[AT] Potato diggers - Slight variation

[Bill Bruer]

Let's try to complete that thought before hitting <Send> again.....

Check http://www.fastline.com/   You can use the online edition or subscribe
to a free print edition for your part of the country.

Another one geared to my area of the country is 
http://www.exchangepublications.com/  This one is also free to farmers.


Bill Bruer
Murfreesboro, TN
bill_bru at bellsouth.net



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Hass" <gkhass at avci.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2006 2:46 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] Potato diggers - Slight variation


First of all, Happy New Year to everyone.  Grant's post reminded me of
something that has been on my mind quite a bit recently. I have some
problems quite similar to his, one being limited funds and the other
farming only a little over a hundred acres.  I have no idea how many on
this list farm at all, particularly how many farm small acreages.  As I
have mentioned in previous posts, all of the machinery I own except for the
corn planter and skid steer is 30+ years old.

I am generally on the lookout for various machines, but the problem
is:  where I can I find them?  I used to be able to find some at auctions,
however the auctions that have the equipment I need have pretty much run
their course and auctions now are mostly large farm auctions.  Our local
machinery dealers have refused for quite a while to take any of this small
type of equipment on trade.  It is now rumored that our local John Deere
dealer (whom I do not patronize and who bought the dealership from the
previous owner 2 years ago) will not take any equipment over 5 years old on
trade.  Three miles from me is a local machinery jockey in his mid-30s who
handles just the type of equipment I need.  However, he is so crooked that
not even a flame wrench can straighten him out, which is sad because our
area could really use this type of dealer.

My only alternative seems to be fence row hunting, which is difficult
because many of the fence rows are not visible from the road.  For
instance, my field cultivator and crop sprayer I got from a cousin who had
them sitting in tall weeds out behind the barn for 15+ years.  Both
required several hundred dollars in repairs to get them in working order
but at least now I have fairly decent, usable machines.  My roll-over plow
I heard about by accident.  A guy a couple of miles away had purchased it
on a deal with a used tractor and never used it.  It had been sitting there
for over 10 years.  The problem with this type of acquisition is that in
all of these cases I had been looking for the equipment for 3 or more years
before I found it.  Should I need a machine in the near future they are
almost impossible to find quickly.

At the present time I am looking for a flail chopper.  For those not
familiar, they were a machine 5-ft. wide that cut hay with swinging flails,
threw it into an auger, which in turn augered it into a set of knives which
recut the hay then blew it into a wagon to feed the cattle on a daily
basis.  I do not have livestock, but on my limited acreage such a machine
would do a good job of cutting up the cornstalks so they wouldn't pug my
plow.  Twenty years ago there were hundreds of them in our area so the
problem now is to find one.  I have never heard of an online service with
listings of this type of equipment, although it would probably be handy.  I
know here's no magical anser to the problem.  I guess I just needed to vent
a little going into the new year.

Greg Hass

_______________________________________________
AT mailing list
Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at