ALL ABOUT TRACTORS By PAUL WALLEM In past years, several stories have appeared in farm magazines about couples that created a life on the farm with nothing more than desire and a plan. They accomplished it at a profit. From them I’ve extracted the similarities in their plans. What you see below could serve as a blueprint for others that have similar desires. Common among the stories was their backgrounds. Most had been raised on a farm, and wanted to raise their children the same way. They wanted to be in business for themselves, even though none had parents that were still farming that they could partner with. Like most newly married couples they had small assets, just a desire to create a life on the farm. What has worked well in these stories was to rent small acreage with house and buildings on the property. For some that took a lot of searching. Before committing to the rental property, the successful couples made sure they could obtain a loan for equipment and livestock in the community nearby. Their plan was looked at more favorably by loan officers if at least one of the couple had a job they could continue with online. That would cover living expenses. In some cases an extension leader helped with the search for a loan. All of these bought older used equipment. Those that had been following farm magazine stories put no-till into their plan, to minimize fertilizer and weed control costs. Their plan included custom harvesting to avoid combine ownership. Some livestock showed up in all cases. Year-round income from startup dairying was involved if there had been prior experience in dairying. The same was true regarding hogs and poultry. Large gardens appeared often, for family use but also where farm markets existed. One profitable operation had developed a relationship with a nearby family restaurant. They provided necessary produce in season, and as trust was established, they became the restaurant’s supplier for other produce and built a year-round cash flow. A few of these operations produced specialty crops with part of their acreage, in areas where a ready market existed. Those that had prepared a carefully thought-out plan had success obtaining loans if they had good credit ratings. These success stories indicated to me that a family farm operation can be created. Back a century ago many couples did this, by starting quite small on small acreage and working seven days a week with livestock to provide year-round income. Some of your grandparents probably did this. My parents did it on 160 acres and a dairy herd, hogs and chickens. It’s possible for the present generation to do it. It just takes a plan and plenty of desire. General Motors’ short tractor history When Henry Ford’s tractors started selling well, General Motors jumped into the tractor business by purchasing Samson Iron Works in Stockton, Calif., in 1918. GM immediately built a factory in Janesville, Wis., and moved the production there from Stockton. Samson had built their 5,000-pound tractor in 1916 and a tractor with single cylinder engine in 1917. At the time GM purchased them, their 4-cylinder articulated tractor was ready to sell, called the Iron Horse. It was built in Janesville until 1920 when the devastating farm depression hit. The Samson division of General Motors declared bankruptcy and built no more tractors after 2023. General Motors then closed their Flint, Mich., truck plant and moved truck production to Janesville. That plant continued until 2008 and was demolished in 2019. This week’s Burma-Shave memory: SHE KISSED HER HAIRBRUSH BY MISTAKE. SHE THOUGHT IT WAS HER HUSBAND JAKE. Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate IH in domestic and foreign assignments. He resigned to own and operate two IH dealerships. He is the author of THE BREAKUP of IH and SUCCESSES & INDUSTRY FIRSTS of IH. See all his books on www.PaulWallem.com. Send comments to pwallem@aol.com |
