ROCKFORD, Ill. – Paul Wallem, 92, is a familiar name to readers of Farm World. His “All About Tractors” column has appeared 104 times in this newspaper since it first ran in 2022.

“I just love tractors and I’m deeply involved in the International Harvesters Collectors Club,” he said. “Some members of that club have as many as 250 tractors. I’m just deeply fascinated by them and this association.”

Wallem is also the author of six books, and that’s just since his retirement a decade ago.

“Roughly 10 years ago, I began writing to have something to keep me occupied,” Wallem said. “Since my wife, Joan, died (in December 2023) it’s been a terribly empty house. I just have to find ways to stay busy, to not dwell on the fact that she’s not there. Besides, writing puts an urgency in our lives that we all need.”

In his more recent book, Passing the Torch, Wallem describes interviews with multi-generation farmers, from third to 10th generation. Those interviewed, Wallem said, emphasize the value received from earlier generations such as accumulated assets, advice and good communication. Wallem said the book is to give single-generation farmers a guide on how to reach the security of multi-generation operations.

“The more I dug into the subject, the more I found out that for the new farmer, or startups as I call them, farming is not a way of life but rather a means of survival,” he said. “I got the idea for the book after attending a seminar led by a fifth-generation farmer who listed all the things his predecessor did for him. Because of that help, this farmer had low debt, nearly no cash rent and owned his farm. That caused me to switch from farming being a way of life to it being about multigenerational farming, passing information to the next generation.”

Wallem said Passing the Torch gives instruction to farmers wishing to pass the farm to the next generation. The book offers advice on farmers’ retirement plans, the importance of sharing financial information with their kids and much more.

“Farmers are so afraid the siblings will hear of something problematic and won’t discuss it,” Wallem said. “Farm children oftentimes look at themselves as merely hired help, and oftentimes they quit and leave the farm when they get older. That’s the biggest single problem.”

Passing the Torch also details how to fire a family member, how to deal with the death of the farm leader, the importance of appointing an estate executor, and making young 4-Hers and FFA members part of the farm business from an early age.

“It’s important for farmers to start the kids as business partners early on in their lives,” Wallem said. “I also explain the importance of letting in-laws sit in on these business meetings and even discuss the importance of the farm’s soil health.

“My target audience with this book is those under the age of 45. This age group doesn’t take the time to read anything these days as they’re always messaging on their cell phones. Social media is taking reading time away from them.”

Wallem attended University of Illinois and was the first graduate with a degree in agriculture engineering mechanization, graduating in 1956.

“I was a farm kid from Streator, Ill., who was raised on a 160-acre dairy farm,” he said. “I landed a job with International Harvester because of my background and my ag mechanization degree. I attribute much of my career with IH to that degree, and I’ll never stop being grateful to the program.”

After the internship and a two-year stint in the Army, Wallem came back to IH as an assistant zone manager who provided support to dealerships. He rapidly moved up the career ladder to different sales management positions in Illinois and Wisconsin, and he entered a general management training program where he would visit dealerships across the country. After just four months in that program, he was promoted to farm equipment export manager.

“Then I started traveling worldwide. I’ve visited 52 countries, and I had offices in Lima, Brussels, Singapore and Beirut,” he said. “It was a great experience, without a doubt. I saw Harvester’s impact worldwide, going all the way back into the early 1800s when they started picking up distributorships throughout the world.”

Wallem became an IH executive and dealer-principal. He proved to be a champion for the dealer business and helped advance metrics, computerization and best practices at a time where it was uncommon in the industry.

Like many successful dealers, IH faced severe headwinds throughout the 1980s and eventually the company broke up, with the tractor division merging with Case. During that turbulent time, half of the IH dealerships in the U.S. closed, and Wallem lost his enthusiasm for selling farm equipment.

Wallem then became a certified financial planner. He founded Wallem Associates and was eventually joined by his son, Jeff, who took over the business in 2012 when Paul retired.

Wallem is also an avid airplane enthusiast, and he helped found the Vintage Wings & Wheels Museum at Poplar Grove Airport. That interest led to his first book, one about his adventures in the world of aviation, Private Wings. In this book, Wallem relives four decades of life as a pilot in eight airplanes. Aided by his meticulously kept logbooks, Paul shares 94 stories, from his first flight in 1973 through his last one in 2012. He also shares his experience with gliders, business airplanes and blimps.

His second release, The BreakUp – What Really Happened, Wallem describes how International Harvester, one of the most successful farm equipment and truck manufactures in history, went under, detailing how a perfect storm of problems killed this iconic brand.

“Anyone who is a member of an IH Collectors Club or has a passion for IH will want to read this 194-page book,” said Bob Buxton, president of the International Harvester Collectors Club.

A fourth release from Wallem is International Harvester Success and Industry Firsts. This 172-page book shines a light on the many successful products developed by International Harvester between 1940-1980, some that were “industry firsts.”

Wallem has written a few fiction novels as well, including Free Ranch. This book is about a retired businessman who, as a child, had always dreamed of owning a ranch. The character in the book, Mark Willand, is offered an 11,000-acre ranch in Wyoming for free, but the character is faced with challenges involving a murder on the ranch, embezzlement and disappearing cattle.

At present, Wallem is working on his seventh book.... and his 105th “All About Tractors” column.