In this video I use the 1951 John Deere model A to feed cattle. I feed with a custom built feeder (it was once a home-made round bale plastic bagger). As much as I hate talking on video, I tried to explain some of what was going on and a bit of the hardware.
The model A is one if my favorite of the two-cylinder machines, as it is a great machine that feels “two-cylinder” as it gets. Okay, personal opinion there, but it’s mine to give. 🙂
First off, sorry for not posting in such a long time. I guess time just slips by quickly…
I’d like to state a few highlights from 2020 as well. As is the case for pretty much every person on the planet–2020 was definitely a year one will never forget. For myself, this was no exception. Some of the bigger items of 2020 are as follows:
Covid 2019. This is probably the thing that rocked most peoples world the most. Where I work for a K-12 school district, COVID-19 altered things in a way that will change education forever. It forced people to use technology and practices that they wouldn’t normally do (such as videoconferencing). It shown the world that it is possible to work from home & lower the Co2 footprint. It gave schools new funds for replacing technology–even if the technology didn’t necessarily need to be replaced… I have to say though, I loved being able to work from home and would definitely do that full time if I was able to do so…
Grandma. Another big change that affected me personally was the loss of my grandmother, Doreen. She was very beloved lady that affected the lives of so many around her. Her loss is felt every day, and she will forever be missed. Please see this post here.
Tip. It’s hard to express the loss of a creature that is nearly with you 24/7. As a farm boy, one can best describe the relationship between a man and his dog as a form of symbiotic relationship. His loss was especially hard for me, and something I have yet to recover from…
Tristan. Tristan is the new puppy we picked up. Although he will never replace Tip, I have enjoyed having another puppy around. He is also a full-blooded German Shepherd with a lot of personality. He’s still in his puppy stages, so he is definitely a handful… But we do love him. 🙂
Tractors. I told myself I wasn’t going to get any more tractors this year. Of course that didn’t end up being the case… I ended up getting three. The year still has one more week to go too… We ended up picking up a John Deere 5020 in the spring (pretty cool machine and one I’ve always wanted, so it was hard to pass up), as well as a more recently a John Deere 430 with a loader, tire chains, box scraper, and loader–what can I say, the price was right). We also picked up a little Farmall model B. The B was also at the right price, and will make a fun little tractor to the slowly growing Farmall collection…
Night on the mountain. I went on a nice bike ride with two of my cousins and a friend of one of my cousins. It was a good ride up Bald Mountain–one I hadn’t been on before. It was a fun ride, but we ended up running into troubles and had to spend the night on the mountain. That was definitely a learning experience for sure… Staying on a mountain when you aren’t prepared for it isn’t exactly something I’d recommend. Spending the night outdoors when it gets down below 40 degrees with nothing but a t-shirt and riding jersey on isn’t exactly something I’d recommend. Fortunately everything turned out okay though in the end.
Coming out. This is a hard one to write, as it’s not exactly something I like to advertise. However, since no one really reads my blog, I don’t think hardly anyone will see it anyway. That being said, 2020 is the year that I came out to much of the family and our closest friends. It’s not something I would have ever chosen for myself, nor something that has been an easy thing to go through–but it is who I am, so it deserves a spot on the list. I have been with my partner for over ten years now, and most of my accomplishments that you see here on this website were the combined effort of the two of us; something I wouldn’t have been able to have accomplished without him.
So there you have it. That’s 2020 in a nutshell. Here’s to the unknowns of 2021…
This video is a compilation of videos taken over the past decade of us hauling hay in Star Valley, Wyoming. “Haying season” has typically been a very integral part of life in Star Valley–especially during its agricultural past. It’s interesting looking back seeing how things have changed, both in the equipment used, types of bales, and quality of recorded video.
The equipment shown is as fallows: 1972 John Deere 4020 PowerShift
1964 John Deere 3020 PowerShift
John Deere 4020 PowerShift Front-Wheel Assist (FWA)
John Deere 4230
1960 John Deere 730 Diesel
1959 John Deere 630
1949 John Deere BW All-Fuel (AF)
1997 Ford F-250 7.3 L Power Stroke
2001 Ford F-350 7.3 L Power Stroke
We currently use 4x4x8 large square-bales. Previously, we used 3x3x8 large square bales. The 4×4 bales are much nicer to haul and work with… Previous to the 3×3 bales, we used little square bales. Sadly I don’t have anything in terms of video footage. During that time we used a farm-hand 8 pack accumulator with 8-pack grapples on the 3020 and 4020 FWA. The ’72 4020 was purchased after that era.
I’m a little late with this one, but here’s some video footage of when we planted grain hay this spring. We planted using a John Deere 4640 and John Deere LL-A grain drill. The crop is a three-way grain hay crop (used for cattle feed) that we cut and baled.
It’s winter time again. And with that, feeding the beef cattle. In this video I am feeding the cattle with a John Deere 630. Dad loaded the bale on the 3020 Diesel PowerShift, as well as brought a little more hay out (alfalfa) to supplement the bale where the weather was so cold (it was below zero f while feeding).
The hay is a three-way mixture of barley, oats, and peas, which the cattle quite enjoy.
Mowing hay (a mixture of alfalfa and grass) with a John Deere Model A and Number 5 sickle mower. We have a nice rotary swather, but thought it’d be fun to spend some time and shoot some video of the A and No. 5.
I was a little later getting to the feeding tonight, but it gave me a good opportunity to use my newly installed LED lights. They are a lot brighter than the originals, yet still fit in the same housings (and look “original”). Also, the snow is getting deeper. It’s been pretty cold lately, so the tractor still goes through it okay. It was around 10 degrees F when I was feeding.
I recently rebuilt the engine on the 1947 A. I changed out the head and block, plus put new high-compression pistons in it.
This video shows a few photos, plus the first few drives with the newly rebuilt engine. The newer high-compression pistons sure make a big difference!
Special thanks to Jerry’s Machine & Engine Parts of Idaho Falls, Idaho, for their work with the new head and block.
Last year, I used the 630 to feed with. However, I thought it would be fun to try the A as well. I think the A is one of my favorite two-cylinder models.
In this video I’m feeding beef cattle (Herefords and Angus) with the A and a custom-made feeder. The feeder used to be a round bale bagger. I converted it to work with the 3x4x8 large square bales. Bales are loaded with a 3020 PowerShift.
Recently, I had the opportunity to purchase a 1953 International Harvester Farmall Super M. The tractor was in a non-running condition. It had a stuck (seized) engine, and was missing a few other components.
Although I am mostly a Deere person (meaning, I prefer to purchase and use John Deere equipment), I have a respect and admiration for all classic pieces of farm history. The Farmall line of tractors is no exception. Although my paternal line was mostly Deere (with the exception of having a few Ford N series machines), my maternal side often had Farmall tractors. The tractor posted here, left, is a Farmall M that was purchased by my great-grandparents on my mothers side. Farmall tractors were also very popular in the valley, although I believe my particular town was mostly Deere.
The other thing I enjoy about restoring these old machines is seeing them come back to life again. One of the most enjoyable moments is having that first fire. Although it took a while to fine tune its running, I was able to learn a great deal and believe I have it running well now.
Here are a few videos I put together of the restore of the tractor, along with taking it out and letting it stretch her legs for a bit.