Case Steam Tractor • Case Wooden Body Thresher • Massey-Harris Hay Loader • P & O Cultivator

Typically I am bored stiff by academic books on agricultural history. It seems most of these books work hard to remove the human element from the narrative, if there is one. I say books rather than authors because I know a few agricultural academics and found them to be insightful and genuinely human. Must be something about the publishing/academic filter that squeezes the juice right out of the material. So when Mule South arrived at our office, I did not get around to look at it for a while. When I did, I was pulled right in to what I found to be an outstanding “narrative” laid right over the top of excellent scholarship. I was so impressed with the material and the presentation that I knew I wanted to do a review but felt challenged that anything I would do could not do justice to the full import of the book. So I contacted the publisher and received permission to republish an entire chapter in this issue.

A couple of questions at this year’s small group tour made us realize that we had not thoroughly cultivated the topic of work horse costs in this column. Tom Padua, recently hired to manage a CSA in New Jersey and convert it to the bio-extensive system, wanted to know how much hay, grain and minerals we feed our work horses. Miriam Gieske, a research intern at the Rodale Institute, took Tom’s questions to the next level. After browsing through the SFJ handouts at the end of the day, she wanted to know which costs more, farming with horses or tractors?

I first met Dan 10 years ago or more when I needed a radiator for my old John Deere A. Sure ‘nuff he had everything I needed and a whole lot more. With lots in common we became good friends. But as with so many things of such like, I completely put out of my mind my responsibilities as editor of this Journal until just the other day. Because it’s so close, and because I take it for granted, is no reason it wouldn’t help others to know about this ‘yard.’

Your new Ford Tractor should provide long and dependable service if given a good start by you, the operator. During the first 50 hours of operation, do not work the tractor at full capacity. Run the engine at slow to medium speeds and use the lower gears wherever possible. Check the instruments frequently and keep the radiator and oil reservoirs filled to the recommended level.

I went to the Great Oregon Steam-Up over in Brooks, Oregon, near Salem. Lynn has been invited and has wanted to attend for years, but this time of year might very well be the busiest time of year for him. He’s always farming or writing or editing or painting or forecasting or businessing or just generally fightin’ the power, yo. It’s nuts, I don’t know how he does it all. So, when I told him I was going to go, he was very interested and wanted a good report.

The best thing about the SFJ website is “unlimited real estate.” With each issue of the Small Farmer’s Journal comes the required agonizing over what to keep and what to sacrifice due to page space. What follows is a photo gallery of every picture we took at the 2016 Great Oregon Steam-Up. Why? Because we can! And, because there were a lot of interesting machines there that we are sure some of you will enjoy seeing.

Your John Deere Tractor has a range of speeds. These various speeds not only give you the flexibility and adaptability you want, but also they enable you to balance the load and the speed for maximum economy. However, if you are handling a light load and want to travel at slow speed, it is far better to put your tractor into the gear which gives you the speed you want than to use a higher gear and throttle down.

Kerosene Tractors 1919 • Convertaplow • Range Shelter • Drills • Door Holder • DIY Septic Tank

Tractors used for cultivating require high clearance; the center of gravity is necessarily higher than in other types of tractors or automobiles, and to avoid accidents and injury when operating at the higher speeds, greater care must be exercised than is used in operating automobiles. Even modern automobiles with their low centers of gravity are frequently wrecked by thoughtless drivers when making sharp turns on smooth paved roads; this demonstrates clearly the need for care in turning in high gear with any high clearance tractor.

The Model “B” is ideal general-purpose power for farms of medium size. Available with either all-fuel or more powerful gasoline engine. Standard equipment includes self-starter, front and rear lights, power shaft, belt pulley, and power lift. Powr-Trol, Roll-O-matic front wheels, and a wide variety of integral equipment also available. The Model “A” matches the power requirements on larger row-crop farms. It has an abundance of power to handle big-capacity plows, bedders, and disk harrows, four row cultivators and the larger harvesting and belt-driven machines.

While many of those old relics just sit there, some are actually used on the farm. Sam has assigned each to a special job, he told me with a proud grin, the kind you see on parents relating the exploits of precocious children. He pointed them out as he talked. “I use that John Deere M T to haul water to the cattle in the far pasture. This John Deere R is perfect for hauling loads of hay in from the field.” They were the same color and looked alike to me. “This L Case, now,” he went on indicating a ponderous machine painted Flambou Red, “pulls the manure spreader, and this Allis Chalmers W D is the one I use to tow the hay baler.”

Ivan Miller has earned an enviable reputation for building high quality scale model Rumely tractors that are fully operational. His achievements evolved through a dream, as he explained. “I admired scale model Rumelys that were displayed at tractor shows. When I was about 14 years old, Dad and I dreamed of building our own version. Eventually, we set to work and scaled one from a Rumely Model 16-30 that Dad owned. I had considerable steel fabricating experience through my former job that helped with the project. Over the past five years, I have scratch-built four of the same model. Through each build, I have added more detail,” Ivan said.

Scotch Carts, Case Steam & an Ironsides Agitator

An advertisement for the Sheppard Diesel 3 farm tractor.

The 1938 SILVER KING is more than a NAME. It’s constructed right – only the best materials are used throughout, and the workmanship is of the highest quality. From end to end – the 1938 Silver King gives you more desired features than any other tractor. Accessible – easy to drive – the Silver King makes work a pleasure.

This grand, old, operating steam tractor is one of the center pieces of the new and exciting Yamhill Heritage Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, home of the Oregon Draft Horse Breeders’ Plow Match. As my grandsons, Reuben, Ben and Jean Pierre would say “Wow, Grampa!” And that is the essence of a cultural and historical handoff that each and every community should be proud to say they valued.