Most Farmland, Most Hours, Most Wore Out!!!!!!

Bill VA · Mar 9, 2016

So you're a Yesterday's Tractor person, always on the look out for a vintage piece of iron from - say 1946 to 1956.

You look out on the Midwest and think, wow - lot of farmland, lot of tractors, lot of hard working hours on those old tractors!

During that time period, which state had the most land in farmland that needed a tractor to cover every inch of it?

I have to imagine that these tractors worked between 1946-1956 or thereabouts, saw some high hard working hours AND even more - some still working hard to this day.

Do you have an imiganary flag that says to yourself, better pass on that old AC or JD or IH because simply it's a 1954 year model and comes from Iowa - as an example. Better look east where the fields are smaller - LOL!

Just curious.

Bill

Larry EC-OH · Mar 9, 2016

I think a fellow can overthink many things, this might be one of them.

There are exceptions to every rule, but an interesting thought none-the-less.

Larry

db4600 · Mar 9, 2016

I think that we are creatures of our environment and probably tend to look in the areas we are familiar with. There are still some good ones be found where ever your at. I've seen spit shined dogs and I've seen some tough looking treasures. It's kinda like a bag of peanuts. there's gonna be a bitter one in there some where.

loko17 · Mar 9, 2016

It seems that everytime I find a tractor that I am interested in, it is halfway across the country. Until the last year or two, I never let that bother me but when the price of diesel went to between three and four dollars per gallon, that changed my mind on a few. As far as worrying about how worn a tractor is, I have found that most if not all of the people I have dealt with have been very honest with the condition of what they have for sale. In the case of one that does not live up to expectations, someone once told me, "If it can cast a shadow, it can be restored.

Janicholson · Mar 9, 2016

The who that operated the tractor, and the integrity of those who maintained it are much more important than where a tractor was used. A tractor that has a draw bar with a pin hole twice as long as it is wide does draw some consideration, but at least they didn't replace it or weld it up. The disaster is rust internal to gears and bearings, and internal cracks in castings. Even then a desirable tractor, at a reasonable price is a good deal. I like to compare the cost of ownership of a brand new 50hp brand name tractor doing the same work as a 450 Farmall that cost 5000 to make nice. Jim

oldtanker · Mar 9, 2016

Yea some of those tractors saw a lot of hours. Unlike today when one man can till and plant 1000 acres by himself. Back then the farmer would do morning chores then climb on a tractor and plow or disk or plant till evening chores the often would go back out in the field until 10 or later at night for weeks at a time to get everything in on time. Unlike todays tractors that will handle a 10-18 on land plow these guys were plowing with 1-14's, 2-12's and 3-14's. Guys were covering maybe 6-20 acres a day. Now they cover that and sometimes more in an hour. Never mind newer equipment like chisel plows and cultipackers that lets then cover ground like never before. What took my dad a week or 10 days can now be done in a day. So yea, lot of them old tractors could easily get 300 or more hours a year.

So no, I don't worry about how many hours are on it. I figure on an old Farmall H or M it's got a least 2-3 rebuilds on it.

Rick

jm. · Mar 9, 2016

Now I think it is a National dealer reporting network but somewhere back in my days I remember seeing that 1n 1952 One county here held the record for sales reported sales of AC tractors then the very next year the adjoining county held the record for farmall or ih tractors. These figures were for sales or total units . Easy to see why when you look at this area . back in those days there were nothing to do but small farms. To this date there are still many old ih tractors sitting in the fence rows. Mississippi was one state I tried to avoid when purchasing used larger tractors. Hired help and long hours took their toll.

Moonlite37 · Mar 9, 2016

In 1973 I bought an M Farmall that obviously had Many hours. I just showed much use but no abuse. It appeared that all repair parts were OEM and no welds of improper hardware. It had power steering and live pump. It had obviously been a planting tractor after bigger tractors were bought for heavy tillage. The tires had almost no tread. It is still a good tractor and has had no major repairs except tires and radiator in 53 years. I think I got my $500 value.

I am not afraid of high hours if well cared for.

JD Seller · Mar 9, 2016

I do not have a state/type of land I shy away from but I do have Farming types I generally do not buy equipment from. An example of this is I would rarely buy a tractor off a dairy farm. They usually are used many more hours and year round. So a ten year old tractor on dairy farm can easily have more use than a grain farm tractor would in 20 years. I have also found many GREAT livestock guys are not good equipment guys. I think it is for two reason. One just pure time. Most dairy farmers just do not have the time to baby equipment. They spend their time with their animals. Two,It also is a personality difference too. IDrt and manure on equipment does not seem to bother Diary guys like it does a grain guy.

So in general you rarely find SHARP equipment from a dairy farm.

Pair-a-dice farm · Mar 9, 2016

(quoted from post at 20:45:10 03/09/16) So you're a Yesterday's Tractor person, always on the look out for a vintage piece of iron from - say 1946 to 1956.

You look out on the Midwest and think, wow - lot of farmland, lot of tractors, lot of hard working hours on those old tractors!

During that time period, which state had the most land in farmland that needed a tractor to cover every inch of it?

I have to imagine that these tractors worked between 1946-1956 or thereabouts, saw some high hard working hours AND even more - some still working hard to this day.

