Two on two tractors can do the work of one By JERRY WEBB NEWARK, Del. - In this day of big farm equipment and ever-increasing ef ficiency of production, it’s refreshing to fmd someone with a little different theory Such a guy is William Parker, of Burrsville, Delaware, who doesn’t believe that bigger is always better or that one man with a big tractor can do the work of two men with smaller rigs. Farmers, who tradi tionally tilled fairly large plots with old-fashioned 2-wheel drive tractors, have been finding them inadequate. They feel a need for a larger tractor with more horsepower to cover more ground quicker. But Parker has a different point of view. He thinks two people, using two smaller machines, make more sense. So instead of investing 50 or 60 thousand dollars in one of those mammoth 4-wheel drive models, he sticks with much less expensive used International 1456’5. Parker buys these “out dated ngs” on the used market for a fraction of their new price, and using his STEP UP Here’s why your next SP Forage Harvester should be a 178- or 255-hp John Deere Our self-propelled harvesters offer you a pack age of features that will boost the output of your present silage operation Whether you presently own a self-propelled harvester or are contemplating going self-propelled, STEP UP at the home of The Forage Specialist STEP UP to John Deere diesel-engine reliability STEP UP to John Deere operator-station com fort and control STEP UP to John Deere harvestmg-umt choice and flexibility STEP UP to John Deere electric-clutch cutter head and teed-roll drive STEP UP to John Deere servicing ease and service availability. Come on down stop in and STEP UP to a different world of harvesting productivity Finance Charge Waiver on Newl i John Deere and Used Hay Equipment. I Finance JDFP Waiver til May 1, 1980 j LANDIS BROS. INC. Lancaster, PA 717-291-1046 ADAMSTOWN EQUIPMENT INC. . WftPP MohntonßD2. PA 19540 /.unTTOCDOCD'e eniIIDUCUT MWIT MW*, (near Adamstown) SHOI2BER6ER S EQUIPMENT Bernville, PA 215-484-4391 EIm. PA 215-488-1510 717-665-2141 PIKEVILLE EQUIPMENT INC. Oyster Dale Road Oley RD2, PA 215-987-6277 mechanical expertise puts them in top running order. Then when it’s tune to do field work he sends two identical rigs to the field. One with a skilled operator who knows all about the job to be done and the other a less experienced and less costly driver who can follow instructions and operate his machine safely. Parker thinks those two people, using the smaller equip ment, can get the job done better and at a lower cost than one highly trained and highly paid operator using a super expensive 4-wheel drive tractor. It’s an interesting thought and one that would have to be explored by each in dividual farmer. Is it better to pay for a little extra labor when it’s needed and keep two smaller rigs in operating condition than it is to make that big investment in one brand new model that is ready to go when the tune comes’ Some farmers tell me they buy the big equipment to cut down their tax bill. In other words, if they don’t spend it for machinery. Uncle Sam gets it. So why not have the NEUHAUS'ES INC. RD2, York. PA 1-83 Loganville Ext. 3 717-428-1953 or 235-1306 A.B.C. GROFF INC. New Holland, PA 717-354-4191 biggest and the best 9 But a lot of farmers aren’t m that kind of tax trouble. They’re struggling just to make ends meet so why would they buy big equipment 7 In the golden days of Farmall H’s and M’s I spent a few summers as a sharecropper’s assistant driving a Farmall H. As a teen-aged farmhand, I got 35 cents an hour following along behind the man who owned the equipment. “Snort’n Horton,” as we called him, set the pace. He decided when we went to the field and what we would do and usually he took the lead. So all I had to do was keep a tractor in the field and keep from hurting something. My pay reflected the level of my assignment.^ I don’t think farming has changed that much. I know it’s gotten bigger and it’s spread out and it involves a lot of farms and it must be done in a hurry. But that was also true 30 years ago. “Snort’n Horton” farmed sharecropped acres all over the county. It wasn’t at all unusual to spend an hour driving a tractor to the field an hour that I was never 110-hp 4240 Smooth, dynamic power and plenty of it A genuine John Deere 6-cyhnder diesel engine powers the 4240. It’s a 466-cu -in. naturally aspirated smoothie that pumps out 110 horse power all day long without pause But that's just one reason you’re going to like this talented performer Because hand-m-glove with the smooth power is the convenience of 16-speed Quad-Range™ transmission with built-in Hi-Lo It delivers no-stop shift-on-the-go convenience and it’s standard equipment See us for more details ROBERT E. LITTLE INC. Zieglerville, PA 215-287-9643 KERMIT K. KISTLER INC. Lynnport, PA 215-298-3270 paid tor since my pay coincided only with my field work. That old boy knew that I would rather drive a tractor than do almost anything else, and so he considered the trip to and from the field my respon sibility. If I happened to catch a ride on one of his tractors, that was to my benefit and therefore didn’t require any payment. I was glad to have the work and he knew it and the problem of transportation never came upf'.. discussion. ‘ Suurt’n Horton” was a smart old dude. He knew how to keep two tractors in the field at a very low cost. He made all the decisions and I just followed along. How much more profitable that must have been than investing in the larger Super M Farmall, the ultimate tractor of the tune. Bringing that example up to today’s standards, Parker thinks two 1456’s can do the work of one of the 4-wheel drive models. So why make the investment? For not only does that mean a new tractor, it also means new tillage equipment, and that adds up to $lOO,OOO rather M.S. YEARSLEY & SONS West Chester, PA 215-696-2990 A6WAY INC. Chapman Equipment Center Chapman, PA 215-398-2553 I.G.'s AG SALES Silverdale, PA 18962 215-257-5136 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 1,1979 quickly. And you can pay a lot of farmhands with the interest on that sort of an investment. A lot of farmers have neither the interest or the know-how to keep older equipment serviceable. For them the new models of whatever size are probably the best bet, but to the guy with a little mechanical savvy and the desire to make some money, the older machines provide an at tractive alternative. I’m reminded of that when I see ALL TYPES OF FARM BUILDINGS • Broiler Houses • Layer Houses • Pullet Houses • Hog Houses • Cattle Barns • Horse Barns And Many Others Will Design To Your Needs Call: REYNOLDS & YELLOT CO., INC. 12800 Gores Mill Rd. Reisterstown, MD 21136 Over 24 Years Experience 301-833-1840 the old-Farmall H’s and M’s still working, some of them looking as good as they did in the late 1940’s when they were purchased new. “Snort’n Horton” has gone to his final resting place and I’m gradually wearing out and slowing down, but you can bet those old Farmall H’s are still working somewhere on somebody’s farm. And somewhere there’s a 15-year-old kid who would work almost for nothing just to have the chance to drive one. 93
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers