[AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion

charlie hill charliehill at embarqmail.com
Sat Apr 23 05:38:18 PDT 2011


John, most everyone down this way uses "box" type tobacco curing barns.  The 
"box", basically a metal and wire box, loads onto the back of the mechanical 
harvester up high above the plants.  It's sort of like a fork lift on the 
rear of the harvester.  The tobacco comes off a conveyor and falls into the 
box.  Then the box loads onto a trailer, goes to the barn where it slides in 
on rails.   It's a little more complex than that but you get the idea. 
Some folks still use "rack" barns.  The idea is basically the same with 
those.   The "racks" are smaller.   The tobacco still goes into a box and is 
carried to the barn where a crew places the leaves by hand into the "rack". 
Then the racks slide into the barn, again on rails but more rails than in a 
box barn.

I don't think there is much similarity to Grant's veggie operation.

Charlie

-----Original Message----- 
From: john hall
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 7:21 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion

Grant, do any of the vegetable crops use "sled rows"? Basically for tobacco
you don't plant the fifth, seventh, or ninth row---usually determined by the
width of your sprayer. The reason behind this is tobacco is too tall to
straddle the rows. With the equipment. The harvest trailers, sprayers and
irrigation equipment all use the sled row.

Now that I think of it, self propelled sprayers should be able to fit down
the crop rows. I've never been around a harvester to know what they do with
the crop trailer. Some of the old ones used to carry the trailer I think,
the new ones may hold the crop and dump at the end of the row. I think all
irrigation would still require a sled row--either for the trailer or for the
gun on a reel system.

By the way, do you guys have any ride-on harvesters? We used to have a four
row model for tobacco. Everything was hand harvested and when the storage
racks were full we packed them onto a trailer.

John


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Grant Brians" <sales at heirloom-organic.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 4:01 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion


> We use tractors for harvest two ways. Either with a three point hitch
> mounted box or with a welded platform mounted to the tractor on all four
> sides. The 100's have the platform mounted and the other tractors have the
> three point hitch boxes. The platforms are an item that is pretty much a
> California vegetable area exclusive as they actually were designed for
> carrying the 30' long portable aluminum sprinkler pipe on either side of
> the
> operator. I have four tractors set up with what are locally referred to as
> "pipe racks". While many different types of tractors were converted for
> pipe
> racks, the preferred models are ones like the Farmall 100 or 240, AC model
> C
> and JD2010. The reason for these being preferred is that they are two
> wheel
> drive (less weight and cheaper), narrow wheels, wide front end to match
> 60"
> to 80" wheel spacing and straddle the vegetable or strawberry beds and low
> height wheels to make it easier to place the pipe on the tractor and
> remove
> it. Typically the weight is balanced on the rear wheels with just enough
> weight on the front wheels to make for easy control of the tractor - no
> power steering needed.
>     For the harvest boxes, then you need a heavy enough front end of the
> tractor to counter-balance the box, either with weights or inherent
> construction.
>          Grant Brians
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of john hall
> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 3:09 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>
>
> I can't stand the larger steering wheels on the number series. Not certain
> when they changed it, may have been with the 100. We've always had Super
> A's
> and they are pretty easy to off and on.
>
> What exactly do you mean by "harvest configuration". Is this something
> like
> the Asparagus A's I read about one time?
>
> John
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Grant Brians" <sales at heirloom-organic.com>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 7:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>
>
>> John, I actually have a 240 with cultivating bars. The issue with the 100
>> and 200 series tractors is that they were made for a light amount of
>> weight.
>> They have small wheels and the wide front ends wear out the kingpins and
>> wheel bearings when loaded down in a harvest tractor configuration. The
>> parts are appropriately sized to the rest of the tractor, but are not
>> made
>> to haul rutabagas, turnips, watermelons etc.... There is one other 100
>> issue
>> that I mentioned before - I am 6'6" tall and cannot fit into the seat
>> area!
>> It would be even worse for my son, he is almost 6'8" tall and has quite a
>> bit longer legs.
>>     The harvest tractor issues are becoming exacerbated as we will have
>> well over 300 acres planted of vegetables this year on the current 185
>> acres
>> I am farming and if the new 100 acres gets added as planned to my
>> operation
>> this season then it will be even more of an issue clearly.
>>          Grant Brians
>>          Hollister,California Vegetable, Nuts and Fruit farmer
>>
> at
>
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