ALL ABOUT TRACTORS

BY PAUL WALLEM

 David Dench traveled 18 hours by air to attend this event. He’s done it for nine years, all from his New Zealand home.

He’s a retired dairy farmer with a passion for International Harvester pre-1985. His 18-tractor collection plus four International trucks attest to that.

Red Power Roundup is an annual event conducted by the International Harvester Collectors Club. There are 7500 members in 46 chapters throughout the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Great Britain. (email nationalIHcollectors.com)

This year’s event was held at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer, Iowa. Large crowds inspected hundreds of red tractors and trucks hauled in from throughout the country.

Seminars conducted during the event discussed IH’s history and the development process of some models. A two-day session on the last days of IH was offered.

Tours were available daily. A steel wheel parade occurred on Saturday.

Thunderstorms Thursday and Friday dampened the big crowd but not their spirit. License plates represented states throughout the U.S., but I met no one who had traveled farther than Dench.

He bought used parts for his tractors and friends and will ship them home by sea. He expects their arrival sometime in September. He will spend the rest of the month visiting friends in the U.S.

The 2025 Red Power Roundup will occur June 26-28 at the Missouri State Fairgrounds, Sedalia.

Collector organizations represent numerous other tractor brands. Some are listed below:

Allis Chalmers Old Allis News, email oldallisnews@amerytel.net

The Allis Connection, email barma@frontier.com

BF Avery Collector and Associates, 989-635-2619

JI Case Collectors Association, email jwII67@yahoo.com

Classic green.org (John Deere) Classic Green Club.Inc, PO Box 726 Durant, Iowa 52747

International Cockshutt Club, email rgillen43@gmail.com

Empire Tractor Newsletter, email: info @empiretractor.net

Ford/Fordson Collectors Association Inc., email tedF73@gmail.com

Massey Collectors Association, email masseycollectors.com

Minneapolis - Moline Collectors Club, email jayg@bevcomm.net

Suicide in agriculture

In the mid-eighties, just before the breakup of IH, I traveled to an out-of-state IH dealership to inspect a trade-in machine that could fit the needs of one of our dealership’s customers. I met with the dealer, bought the machine, and talked to him briefly before leaving. He seemed completely normal at the time.

The following evening, he shot himself. He could not deal with impending bankruptcy.

During those tough years in agriculture, suicides amongst dealers did occur, but not often.

On the farm, however, suicides were more common. From those years to the present, the trend has been up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states farm suicide rates are the highest of any profession.

Part of the reason could be the fact that many farmers are middle-aged or older, which is typical of all suicide rates. Another reason is the high ownership of guns on the farm, which provide an immediate solution to a deadly impulse.

The pride in being strong, private, and stoic breadwinners enter in. They often feel reluctant to seek mental healthcare. They don’t think that doctors or therapists understand their lives.

Some feel they would be failing grandparents, parents, spouses, or children if they failed. They don’t want to face that.

A CDC study showed the farm suicide rate from 1992 to 2023 to be 3.5 times that of the general population. This tragic increasing trend has caught the attention of the US Department of Agriculture, which has started sponsoring training sessions to help healthcare professionals learn how to talk to farmers about the pressures they face.

A Farm Service Agency administrator stated, “Our producers are expected to do more with less, innovate and improve, raise a family, preserve a legacy – as well as feed and clothe the world.”

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988” or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741.

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 at www.Paul Wallem.com. Email your comments to pwallem@aol.com