Re: value for the money...Farmall M vs Farmall 100

Posted by Hugh MacKay on May 10, 2007 at 17:15:48 from (209.226.247.132):

In Reply to: value for the money...Farmall M vs Farmall 100 posted by Jesse on May 10, 2007 at 10:12:55:

Jesse: Depends on your needs, no question in my mind. SA, 100, 130 and 140 are just great little tractors for yard work, even if your farming 25 acres of land. In the 1950s my uncle Wallace farmed close to 100 acres, milked 20 cows, and did all his work with a Super A. He always had time to travel the countryside taking in county fairs plus he sang in a male choir. My dad had twice as much land, twice as many cows, 3 tractors, and he didn't have near as much liesure time as Wallace.

I farmed myself for a good many years, at one point running 9 tractors all the way up to 150 hp, but there was always a Super A and 130 in the line up.

Now, I have a little story, these other guys have heard this many times, very likely they are even bored with the story. A friend of my dad's dropped in one day. He owned a 40 cow beef herd had a IH 350 Utility, however his main income was a big dump truck, owner operated. He wanted a second tractor to speed up his haying, thus taking less time away from his trucking. He thought a SA, 100 or 130 would fill the bill, wanted to be able to rake hay while baling, haul in hay while still baling. We advised him the 130 was just a great little tractor for mowing, raking and we regularly hauled 150 bales to the barn. He thought an offset would fill his needs, and also knew where there was a 100 for sale. We were convinced he would buy the 100 when he left our place. Two days later we learned he came home with a 460 gasser. We knew where it had come from and also knew it had seen better days. It had been abused beyond belief, but it was less money to buy than the 100. This guy could have sat down anyday and written a check for several new tractors. For the next 35 years that 460 sat in his yard, most of the time broke down and he was unwilling to spend the money to fix it. He would never admit, he'd made a mistake. Within weeks of his passing, his son got rid of the money guzzling 460. He currently runs 2-35 hp diesels.

My point here is this, yes buy the big hp if you need it, don't let it become a albatross around your neck. Our friend could have spent the money to make that 460 a good tractor. How many big tractors have been towed to the back 40 and left there to rust for finincial reasons. It's happened more times than I care to mention, and caused family hardship along the way.

Big tractors may be cheap to buy, but they are not cheap at the parts counter.

Replies:

Add a Reply Name: E-Mail: Subject: Comments: Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: Email Notification: If you check this box, email will be sent to you whenever someone replies to this message. Your email address must be entered above to receive notification. This notification will be cancelled automatically after 2 weeks.

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]