I'm not a Ford fan, although I own a 641 (for bush hogging) and a 4000 industrial with a backhoe/loader. My 4000 has the 172 gas, and the 641 has the 134 gas. Good engines - but can't say much good about the tractors. The 641 is too short, too light, too fast in 1st gear, lacks live power, etc. That's pretty bad considering it's a 1960 tractor. I've got a Deere 300 utilty tractor in the same power range that is twice the tractor the Ford 641 is.
My point was about the more usuable older tractors, e.g. Deere 1020 (or 300) 2020, 2520, 3020, 4020, 4320, etc. And of course, the many others of different makes.
The Ford 860 gas engine can make 40 PTO horsepower all day long with a fuel efficiency rating of 11.8 horsepower hours per gallon of gas. That is exceptional for a gas engine.
Now, take a 40s John Deere B two cylinder - that so many rave about in fuel efficiency. At 27.5 horse max power it scores an 11.5 HHG. The Ford beats it.
Now, take a modern Deere turbo-diesel 6215 with a 276 cube engine. At 80 horse it runs at 15.9 HHG. But at 33 horse it drops to 9.7 HHG. At a 17 horse load it drops way down to 6.4 HHG which is pretty dismal.
An AGCO-Allis 8745 with a turbo-diesel 239 cube Cummins? 75 horse at 16.2 HHG. At 46 horse it drops to 12.3 HHG, and at 31 horse it drops to 10 HHG.
With the price of fuel right now, the Ford 860 makes cheaper PTO power at 40 horse on gasoline, then the modern AGCO-Allis or Deere turbo-diesels do on diesel.
My one neighbor was the laugh of the farming community when he bought a brand new ED-40 Allis Chalmers back in the 60s. He bought it mainly just to run his silo blower and did so since it used much less fuel then his Deere 4020 did on that job. He got picked on, at that time, mainly because the Allis ED-40 was "foreign" being a British tractor. "ED" stands for English Diesel.
In regard to the fate of farms here. Amish are moving in all over and buying up farms. But, they only do so when there are many farms contiguous to each other. They won't buy a farm that stands alone with no others near by.
I've got two long-time dairy farmer friends who retired recently. Both have different stories.
Farmer #1 - was raised on a family farm. His dad went broke (spend more time in the bar then the barn), so he took the farm over and did much better. He is a very good business man, musician, and farmer. Also good at using and maintaining old equipment. He raised a family, did his own farm work, played guitar in a country band, did custom farm work for others - and continuously invested in real estate out in California and in Florida. His farm was always debt free, but he often bought houses, rented them, and let them pay themselves off from rent money (more-or-less). His biggest tractor was a Deere 2520. My Ford 4000 backhoe came from his farm. When he gave up farming - he sold off - 30 acres, barn, and farmhouse to city people (non farmers). He then sold his best bottom land to another farmer who is very heavy in debt right now and trying to find a way out of farming. He still owns a couple of hundred acres of highlands - 1/2 fields and 1/2 hardwoods. Woods gets selectively logged every 10 years - and last year yielded him $30,000. The fields are leased - to the aforementioned large farmer and the lease pays the taxes. He comes here from Florida and spends the summer here with his wife, camping on his farmland. Years back, he swore he'd never sell it until he could get $1000 per acre for it. It's some of the most beautiful land in town with amazing mountain and valley veiws. Well, he's been offered $4000 per acre recently, and hasn't sold yet. But, I think he's getting close. He still does small-scale custom farm work in Florida with a 40 horse Kubota tractor. Up here, he has a Deere 300 that I found for him. When his land sells, it will not be farmed, I'm sure.
The other guy - farmer #2. A confirmed bachelor. No kids, no phone, no TV. Never had health insurance either. I did most of his repair work, and he let me cut all the wood I wanted and tap his maple trees to make syrup. He was heavy into the barter-system. One year he got a hernia and almost had to give up farming. He had to go to Canada to get an operation. In Canada, the job was 1/2 price to cash payers. Farmed with a Allis ED-40, Deere 3020, two 4020s, and an AGCO-Allis 140 horse 4WD with a Deutz. He hated that tractor from the day he bought it. Also had gorgeous land, but a crappy old barn ready to fall down. Over the years he had many offers from investors to buy the land - but he always refused. He had a nephew that he always hoped would take over the farm. Didn't happen. His nephew bought a farm further up north instead. So he held out until he found someone that promised to farm the land. He sold the farm for 1/2 it's value with a small down payment and held a mortgage. Long story short, he basically got jerked around. The local guy sold off the farm in pieces. But . . . 1/2 went to yet another farmer at over $4000 per acre (that's high for here) - and - the other 1/2 was bought by a logger who is tryng to become a dairy farmer. So, we'll see what happens.
If I had to guess, I think in less then 10 years, all the farms here will be gone. 30 years ago, we had over 50 dairly farms just in my small town. Now, I think there are three.
I will mention a guy down the road from me operates a farm with all new equipment and keeps buying land. But . . . he also has a good job with the State, and his wife has a good job as a teacher. He recently suspended his dairy operation so he can put in more time at work. He's near retirement age, so if he puts in more work hours, he retirement benefits go up. His plan is . . . to buy a new herd and start milking again in a few years once he retires from his State job. At present, he leases the farm out, raises heifers, and does the crop work for the people leasing his farm. Not exactly what you might call "old fashioned" farming. He seems to do well though - as far as I can tell.
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Today's Featured Article - An Old-Time Tractor Demonstration - by Kim Pratt. Sam was born in rural Kansas in 1926. His dad was a hard-working farmer and the children worked hard everyday to help ends meet. In the rural area he grew up in, the highlight of the week was Saturday when many people took a break from their work to go to town. It was on one such Saturday in the early 1940's when Sam was 16 years old that he ended up in Dennison, Kansas to watch a demonstration of a new tractor being put on by a local dealer. It was an Allis-Chalmers tractor dealership,
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