living through tractor brand diversification was fun

Time line and tractors that were owned ,showed interesting diversification not many farms have seen.
After coming home from WWII my dad and neighbor took up farming together. Here are the tractors they
had over the years. So I know I little about a lot of different tractors.
2-unstyled B's, styled A, 3-Farmall H's,2-Farmall M's,2-Massey Harris 44's,2-Massey Ferguson 85's,Oliver 1850,Case 970,Case,
1170,JD 4230,Then in 1975 I officially joined partnership and added an Oliver 1950 and a JD 4430.
I am still actively farming but have son now taking on a lot of the responsibility.
I think it was so much fun to have been exposed to so many different tractors.

I forgot there was a Farmall F-20 also. I still have the F-20 and one of the unstyled B's.
And they are restored. I love em !!!!!

I suppose they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Usually dealership proximity and dealer character are factors too. Early on my family was all JD. There were several dealers to choose from. One was family. Then a neighbor became an AC salesperson. Not for the closest dealer either! Grand father bought a new WD in 1950, and lots more AC followed. My cousin still has the WD.

My Dad started farming after the war with horses , and in 48 bought a brand new Case V. Turned it in, in 50 on a new Case VA. In 56 He added a Cockshutt 35 , which I still have .Later a David Brown 950 came home from a auction , and then in 1984 the old boy surprised us all and bought a new IH 584. When the little VA gave up , dad picked up a 53 model VAC 14, wich I still have .
For me , I have had a Case 430 and 530 ,a IH 584 , 585, CIH, 885 CIH and a 5140 CIH, as well as a 5640 Ford. Also had a IH M and a Super A IH , all of these tractors are gone now.
Now I have a IH W4 , a Case VA , dad's VAC 14, and Dad's 35 Cockshutt , all just for kicks . I farm with a Case 1030 , 930 , 730 , as well as a IH 966 , and I have tow Kubota tractors with loaders , a 100 and 135 .
Guess I have run a few dieffrent tractors too . When I was a kid and worked out , the farm I worked on was MF tractors 135 , 165 and a 1100 .

My grandfather started farming in 1917, got farms 1st tractor in early 40's. His tractors included Ford 9N, McCormick 1020(used for belt power) JD A, Fergenson TO 20(I still own), TO 30, Cockchutt 550. In 1959 my father became owner of farm, his tractors included MF 65,165, 175, 1080(MF dealer 3 miles from farm). Same 100, 85, both MFWD. I joined ownership of farm in 1983 and have sense purchased IH 966, MF 698, Farmall H, CaseIH 5240, JD 7230, 6230. I spent time on most all of them except the 1020 & 9N so I must be color blind. Some were better than others but at the end of day they all got the work done.

My Dad had a bunch of tractors in his farming career. Got out of the Army in 45 and started farming in 47. Started with a WC Allis, then DC and SC Case. Bought a 40 Cockshutt diesel to get into the diesel generation. Then a 70 JD diesel, 400 Case diesel, added a 700 Case diesel and 800 Case, 930 Case, new 970 Case, 1070 Case, 2290 new Case, and his last one was a 7110 Case Magnum. I started in 68 with a Western Special 930 Case, then 1030 Case, 1170 Case, 2470 Case and now a 4690 Case. Have them all yet after 48 years.

yes ,, I have often thought of that and fwwl sorry for kids stuk with the egg style junk cars being built today ,,my dad started with a team before the war , and had a team named nell and bill until about 1958 ,, I bbarely remember them ,, dad mustered out of the army ,in nov 45 ,.his 1st tractor was a 1948 sc case he bought with a f-2 case combine ,, by 1951 he had it all paid for from custom combining along the ohio river.. before long he got a VAC, then in 1959 a FERguson Deluxe35 ,VAc s would come and go But we really turned a page on our farm when Dad got the 430 Diesel .he sold all the , neighbors on that tractor ,, I know of at least 4 bought because of Dads 430,,by then thesons of pop had come of age to farm ,, AND WE DID And STILL FARM,.. DCs , 800 , 830, 970, 1070 , 1175 , 2290 ,2470,with a bunch of 430 -730s mixed in . and that's just CASE ,.. between my family members we have a wide array of every rainbow of color , ihc ,ford , allis ,and massey and co-op but sadly no ollies and molenes and my great uncle luved them..the new ones are nice but complicated and expenxive ,,yes , I have lived thru the massive changes and love the times of putting a VAC thru the Paces and Knowing it was gonna make it thru one way or nother ,. I keepa strate pipe on the DC because I love hearingit lean into a hard pull ,.

