[AT] Quality Cub time + Ramble

[Larry D. Goss]

That's why a number of small acreage farmers go the route of dedicated
equipment -- so they don't have time lost in changeovers.  Thirty years
ago I had a next door neighbor who ran nothing but two-cylinder John
Deere's.  I knew he had "more than one" but I just didn't realize how
many there were until he died and his estate went at auction.  He had 19
of them, and they were dedicated not only for attachments but even for
tow-behind equipment such as plows and wagons.

I'm living on three acres, and I find that I need a minimum of four
tractors besides a "carry-all" butt buggy and my show tractor.

Larry

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Greg Hass
Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2005 4:36 PM
To: 100AcreFarming at yahoogroups.com; at at lists.antique-tractor.com
Subject: [AT] Quality Cub time + Ramble

Recently got to spend some quality time using my Cub tractor.  I hilled
the 
potatoes, cultivated the sweet corn, then worked up the part of the
garden 
that is idle.  (I have a much larger garden than I need.)  While I love
to 
go to shows and look at displayed tractors, I personally would rather
use 
them than just look at them.  Although I like to keep the Cub fairly 
original I am not above making some small changes that will make it more

functional for me, such as converting it to a 12-volt battery.  (Even 
though the later Cubs were 12-volt from the factory.)  This now leads me

into ramble mode which includes one of my major problems with small-time

farming...

About 15 years ago my brother, my dad and I farmed about 450 acres by 
working together and sharing equipment.  During that time my dad lost 2 
farms due to my mother's health care costs.  My parents are now both 
deceased and due to family considerations, my brother and I each run our

own operation although we still share a few pieces of machinery, 90% of 
which is 30 years old or older.  I now farm approximately 110 acres and
my 
brother approximately 130.  Which brings me to the one unexpected
problem 
of small-time farming and one that is sort of discouraging...  This
problem 
is equipment conversion and preparation time.

For instance, with my Cub it took me 1/2 hour to convert the cultivator
to 
hill potatoes.  However, the actual hilling process took 10 minutes.
Then 
it was another 20 miutes to change the cultivator for sweet corn, and
the 
actual cultivating took only another 10 minutes.  Wheat harvest will
begin 
in the next week or so and I will spend several hours changing the
combine 
from corn to wheat harvest for 20 acres of wheat.  (The same length of
time 
it used to take to convert it for 80 acres of wheat.)  The corn planter 
takes the same amount of time to prepare and clean up afterward for 26 
acres of corn as it used to for 250 acres.  For planting wheat, I must
get 
the drill out, check air pressure in the tires, grease it, and vacuum
out 
the seed hopper when finished. Again, the same amount of time spent for
20 
acres of wheat that we used to spend for 60 acres.  And the list goes on

for sprayers, cultivators, etc.  I could probably make more money
renting 
out the land, but I have farmed all my life and want to continue as long
as 
I can.  I do not consider this a hobby farm.  I sure hope to make some 
money at it.  However, this is one aspect of small farming that I was 
completely unprepared for.  Many times it seems like I spend more time 
getting equipment out of storage, preparing it, cleaning it afterward,
and 
then putting it back in storage than I spend doing the actual 
work.  Although I have no intention of quitting farming any time soon,
this 
is one aspect that sure does take the fun out of things.

Greg Hass

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