Do you have an imiganary flag that says to yourself, better pass on that old AC or JD or IH because simply it's a 1954 year model and comes from Iowa - as an example. Better look east where the fields are smaller - LOL!

Just curious.

Bill

Any piece of equipment that comes from a rice farm is a red flag for me. Combines and augers especially are worn out pretty quick. The last few years most of the rice land has been precision leveled and the tractors and tillage equipment are in better condition than years before the mid 80's

jon f mn · Mar 9, 2016

I think those tractors from the Midwest are about the best choices and I'm not afraid of them. The ones from the south are much worse as the sun is much harder on them. Plus the growing season is longer so they get a lot more hours of use per year. Around me we get about 4 weeks to plant everything and not much more than that for harvest, so days are long, but there are not many of them. In the southern states with double cropping and more forgiving planting and harvest times they can put a lot more hours on them. Plus they can keep them for more years because a few days down for repairs is not as big a deal, where by us a couple days of down time can mean serious crop losses. So around us machinery has to be more reliable, therefore used is many times better quality.

Alan K · Mar 9, 2016

I remember my dad said he plowed with grandpa's WC Allis-Chalmers and a two bottom plow for 2 weeks in the late summer / early fall from 7am to 9pm every day. Used a handful of straw for a seat cushion. When he started farming he bought a 1950 ZAU MM. That was his only tractor for nearly 10 years. I think he overhauled it at 11 years old. I still have it.

morgan in ar · Mar 9, 2016

The WORST tractors are from Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The nicest seem to be from Indiana and Ohio. JMHO.

OliverKid26 · Mar 9, 2016

I completely agree with you. Only exception is that some tractors on the dairy farm see much more abuse than others. Tractors grinding feed and hauling manure that frequently get ether winter starts get the most neglect and abuse but most dairy guys have a few tractors that are more or less backups or used for grain only. Just one of those things to be careful about. I agree though much better to buy tractors from grain farms in general.

oleclint · Mar 9, 2016

I am in 100% agreement with J D Seller about used tractors and machinery and where they were used. I started seeing this about 50 yrs. ago when used equp t started coming up from the south in to the upper Midwest. Things were broken or worn out that we seldom ever saw up north
. I have traveled in the south and it was eye opening. Hope I have not stepped on to many toes with my comments. clint

farmerwithmutt · Mar 9, 2016

Avoid dairy farm equipment the acid in the manure is hard on them . If the farmer has the time and energy to keep them clean there ok but cattle usually come first. I've heard loader tractor also take a lot of abuse especially as a lot of guys just idle them plus not getting timely oil change. My dad was bad that way went to change the antifreeze and had to work a rod into the drain hole.
My uncles and dad ran a lot of ground plus custom work they get up and keep going all day with at least 3 tractors running but they had a lot of pasture as most did back then . The pasture that most people back then harvested with cattle are now plowed and harvested mechanically . My aunt had a nice set up dating back to the 30,s 2 big pasture that were grazed for 1st crop . 4 smaller lots that were baled 1st crop and grazed the 2nd and the whole farm grazed on the 3rd. She had her land put up on shares and only had a small ford.
It would be interesting in finding out how many acres were harvested then and now and compare tractors too

Greg1959 · Mar 9, 2016

farmerwithmutt- That's the way a 80+ y/o lady still does it. She is down the road about 4 miles from me. She has around 800 acres and rotates her herd about every 2 monts from pasture to pasture. The one she is not grazing on, she cuts hay.

Really nice system she has set up.

BTW, at 80+ y/o and she is still out there every day with her muck boots on and working the cattle. Awesome to see.

fixerupper · Mar 9, 2016

Which state had the most farm land that required a tractor? Kansas or Texas. True there is pasture land in Kansas, it's not border to border wheat land, but I would say Kansas had the highest percentage of large fields that required a tractor for every acre during that time period. Texas is just plain big. I haven't traveled Texas to know how much of the state is farm land but because of the size of the state with an arid climate I would think the fields are big and require plenty of tractor power. Kansas and Texas are dusty. Dust is a tractor's enemy so I would expect more engine and bearing wear in tractors from that area.

Hoenes · Mar 9, 2016

Alan, I can identify with long hours on an AC. Spent most of my summers as a young lad on a 2 row cultivator on a WD45. The biggest thrill of the season was to get rid of the finders, (when the corn and beans got taller) so I could run a lot faster. This was before the days of round-up or ANY weed control.

Nick m · Mar 10, 2016

I worked on a couple different dairy farms in school. One had a 4640 that they put an engine and new tires on. I asked them if they were going to replace the rotted out fenders and get some paint on it. They said "why, it'll be like that in a couple of years again anyway?". Second one i worked on was much better. The pressure washer got plenty of use there.

Mike M · Mar 10, 2016

I agree with many on here from what I have also seen. A fellow once told me the only ones he seen harder on equipment than Dairy farmers were the Amish.
Being in Ohio the climate takes it's toll too. I have seen some nice original paint tractors from the west and northwest.

GeneMO · Mar 10, 2016

Just look to see if the stamped tread on the brake and clutch pedals are wore slick.

Gene

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