I've mostly had IH. But dad farmed with an 8N ford.But he always raved(and wanted) an M Farmall. I started with a JD 730 diesel.Had a 4020 for a short while.Bougth a brand new JD 4040 in '80. lost it (complete farmsale) in '84 Started over with the SuperM I still own.I now have a 'multiracial' family.10 or so running IH,with a JD A;VAC Case;Oliver 60;8Nford.One of those is 'biracial'. JD A with Farmall M wide front.But like most,I like any tractor,and would own about anything.My 'bucket list' includes(but not limited to) 1030Case;1950T Oliver;JD4320;Ford 8/9000;another 730......

Out of curiosity;what was your favorite and least favorite? Any give loads of trouble?

My dad started a dairy after the war. He had an allergy- to tractors! He hated 'em. He bought an 8N in 1950, and that was the only tractor he ever had. He sold the cows in '62 and the farm in '73. I worked for the neighbor from '62 to '66, and he had a JD 40 and an AC D14. One day when I got to work he told me to "go down to the shop and bring up the green one." Didn't think much about it, but when opened the shop door, there was a brand new Oliver 550 diesel, with Freeman loader. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Loved that rig.

I didn't inherit Dad's allergy. I never farmed in a big way, just a little hay and pasture, but I loved tractors. Started "jockeying", and I've owned about 50 over the years, of every color. Still have a Cockshutt 35, Moline 4 Star Super, Oliver 550D, JD 710D, MF 135 Oliver OC4 and a Kubota. Always liked the Olivers the best- probably nostalgia!

My Family started out on tractors late. MY Great Grand Father loved horses and did not want to spend the money on the up keep of a tractor. He would feed a horse year round but that did not "cost" anything. LOL My Grand Father bought the first tractor in 1940. It was a JD "A". That tractor is still here. Then came others: Ferguson 30, Ford 861,JD 4010, JD 4020, IH 806, IH 1466. The JD 4010, JD 4020, and the IH 1466 are still here too.

For me I started out with a JD "G" and a Ford 6000 Commander. IF Ford had better dealer support I might have been a Ford man. The JD "G" was a man killer to use. The Ford 6000 actually handled well. I liked many things about the tractor. I know they had issue but if handle right they where livable. The trouble I had was that mine was a very late one 1967 and with it being less than 10 years old many of the parts where already not available from Ford. That JD "G" was 35 years old and I could get 90% of everything for it still OEM. So that hurt Ford in my eyes. I bought an IH 1086 new in 1980. We hated the ride on that tractor so much I only kept it six months and sold it. I bought a year old JD 4440 and that tractor is still here.

I have mainly JD tractor now BUT I have bought four new tractors in my life and not one has been a JD. The first was the IH 1086. I bought that based on the good service we have had out of the IH 1466 we own. The cab and ergonomics of the 86 series IH are terrible compared to the JD cab. So the IH 1086 hit the road. The next "new" tractor was a Duetz-Fahr DX 3.50 Nice tractor but was just a little small for what I needed. So after two years it was replaced with an Duetz-Aliis 6275. I also bought a Allis Chalmers 8010 in 1985 that was an 1982 model that was never sold. Good cab poor engine. Low torque and under powered for the chassis it was in. The 2300 series or 301 engine was just not a good match for that tractor's size. AC pushed that motor too far. The AC 8010 only stayed around three years and someone wanted it more than me. LOL The Duetz-Allis 6275 got sold too but with the plan to by a new one back but they had skyrocketed in price.

I have not bought a new tractor since. My JD 6400 was a demo tractor with 75 hours on it when I got it. I bought a JD 5210 with 1500 hours that was a Repo. Most of the rest have been bought broken or well used and rebuilt.

I forgot to mention one of my favorite tractors. My Uncle bought a NEW Oliver 1655 in 1975. When he retired in 1980 I bought that tractor. It is still here today. That tractor was my main use tractor for years. It planted and sprayed all the crops. It ran the square baler. It was used just about every single day. The only reason I did not have more Oliver/White was lack of a good local dealer. Than once AGCO came about I just will not seriously consider anything AGCO supported. There parts support is second rate around here. CNH and JD have them beat hands down in parts availability.

I enjoy these type posts - very interesting to me to read about everyone's farming experiences from WWII into the 80?s.

I'm taking a break from some toil here on my Dad's old farm, setting on the porch looking out over one of my timothy hay fields. Beautiful day.

