Farming comparison

[Lazy WP]

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1ASk2Qhdej/?mibextid=wwXIfr
 

 

[Chester5732]

I would love to go back to then. 

[Dirt_Floor_Poor]

I would likely be dead by now if I lived in that timeframe due to some things I’ve went through. My great grandfathers never made it past their 50’s. My grandfather started farming with mules and lived long enough to operate an 8000 series Deere. He didn’t want to go back in time. Probably anyone in the video operating an old tractor lived through the depression and at least one world war. I don’t think it was a simple time for those that lived it. Thank God their sacrifice gave us the opportunity for a better future even if many have squandered it. 

[hillman]

Yeah I would like to go back to those times but the farmers that did live to be older had their bodies worn-out

[Big Bud guy]

50 minutes ago, Dirt_Floor_Poor said:

I would likely be dead by now if I lived in that timeframe due to some things I’ve went through. My great grandfathers never made it past their 50’s. My grandfather started farming with mules and lived long enough to operate an 8000 series Deere. He didn’t want to go back in time. Probably anyone in the video operating an old tractor lived through the depression and at least one world war. I don’t think it was a simple time for those that lived it. Thank God their sacrifice gave us the opportunity for a better future even if many have squandered it. 

My great grandpa passed away at the age of 92.  He took up a homestead in 1910 farming with horses and ended his career on a JD 4020 at the age of 84.  He was about as progressive as someone could get that came over here from Russian with no money and never borrowing a nickel.  Kept his machinery updated and bought a new car or pickup every 3-4 years.  I’m the first one in my family that took any interest in antique machinery and that’s because I didn’t have to live it.  If I had to turn the clock back I couldn’t go back any further then the mid 70s. I have too many allergies to put up with the crude cabs before that time 

[Chester5732]

17 minutes ago, hillman said:

Yeah I would like to go back to those times but the farmers that did live to be older had their bodies worn-out

Heck, I’m 55 and my body is worn out. 18 years on the first knee replacement but I would still go back. Sure they had troubles back they just different than now but it seemed there were more opportunities back then. 

[cedar farm]

I think its a trade off. No chemicals less cancer. Hard work worn out body-maybe. I would take the later. My grandpa was born in 1904 and lived to be 88. My uncle born in 1917 lived to be 99. Both lived thru hard times and farmed their whole life.

[Dirt_Floor_Poor]

19 minutes ago, cedar farm said:

I think its a trade off. No chemicals less cancer. Hard work worn out body-maybe. I would take the later. My grandpa was born in 1904 and lived to be 88. My uncle born in 1917 lived to be 99. Both lived thru hard times and farmed their whole life.

I think there was less cancer in general because so many people died before they were even old. My great grandfather died of tuberculosis as a relatively young man like a lot of other people. All of his siblings and him were orphaned as very young children. Another great grandfather died of a massive heart attack at 55. There are a lot of young widows and dead children in my family tree. 

[U-C]

a few days ago read a article where a farm family in the Emmental, still has a custom operator with a threshing machine that comes to thresh their barley, wheat, etc in their barn like in the olden days. Their fields are to steep for a combine that is why they still do it that way. The Custom operator that saved the threshing machine decades ago from scrap when he started he had around 30 customers he went to thresh. Who still grew cereals that were to steep. But after the Government quit paying sentives for growing grain most stopped and he has about two to three customers left

[hillman]

there may have been less chemicals pre 1970? but I think the lack of understanding and lack of safety precautions in the 70s with chemicals was crazy.

[Lars (midessa)]

I ‘left the farm’ in the spring of 1983, was always a ‘farm hand’, working for the ‘company’ that purchased Grandpa’s farm, never was able to acquire an operation of my own. 
At that time, Atrazine, Lasso, and Bladex were the main herbicides of the day. The operation I worked for, custom hired the spaying, of all the corn acres(approx. 750 acres), most acres were covered once, there was occasionally a field or two depending on the year that got a second shot. Even then, they made a concerted effort to cultivate as many acres as possible at least once. But with the dairy, swine, and beef that was tuff. Corn, alfalfa, oats were the crops. Never sprayed oats to encourage dry-down. If memory serves, one year they did spray a couple hayfields after 1st crop due to a pest infestation. Did work for another neighbor for a little over 2 years after the ‘company farm’.

