EWING, Ky. – Mason Corns and his family tend to a large cattle business in Fleming County, Ky. But 13 years ago, Corns’ early fascination with tractors led him to open his own business – Corns Repair, LLC, powered by Fleming-Mason Energy in Fleming County, where the company does everything from regular maintenance to full restorations.

Corns’ interest in tractors came long before that, though. As a young boy, he learned how to restore tractors on his family’s farm alongside his father and grandfather.

“Ever since I was a little boy, I loved figuring out how things worked,” he said. “This led me to working on things like small engines, which led to bigger things. I loved riding dirt bikes, and I was always working on them to keep them running. My dad told me if I wanted to ride them, I would have to fix them. The next thing I began working on was tractors. We had old equipment on our Lewis County farm and dad had me fixing that. Dad operated a sanitation service with trucks that saw rough service day after day, and I fixed those.”

Corns serviced equipment in the military. “During the Afghanistan war, I worked to service armored vehicles and helicopters where rough service and in-service goals were extreme,” he said.

Today, he focuses on tractors, whether it’s maintaining, repairing, rebuilding, restoring, painting or providing parts for them. Ninety percent of his business involves total restoration. He services some new tractors, but mostly older models. His ultimate mission, he said, is to bring back history, one piece at a time.

“Working on old tractors is like making an investment,” he said. “There’s a risk and a reward. You take a risk by taking a piece that’s worn out and then try to make new again and make it do what it was designed to do. The reward is when you bring something back to life that was almost put to rest at one time.”

Right now, there are 23 tractors on his lot waiting for some type of restoration to be done. He receives tractors not just from Kentucky but across the country.

“Customers often want us to get it up and running and we’ll do that, but we go above and beyond,” he said. “When we go through a tractor it’s from one end to the other and in the end it’s just like brand new. It’s not just what you see on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside as well. If somebody wants us to restore something, we want to put quality into it, just as if it were manufactured again.

“We try to get them restored in a timely manner, but if you’re going to do something you have to do it right. It takes time, and people have to understand that. Ours is not like a fast-food business.”

Restoring tractors is a family affair. Corns’ wife, Brittany, daughter, Mallory and son, Kaleb, help out.

“Every tractor that we refurbish, everyone has a hand it in, not just me,” Corns said.

Since he’s in the business of restoring old tractors, one would think he’s a collector of the vintage machinery. And he certainly is.

“Unfortunately, I am a collector of these old machines and have quite a few of them,” he admitted. “I’m always on the lookout for parts to replace in these old machines. Sometimes a tractor has to go heaven to help out in the world of tractors. But if we have to, we’ll manufacture the part.”

A few of Corns’ prized restorations include a 1976 International 966 and a 1979 Ford 5600. His top prize, he said, is a 1974 John Deere 2630.

“I traded 14 rolls of hay for it,” Corns said. “I brought it home in the back of a pickup truck and on a trailer in pieces and put it together one piece at a time.”

Corns said it can be an expensive hobby or business.

“Most often it’s an expensive business or hobby to get into,” he said. “Recently I brought home a John Deere 300 industrial tractor. I purchased it from an Ohio man. The tractor came to me as a backhoe, and we converted it into an agricultural tractor. We probably put 400 hours on it inside and out. It’s like brand new. If I sold it now, I’d offer a three-year warranty.”

Corns works on tractor restoration nearly every day. He also takes care of his hay and calf-cow business daily.

“The stress level in what I do is unreal,” he said. “I have bills, taxes, employees under me, receive about 200 calls a day, do deliveries, service calls and have feeder calves to feed. It never stops. The reward in the end is there. I love what I do and make decent money. So, for now, things are good.”