My boys are 5th generation on this farm. Our machinery is both reflective of the terrain and times from predepression to today.

My great grandfather, who cleared the land and built this small farm never owned a tractor. He died around 1936 of old age. My great grandfather used oliver horse drawn plows, there was much tillage on this farm from wheat to hay to vegetables. Cattle, maybe a touch of dairy, chickens, hogs, sheep that I know of. There were orchards of apples, cherries, peaches and lots of walnuts. What comes to my mind is total diversity. Probably a requirement in those days to prevent calamity.

After my great grandfather died, one of his boys, my grandfather, bought out his brothers who had gone from the mountains of VA to Ohio and other northern industrial states for better employment. They never came back - except for some massive family reunions that I remember as a boy.

My grandfather went all cattle. Grew hay to feed. The acrage was small enough for this farm and everyone up and down the road, that he could hire on the cheap any tractor work.

Later on, in the early 70's, an uncle that lived on the farm bought a Ford 3000 diesel. It is still here - my brother owns it.

Not wanting to use other peoples machinery, years ago, I bought a Massey Ferguson 50 diesel. Still have it and have been using it hard today on some field renovation.

A couple years ago, I bought a new John Deere 5055d utility tractor. It is 2 wheel drive, just like the other tractors that live here or have been brought in to work.

My brother, in addition to the Ford 3000 has a Ferguson TO20 and recently bought a John Deere 5045e with a loader.

On my list of tractors to consider - just because I'd like one, is an Allis Chalmers WD and/or Farmall 400/450 or 300/350.

Other tractors that have worked up here are a few 70's model JD tractors, at least one Ford 8n, a Kubota, Long and Kiaoti (sp?)

I like to say, "Farming under 50?. That is a reference to 50 PTO hp. That is the size of farms like this one that the measure of 50 hp or less pretty much can do it all. Open station, 2 wheel drive, easy to service/repair and affordable.

Bill

My Great grandfather (dad's side) started with Farmalls- an F30 in 35 and some F12s shortly thereafter. He liked horses, but understood tractor economics. His son, my grandfather moved to our current location in April of 37. (3 miles from the homestead) Like his dad and younger brothers, he bought an F14, and a Cletrac crawler. The crawler was used in some marshland he cleared and ditched. He used the Cletrac with a John Deere rear-end cable loader to keep the ditches clear.

In 44, he doubled the herd, and in 45 with his 2nd son (my dad on the way) he developed an ulcer. He and my grandmother had an auction. After living off "the fat of the auction check" for a year, he wanted to go back farming again, and wanted an H Farmall. Being right after the war, he could not get one- and instead bought a JD B, and one of the first Deere wire tie balers. He did custom work for a summer, and baled enough to pay off the baler and the mountain of wire he had purchased. An A, and then another (one of the first with the creeper gear) followed. The B and the low speed A are still here.

At that point, back to Farmall for an MTA. We are not sure why, perhaps because of smoother PTO power. THe MTA was less than successful- TA failures, PTO clutch failures, etc. It was Deere only after that, 4010, 4020s (2), 5020, and today 30, 40, 50 and 55 series.

Interesting that in the early 50's, my great grandfather and sons drifted away from Farmall at there place, too. Instead of an M after the war, they bought a MM UTU, followed by more. In fact ever farm on that road had an MM of that vintage! The MM dealer did well on hwy K.

Today, we still have great grandpa's F30, an F12, and the U's. They are tucked away, awaiting some free time.

Dad was born in 1905, he and a brother farmed together until they had two Fordsons, two plows, two everything, and then went their separate ways. They also married sisters, and all, including the parents, lived in the same 1 1/2 story house for a while. (Mom told all of us, when you get married, I don"t care if you need to live in a house with dirt floors...DO NOT live with in-laws!). My folks got married in 1931. They lived on rented farms, quit for a year, and got back into farming. Dad was a farmer/dealer for AC, where he bought AC and sold them to other farmers. He kept the last one, a 1939 WC, and after 9 moves, bought the farm I was raised on. (Not this one). Added a Model C in 1949, traded for another WC with mounted picker in "51. Traded the "39 on a new WD45 in "56. Bought a WD in about "62. Quit farming in "65.

I started here in "72 with a WD and D17, added a 4020 in "73. Added a 3020 in "76, Added a 4430 in 1980, a 2470 Case in "85, a 4240 in the 90s. Sold the 4430 in 2004 after quitting livestock. Meantime, put a Cummins 855 in the Case tractor after a couple of bad overhauls on the 504 engine. Sold that, and it"s still working.