[IH Forever]

23 hours ago, Dirt_Floor_Poor said:

I would likely be dead by now if I lived in that timeframe due to some things I’ve went through. My great grandfathers never made it past their 50’s. My grandfather started farming with mules and lived long enough to operate an 8000 series Deere. He didn’t want to go back in time. Probably anyone in the video operating an old tractor lived through the depression and at least one world war. I don’t think it was a simple time for those that lived it. Thank God their sacrifice gave us the opportunity for a better future even if many have squandered it. 

I agree that it seems like simpler times then.  But I also remember my maternal grandpa saying several times, "The only thing good about the good old days is that they aren't here anymore." 

[Chester5732]

My Grandpa (1904-1993) farmed from the time he was old enough until 1974. He never had a complaint about farming, he just worked with what he had and moved on. He is the reason I started farming the year he passed away. 

[Lazy WP]

You all realize that the majority of the equipment that was shown were from the 60s? 
I have eaten and breathed enough dust that I prefer a cab tractor, but I do miss the solitude of sitting on a M, or the 570 super Cockshutt, or the D21. Didn’t have to worry about trying to find anything on the radio, because other than maybe KRVN nothing would come in, but most of the time Dad wanted me to “be able to hear the equipment”! 
I still use 50s and 60s equipment, for the most part and love every minute of it. I do have a 2090 Case to feed with in the winter, but if my 800 Case started better, I would still use it. 
I know I am somewhat of a rarity, but I feel that I should have been born 30 years earlier. I prefer horses and older equipment over most of the modern technology. 

[Chester5732]

7 tractors on this place and so far not a single cab. 1939-1976 models. 

[U-C]

13 hours ago, hillman said:

there may have been less chemicals pre 1970? but I think the lack of understanding and lack of safety precautions in the 70s with chemicals was crazy.

speaking of chemicals back in the 1950s farmers used pestizide that got banned and was very very dangerous to use if ya got it on your skin!  

[marty966]

21 minutes ago, U-C said:

speaking of chemicals back in the 1950s farmers used pestizide that got banned and was very very dangerous to use if ya got it on your skin!  

DDT ?

[Lars (midessa)]

As for the chemicals decades, and decades ago, Grandpa never used insecticide with the corn planter, because he never did corn-on-corn. Farm was officially 120 acres, minus the farmstead, fencerows, cow lanes, and property in Wisconsin in measured to the center of the roadway, that put it at 100(+/-) acres. Divided with 4 fields of 25 acres each. Crop rotation ruled the day, so it was 25 ac of corn,  25 ac of oats, and 2-25 ac fields of alfalfa. Every year a hayfield was plowed under for corn, and the cornfield from the season before was seeded to oats with alfalfa ‘underneath’.

[ray54]

2 hours ago, marty966 said:

DDT ?

I don't know of any big effect on humans. Many 3rd world countries still dust humans with it for lice among other things after it was banded in the USA. It was blamed for making egg shells soft or thin. Eagles were going to be endangered or even extinct. All brought to us by the book called Silent Spring. With the amount used on people I think it has to be not that dangerous to humans. But eagles are much more around now than any time in my life. But still know of livestock owner that shoot shovel and shut up. As they will take very new calves and lambs for weeks after birth. So I feel we currently have plenty.

 

Maybe I don't give ag chemicals the respect I should. But no real fear of most herbicides. I try to be more careful with insecticides, but very rarely do I use them.

Do have cousin dealing with leukemia currently. Came on within 2 weeks or less at age 74, back in Nov. It is strongly linked to benzine, he delivered farm fuel for 20 plus years. But has been away from the fuel business for 20 plus as well. 

