Minnesota Farm Equipment

1370rod · Mar 16, 2021

A few weeks ago there was some discussion on Minnesota Equipment. Found this little pamphlet in a second hand store, has no date of printing but certainly interesting.

jon f mn · Mar 16, 2021

Must be 60s vintage. In the 50s they were making more stuff, hay mowers and conditioners and grain drills for sure. And by the 70s they were making gravity boxes. No mention of running gears either.

NY 986 · Mar 16, 2021

I saw a Minnesota 12 ton tandem running gear at a consignment auction just last Saturday. It was the first Minnesota product I had seen live and up close. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I was seeing correctly. I would imagine that they seldom come this far east.

db4600 · Mar 16, 2021

And license plates......

flying belgian · Mar 16, 2021

Look again jon. They list 6 and 8 ton gear. That being said I agree it is pre 70s and probably pre 60s since they still list ground driven spreaders and no gravity boxes. BTO Neighbor bought 4 new MN gravity boxes in 1968 to haul corn out of field as we had an 8 inch rain so he couldn't get his trucks in the field. MN made the worst boxes in the world. They did not have enough slope for the grain to slide out. Especially bad for wet corn. Even beans would not run out completely unless you ran high side up on a couple planks.

SVcummins · Mar 16, 2021

Wonder what they do know since license plates are no longer stamped ?

SVcummins · Mar 16, 2021

So when and why did they quit doing it ?

paul · Mar 16, 2021

Those orange 250 bu gravity wagons of theirs. And there are still so many around. Jeeze. I have 3, one is a fertilizer wagon.

The other two I almost got free with a combine, not sure they were worth it. In heavy corn you can get 300 bu on, and they are low for a smaller combine. But the angle is too shallow, thry advertised they used slip plate paint and worked great. Thry didnt.

I swore Id never buy another minnesota wagon ever again.

So last year I brought another MN wagon home. But this is a red 400bu one, they look built a lot better, good angles. It also has 2 doors, a normal side one and one on the steep bottom that dumps more center down.

Lot of minnesota equipment around here, but hey Im only 90 miles from the factory location.

They sold a lot of baler twine as well.

Paul

paul · Mar 16, 2021

Machinery got bigger and needed more research, no one wanted to put money into a factory for criminals, equipment companies didnt like the competition from free labor and it all just dwindled down.

Paul

SVcummins · Mar 16, 2021

Thats too bad . Heaven forbid a crook should learn something worthwhile in prison

NIK OWEN · Mar 16, 2021

SORRY, I MISSED IT...DID THEY DISCUSS MINNESOTA GIANT STEAM TRACTORS?...BE BLESSED, GRATEFUL, PREPARED...

db4600 · Mar 16, 2021

To add a bit to what Paul said the reformatory vision changed as well. Ive done work at both St. Peter State Hospital which now has more razor wire than before. It sits on the limestone bluffs along the Minnesota river. They did not build any heavy equipment there but there was a time when they were nearly self sufficient. They had animals, gardens, and fields to supply their needs. There is a magnificent barn that housed horses, dairy, and beef on top of the bluffs with caves cut into the limestone below built for climate storage. They once produced and stored their commodities. They are now storage for inventory and equipment.
Ive also worked at St. Cloud Reformatory which has a similar history and buildings which are no longer used for their original intent. St. Clouds perimeter is built of granite quarried by the clients for which it was built to house. Things like that no longer happen.

db4600 · Mar 16, 2021

Watch TV. When I was working at St. Peter it hit the news that the state had bought several thousands of dollars in TVs to go to the prisons. To save face the governor intercepted those to be distributed to the veterans homes. Ironically FedEx damaged a bunch in handling. The guards at St. Peter said it was tough because TV provides something to pacify the clients and they are less unruly. Im currently working at a county jail and we have to relocate the main feeder for their cable TV. This has turned into more of a scheduling conflict than it should be because they dont want to be without

moresmoke · Mar 16, 2021

Still in business as Minncorr. Different products now. I believe the last of the equipment fabricating was building truck equipment for the state highway department.

db4600 · Mar 16, 2021

I dont believe they did. I think there is one of those setting in the basement at Mill City Museum in Minneapolis. Was that company possibly tied to the Gopher separator?

fastfarmall · Mar 16, 2021

Demand dried up,on easy engineered machinery, but i had a tandem running gear, it pulled straight, and right,axles were good,strong enough, etc !!

paul · Mar 16, 2021

After the St Peter tornado, the FSA office needed a new home and was housed in a building on the St Peter campus. Lot of jokes about, and a bit intimidating driving past all the razor wire to get to the farm offices.

Paul

Bill(Wis) · Mar 16, 2021

We had numerous pieces of horse drawn Minnesota equipment at one time. A hay rake, hay loader, sickle bar mower, etc. It wasn't the best but it did the job. The joke was, "It was designed by farmers, what did you expect?" We sold most of it to farmers who were still farming with horses. That was around 1947.

Irvin Plitzuweit · Mar 16, 2021

My father purchased in about 1947 a pto driven Minnesota 8 foot gain binder. I remember many hours riding on it and had to trip the bundle carrier so when shocked, they would be in a straight line. Dad took pride on how the field looked when shocked/

Moline_guy · Mar 16, 2021

Dad bought this Minnesota wagon new in 1991. It has eight bolt wheels and 10.00-20 truck tires, been a good wagon, we still use for seed tending and hauling creep feed to the pasture.

coonie minnie · Mar 17, 2021

I like the lid!

tractorkrum · Mar 17, 2021

Interesting, because a guy I worked for back in the 80's bought a new Minnesota gravity box and I thought the same as it did not have much slope. It was lined with graphite paint and you could only slightly open the door as the corn would just fly out. We were using it for cob corn, so I am not sure if it would have been different for shelled corn.

Minnesota Farm Equipment

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

New User

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Similar threads