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| 1958 John Deere Model 520 |
(Chapter One link)
Why do I keep this tractor anyway?
It leaks oil. Parts are practically impossible to find and expensive if I do.
It's older than I am, for pete's sake.
Maybe it's the green and gold color scheme that is close, but not quite, the match of a certain football team that finds it's way onto the calendar during fall harvest each year.
Jerking around in the seat over rocky ground is more like having a not so soft seat on a bucking bronc and I've lost count how many teeth have been rattled and chipped as I bounce across the fields.
It was the first tractor that ever worked this land, though, and that's why I keep it.
Looking at it now, it's a little difficult to believe what a big deal it was for my Dad to have Marberg Implement deliver it in time for the second trips through the alfalfa fields back in 1958. My older brother remembers riding on Dad's knee that first day it pulled the hay mower. Danny was only 6 then, but he said the smile on Dad's face was as wide as anything he ever saw and that Dad kept talking about how much time this new-fangled tractor was saving him.
Yeah, in 2014 this tractor slows thing down more than speeds it up. That's why I still use it. It pulls the plow, harrow, planter, honey wagon, mower, rake, and whatever else needs hauling.
Every year in late June, I wash and polish it for the tractor show the weekend before the parade on July 4th.
That's the only time it gets any tender loving care on this farm. It still pulls its weight, but not as much of it.
The farm is much bigger than what Dad farmed - we've got about 500 acres and rent another 500 acres surrounding our place. Really, we're more of a business than a family farm to my way of thinking, but that's how things get done now. My boys have taken this place into the 21st century - the fertilizer and irrigation is allocated to every square foot of land and the cows not only have names, they have a special diet and care plan.
This tractor, named Jean in honor of my mom, is my link to the farm's history.
If I can keep it clean and in working order - and keep working along with it - then we both have a purpose around this place.
She's not done yet - there are lots of good days ahead for this pretty little tractor. The latest 8R and 8RT models are the modern workhorses on the land now - pulling twice the amount of gear and covering ground faster than I can dream about it.
In these new tractors about all I can do is turn it on - anything else requires a computer and high-tech mechanic.
I like working with the 520. It's a ritual of sorts for me now. Check the gas and oil, add the lubricants, monitor the belts - it feels like farming - a little elbow grease and dirt under my nails.
We've been through a lot - it's my job to keep her going for years to come.
More chapters in Life on the Farm.
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