Old Iron in Star Valley

Category: Farm

  • Mowing with the 38 and 5 Mowers and Model A Tractors

    Mowing with the 38 and 5 Mowers and Model A Tractors

    As I mentioned in a pervious video, I have two mowers that, just for fun, I wanted to use to do some cutting.

    In this video we cut about five acres with two different sickle mowers, a John Deere Number 5 on a 1938 John Deere Model A, and a John Deere Number 38 mower on a 1951 John Deere Model A. Both the tractors and mowers are talked about in previous videos.

    The crop is second-growth grain hay. The second growth is much less than the initial crop (it’s really only a one-cutting crop). The first cutting yields between 3.5-4 ton an acre, so it makes a really good rotational crop where I rotate fields out with alfalfa.

    Shortly after starting, the 38 lost a section. Where it’s such a small amount to cut and we didn’t have a lot of time, we didn’t replace it. The mowers did an okay job, but compared to our more modern rotary swather/windrowers, the sickle mowers definitely don’t leave as clean of a cut as our more modern machines. The field was also sprayed not too long ago, so where the tractor knocked down the crop made it so they didn’t cut as well either.

    All of those problems aside, using the old mowers and tractors was a lot of fun. It was pretty cool hearing the two old “Johnny Poppers” going, and I’m sure it turned a few eyes and ears as people drove by or could hear it going throughout the town.

    Needless to say, I won’t be parking the big modern 16′ cut rotary windrower any time soon–but taking a little time every now and then to just enjoy the old equipment is an enjoyable thing to do too! 🙂

  • Mowing Grain Hay with the Model A and Number 5 Sickle Mower

    Mowing Grain Hay with the Model A and Number 5 Sickle Mower

    If you watched one of my recent YouTube videos on the Number 5 and 38 mowers, I mentioned that I had a little grain hay that I wanted to cut with the mowers. In this video I am using the 1947 John Deere Model A (48 model year) to cut some second-growth grain hay for the purpose of some quality seat time and time running the old mower.

    The Number 5 mower that I’m using also has some sentimental value, as I got that mower from my maternal grandfather. It is a mower that he had when he was younger and has told stories of spending many hours on it, so it’s always fun to see it being maintained and used.

    In case you’re wondering what grain hay is–on my farm I run a hay operation, so my primary product is alfalfa hay. Where alfalfa needs to be rotated every few years, historically people grew and rotated out barley in the area, but grain hay has started to become a popular replacement for barley. Basically it’s a 3 or 4 variety grain cop plus sometimes pease (oats, barley, wheat are common). You plant the crop in the spring and cut it when the oats are in the milk stage and the product is still green. You dry and bale it as you would alfalfa or any other hay crop. Due to its variety, it is a healthy substitute or replacement for grass and alfalfa bales.

    Recorded with Dolby Vision 4K HDR on an iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro.

    John Deere A and Number 5 Mower Video
  • 1951 and 1948 with John Deere Number 5 and Number 38 Mowers Side-By-Side

    1951 and 1948 with John Deere Number 5 and Number 38 Mowers Side-By-Side

    In this video I compare the John Deere Number 5 and Number 38 sickle mowers, as well as a few of the difference between a 1948 and 1951 John Deere Model A tractors. I reference the 48 as a 47, as this tractor was the first one that we got running, and at the time I didn’t know as much about the model A lineup. At the time, the information I found on the SN listed it as a 47 (which I believe which was tractordata, but it shows it correct now), but I later found it to be a 48 model year, but manufactured in July of 47.

    Anyway, I apologize for any errors. I’m not an expert, but only draw on what I’ve seen and learned over the years, so please forgive any technical errors I may have said being off script.

    For reference, the John Deere Model A was in production from 1934 until 1952. It was then replaced with the John Deere Model 60, 620, then 630. During the production of the model A, it went through three major design changes, with several minor design changes during its lifetime (nearly some minor change for every production year–far too many to list here as there are entire books on the subject). The three major designs can be summarized as the unstyled, early styled (pan seat and battery under the hood for optional electric start models, or hand start for non-electric), and late-styled machines, which featured the battery box under the seat as well as electric starting and lighting as standard features.

    The John Deere Number 5 “Power Mower” was one of the earliest and highest-produced sickle mowers for its time. I’m not sure of the exact years or production numbers, but they are very common mowers (especially for yard art and junk piles). They were also a popular mower to be used on other brands. The John Deere Number 38 mower was produced later, I believe during the 30 series two-cylinder and early new generation years (the manual shows it being operated by a 2010). Though they are similar in operation, the 38 is a much simpler and mostly likely more reliable design.

    Also seen in the video, but not mentioned, is a John Deere BW and John Deere 5020.

  • Rolling Alfalfa with the Farmall F-30 N

    Rolling Alfalfa with the Farmall F-30 N

    Each spring we cultivate alfalfa fields. This is typically done with some sort of danish harrow (spring tooth), drag harrows, and a heavy liquid-filled roller. This is due to our long winters and the damage that is done to the alfalfa fields, as well as the large amounts of rocks that we have in our fields.

    On a typical setup, the cultivator levels out the mice mounds and breaks up last years stubble. Then, the roller flattens it out and pushes down rocks, as to make the field less bumpy and to have less rocks for the swather (windrower, mower, or whatever your area calls them) to have less rocks to damage the cutting bar. However, this alfalfa field was only planted last year. Due to the plants being young and the roots not deep, we don’t use a digger on the fields for the first full year of the crop growth.

    That being said, needing to only pull the roller made for a great excuse to get out and use one of the old tractors. Where the F-30 hasn’t had a lot of tasks on the farm as of yet, we thought it’d be a perfect opportunity to put it to work and have a few hours of enjoyable (though bumpy) seat time. It also made for a good opportunity to take some photos and videos. The video also contains a John Deere 2010 Utility, which we eventually finished out the field with.

    Rolling Spring Alfalfa with the Farmall F-30

  • December 14th Update

    It’s now December 14th, 2021, and there is still no snow on the ground (as of when I went and fed). I had to do that insert as when I started to write this it finally started to come down. But anyway, this year has been pretty unusual for it being nearly mid-December. The other odd thing is that it was quite muddy. Usually by this time it’s been so cold for so long you couldn’t imagine seeing mud on the ground.

    Anyway, I really just wanted an excuse to do a quick post and post a few photos from today. I’m **trying** to update the blog more frequently.

    Here are some photos of the John Deere 630 with the 3×4 large square bale, as well as my German Shepherd Tristan, and a random portrait iPhone portrait mode of an old Hereford.

    Feeding Cattle with the 630 and trusty German Shepherd
  • Feeding Beef Cattle Dec 1

    Feeding Beef Cattle Dec 1

    Now that the cattle have eaten most of their fall pasture, it’s time to start feeding them again. Feeding the cattle at this time of year is nothing unusual, but having no snow on the ground and being able to wear a baseball cap is!

    In this video I’m using a John Deere 630 with a custom built bale feeder to feed my father’s Hereford and Angus beef cattle.

    Also, my less than two year old German Shepherd was absolutely loving it. He was pretty small still when we were feeding last year, so I didn’t take him out too often and he mostly tried to hide. This year he knew he was in charge, and he was happy to show that off to those cows!

  • Putting Equipment Away for the Winter

    Putting Equipment Away for the Winter

    I had to move the ’39 A out of where I had it currently being stored (it’s a long story), and since it’s not running great and is a hand start I most likely won’t be getting it out this winter, so I put it behind everything else in the side of the barn. I’ve had the carb rebuilt, and it still isn’t running too well. Anyway, since I had it out and had some of the other tractors started and moved out as well, I thought I’d take the opportunity to post a short video.

    We’re fortunate that it’s been this warm with the weather as good as it has been. Typically by this time of year we’re already accumulating some snowfall and the temperatures are rarely above the mid-20s.

