead and live out in the country. They ignored the fact that the farmyards can get blocked in by drifting snow during blizzards. Then they'd bug the neighbors to blow out their yard - and of course they had no money to pay for such services.

Township officials discussed passing an ordinance that any buyers of farmsteads had to have a 100HP tractor with a snow blower. County attorney advised them that it would be not be enforceable.

Sometimes it only took one winter and the city folks moved out and abandoned the place.

greg oliver · Feb 28, 2015

Cas, I made it to the show yesterday and only made it to three buildings but were thinking the same thing. The amount of fuel to get the crops in must be heart stopping! Just the cost of a baler was insane let alone have a tractor big enough to pull it. The JD large square baler was as big as my house.Lol Greg

Geo-TH,In · Feb 28, 2015

Our biggest tractor on the dairy in early 60's was
a ford 6000. In 67 dad sold the dairy and went in
to the heating and air business. That was shortly
after I went to college.

BillOHIO · Feb 28, 2015

Amazing isn't it Cas. First farmer I worked for still had a team of horses .

Maybe this has been done. If not it would make a neat ad for one of these high horsepower Tractors. Have a team of horses with one bottom plow along side of the huge Tractor with large tillage tool. Have video display running in booth showing horses and tractor in field action Also have charts showing acres of work per day that team and Tractor are capable of.

To round out this display have good looking model greeting the visitors to the booth.

If you hear of this being done let me know so I can visit the booth and talk to the model while the rest of you look at the horses and Tractor !

gtractorfan · Feb 28, 2015

I was lucky enough to be born in '44 & grow up on a small farm. Nearly all my buddies were also being raised the same way. The big interest among us was tractors and it was AMAZING when several 3 plow tractors were plowing in the same field. Seeing new models of tractors coming out nearly every year was EXCITING! It was fun looking at ads in farm magazines. Now around here kids growing up on farms are few and far between and I doubt if they're excited about the new models of Case IH or J.D.'s selling for half a million bucks and may not have buddies to discuss them with. To me they're as generic as today's cars. Like factory jobs in this area a whole way of small to medium farm life has disappeared.

NEKS · Feb 28, 2015

My father-in-law was telling me when he was young the Barns brothers across the road bought a G JD. The neighbors at that time were saying, that tractor was so big could only use it to plow and disk.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 28, 2015

Back when they were new a neighbor bought a 70 John Deere, everyone wondered why they needed such a big tractor.
When tractors reached 100 horse power the folks wood say that is the limit, they don't need anything bigger.

Wemedeeres · Feb 28, 2015

(quoted from post at 03:41:42 02/28/15) City people in ND thought it would be neat to buy a farmstead and live out in the country. They ignored the fact that the farmyards can get blocked in by drifting snow during blizzards. Then they'd bug the neighbors to blow out their yard - and of course they had no money to pay for such services.

Township officials discussed passing an ordinance that any buyers of farmsteads had to have a 100HP tractor with a snow blower. County attorney advised them that it would be not be enforceable.

Sometimes it only took one winter and the city folks moved out and abandoned the place.

I laugh every time I see a cidiot buy a farmstead and then go buy a 25-35 hp utility tractor and think they are gonna "live the life" on a farm and own a tractor. After a summer of mowing 8 acres twice a week and then spending a winter blowing out their yard after every wind they're either back at the dealership trading for a bigger tractor or pounding in a for sale sign at the end of their driveway!

big tee · Feb 28, 2015

When I was a kid the family went out to see our relation in Ellsworth Kan. They were doing wheat and had a IH W-9 and a Oliver S99. I remember my dad talking on how big those tractors were and that they would never have them back in NE Iowa--to big---fields weren't big enough to turn them around. WOW how times have changed !!!!

BillOHIO · Feb 28, 2015

Remember this like it was yesterday.

IH rep held sales meeting at motel in Troy,OH to introduce the coming 1206. I was there with my Boss and Dad who was Service Mgr at the Dealer in Troy, OH. I was 23 and had just spent my first year as salesman . A good year thanks to the 706 and 806 tractors. After the rep praised the new higher horsepower 1206, my Boss, Dad and even I commented, "Nice tractor but too big for our area !" We were selling more 706's than 806's due to most thought the 806 was "too big!"

tim s · Feb 28, 2015

In 1953 my Dad bought a John Deere 60, the neighbors thought he was crazy buying such a big tractor, and when he got the second one they thought he was getting "crazier",,and it went on and on,,now there is near 2500hp in that operation.

oldtanker · Feb 28, 2015

(quoted from post at 03:50:39 02/28/15) Cas, I made it to the show yesterday and only made it to three buildings but were thinking the same thing. The amount of fuel to get the crops in must be heart stopping! Just the cost of a baler was insane let alone have a tractor big enough to pull it. The JD large square baler was as big as my house.Lol Greg

Greg a friend has a 10 year old CaseIH 4X4 rated about 450HP. It burns over 20 gallons an hour but works out to about .8 gallons an acre disking or running his field cultivator. So yea they burn a lot of fuel but they get so much done in acres per hour it's unbelievable. He likes to tell the town folks about that 20 plus gallon an hour to make em think farmers should get more subsidies but he get's that "deer in the headlight" look if you ask him well how many acres he is doing an hour!

Rick

Dick2 · Feb 28, 2015

We were running 3-bottom tractors while the neighbors were using a D6 and a D7 to farm. We moved up to a D4 and HD7; which were eventually retired for 185HP and 285HP tractors.

Alan K · Feb 28, 2015

My dad had mentioned one time that his dad asked him "Why do you need such a big tractor?...it is going to use more fuel" when he bought a ZA MM. Grandpa only had WC ACs. That is all he ever farmed with. Dad said it was a good thing I didn't buy a U MM.

Donald Lehman · Feb 28, 2015

Lol! A friend of mine sold his rural home to some city slicker. Only took a years worth of shallow well water pressure and a copperhead scurrying across her bare feet to send her back to the city. Last I knew, the place was abandoned.

Donald Lehman · Feb 28, 2015

When Pop swapped his Farmall M for an Oliver 88 everyone thought he was crazy buying something that big..........................Pop bought the first 4020 Widrick & Sons sold in 1963 or 64. Everyone thought he was crazy.................................... Within a year or so about everyone was buying every 4020 and 806 they could get there hands on....................................................... The first tractor Pop ordered as an Oliver dealer was a 1650 4WD. Everyone thought he was nuts to get a 4WD...................................

Donald Lehman · Feb 28, 2015

Those were the days! The hot topic among my friends every fall when going back to school was what all of the tractor manufacturers were offering that Fall. Lots of arguments about who had made the best tractor that year.

620 hp tractors and over 1000 hp choppers

Cas

Well-known Member

oldtanker

Well-known Member

Dick2

Well-known Member

greg oliver

Well-known Member

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member

BillOHIO

Member

gtractorfan

Well-known Member

NEKS

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Wemedeeres

Member

big tee

Well-known Member

BillOHIO

Member

tim s

Well-known Member

oldtanker

Well-known Member

Dick2

Well-known Member

Alan K

Well-known Member

Donald Lehman

Well-known Member

Donald Lehman

Well-known Member

Donald Lehman

Well-known Member

Similar threads