[Big Bud guy]

10 hours ago, ray54 said:

I don't know of any big effect on humans. Many 3rd world countries still dust humans with it for lice among other things after it was banded in the USA. It was blamed for making egg shells soft or thin. Eagles were going to be endangered or even extinct. All brought to us by the book called Silent Spring. With the amount used on people I think it has to be not that dangerous to humans. But eagles are much more around now than any time in my life. But still know of livestock owner that shoot shovel and shut up. As they will take very new calves and lambs for weeks after birth. So I feel we currently have plenty.

 

Maybe I don't give ag chemicals the respect I should. But no real fear of most herbicides. I try to be more careful with insecticides, but very rarely do I use them.

Do have cousin dealing with leukemia currently. Came on within 2 weeks or less at age 74, back in Nov. It is strongly linked to benzine, he delivered farm fuel for 20 plus years. But has been away from the fuel business for 20 plus as well. 

I think it has a lot to do with genetics.  Chemicals don't do you any good and I try to be safe around them.  But I had a neighbor who was just careless with everything.  Watched him one time reach into the sprayer inductor bared armed and all full a chemical to pull out something he dropped.  Died in his late 80s and actively farmed until about 6 months before he died.  Granpda on the other died when he was 68 and fought lymphoma Hodgkins disease 10 years leading up to that.  He'd come home covered in chemical driving a pickup sprayer windows down just wafting into the cab on every turn.  We all know smokers who lived full lives into their 80s or more and guys that were packing O2 bottles by the time they were 60.  

[Dirt_Floor_Poor]

37 minutes ago, Big Bud guy said:

I think it has a lot to do with genetics.  Chemicals don't do you any good and I try to be safe around them.  But I had a neighbor who was just careless with everything.  Watched him one time reach into the sprayer inductor bared armed and all full a chemical to pull out something he dropped.  Died in his late 80s and actively farmed until about 6 months before he died.  Granpda on the other died when he was 68 and fought lymphoma Hodgkins disease 10 years leading up to that.  He'd come home covered in chemical driving a pickup sprayer windows down just wafting into the cab on every turn.  We all know smokers who lived full lives into their 80s or more and guys that were packing O2 bottles by the time they were 60.  

A lot of it just seems to be luck. The first time I had skin cancer I was 38. My neighbor smoked packs of cigarettes a day until he died near 90. You just never know. 

[db1486]

17 hours ago, Lazy WP said:

You all realize that the majority of the equipment that was shown were from the 60s? 
I have eaten and breathed enough dust that I prefer a cab tractor, but I do miss the solitude of sitting on a M, or the 570 super Cockshutt, or the D21. Didn’t have to worry about trying to find anything on the radio, because other than maybe KRVN nothing would come in, but most of the time Dad wanted me to “be able to hear the equipment”! 
I still use 50s and 60s equipment, for the most part and love every minute of it. I do have a 2090 Case to feed with in the winter, but if my 800 Case started better, I would still use it. 
I know I am somewhat of a rarity, but I feel that I should have been born 30 years earlier. I prefer horses and older equipment over most of the modern technology. 

Up till a few years ago, our whole haying fleet was 70's-80's equipment. And we cover quite a few acres every year compared to most around here. We have updated baler and haybine since but the tractors are still 66-86 series and have no reason to upgrade them. And I'd say most haying operations around here are the same. Might have fairly new balers and haybines or discbines, but majority of the tractors are 70's and 80's of all brands. 

[U-C]

15 hours ago, marty966 said:

DDT ?

Not sure what it was called but was the same chemical that was used in the most Evil act that happened in WW2 (Holocost) 

[Dirt_Floor_Poor]

18 minutes ago, U-C said:

Not sure what it was called but was the same chemical that was used in the most Evil act that happened in WW2 (Holocost) 

Zyklon B

[hardtail]

My buddy went into farming in the mid 80's with record high interest rates and bought a really low mile 86 K10 in 87 with a new bride, I know her grandparents were really concerned about their debt load, the funny part was years later when they died they went through their receipts starting in the 30's, new barn one year, new tractor the next, he finally bought his first new tractor this fall