    Hopefully next year I’ll be able to get it running better. But the list of machines I have to work on is getting pretty large…

  • Fall Disking with the John Deere 5020

    Fall Disking with the John Deere 5020

    If you saw my pervious video on chisel plowing with the John Deere 4640, then you saw how we plow the fields each fall. This is followed up by disking the fields, which we typically do in the springtime. After we disk, we then drill (plant) the field. When we plant, I use a spring tooth (danish harrow) with a roller to break up and smoothen the field out before planting. We have a lot of rocks in the valley, so the roller is a necessity to push down the big rocks.

    However, this year I decided to try disking in the fall instead of the springtime. Springtime in Star Valley have few open windows of good, dry planting, followed by several days of rain. If you can get your crop planted early enough to beat the rains, then your crop usually does better, especially given that not everything we do is under irrigation. So, I thought this may be a good thing to get done in the fall while we have time, then skip in the springtime to allow for more time to get the seed planted before the arrival of the rains.

    I guess I’ll find out next fall if it was a success or not. 🙂

    The tractor is a John Deere 5020 with a John Deere BW disk. Yes, I know the disk is old and small, but it’s all that I have at the moment. Upgrading takes time and money. 😉

    Photos of the John Deere 5020

  • 1950 John Deere MT

    1950 John Deere MT

    Over the weekend I acquired a 1950 John Deere MT single-front. I already had two parts MT machines, so I thought this would be a fun one to add to the collection. In this video we load it up with the Ford F-350, haul it home, and run it for the first time.

    The MT was the row-crop version of the John Deere M. The M is unique as it was a two-cylinder vertical engine with a foot clutch. The M also replaced both the models H and LA. The H was the smallest of the horizontal two-cylinder machines.

    John Deere Model M

    As I mentioned earlier, the MT was the row-crop version of the M. The M was considered a “standard”, meaning non-adjustable wheel tread and a lower stance. One of the things that interests me about the M is that we used to have a model M on our farm. The photo above is the model M that was once on our family farm. They were popular utility machines, as they were small and easy to use as they had a standard clutch to operate. In the photo above, you can see it connected to a manure spreader. Back then they had an old dairy barn with the large large rounded-roof loft. The cows would be milked and also were fed in the barn. This created a good deal of manure which needed to be removed daily. The M in the photo shows it hooked up to a manure spreader. This would have been the daily task of the tractor–to drive through the barn and haul out the manure. I recall my grandfather talking about the process, mentioning how they would manually shovel the manure into the spreader each day. There’s plenty of manure to be seen on the tractor as well.

    Shot in 4K HDR Dolby Vision. If you have an iPhone 12 or later (or HDR compatible Android phone), then the color and brightness should really pop.

  • 1936 Farmall F30

    About a year and a half ago we picked up a non-running 1936 Farmall F-30 tractor from someone over in Eastern Idaho. The F-30 is the predecessor to the popular Model M tractor. Where I already have a Model M and the successor Super M, I thought the F-30 would be a good addition to the lineup.

    The F-30 is a hand-start only tractor with no battery or lights. It also originally shipped on all steel wheels, so the four speed transmission tops out at around 5 MPH. It’s not exactly the tractor to take if you want to get somewhere in a hurry… However, it was considered a big tractor for the time–almost too big, as the smaller Model F-20 was the top seller (by a long shot).

    The John Deere tractor that competed with the F-30 was the Model G. The earlier G did not sell as well either, where the smaller Model A has significantly higher sales. The John Deere A was even outsold by the even smaller Model B. I guess farms at the time just weren’t ready for the larger equipment yet.

    Anyway, I’ve been slowly working on the machine for the past year. I finally took the plunge and purchased new back tires, which was the last thing it really needed to be able to get it out and use it some. Where tires are so expensive I was procrastinating the purchase for a while.

    I hope you can enjoy this old piece of history.