Dad bought a 660 (used) when I was 13. Power steering by Armstrong, no cab . Covered a lot of acres with it , good , solid and dependable . Good equipment
I’d give my left one for that International pickup
Old guy I knew farmed 2 1/2 sections with a WD9....
He has the right idea. Stick with what works, and don't go in over your head in debt. He will never need "right to repair" legislation to fix his equipment..
We have a 72 model 856. N/A diesel with the TA and no cab. It’s a little dated as far as hydraulics and amenities but a very dependable old tractor. Leaks every fluid it’s supposed to hold but it always starts and runs like a top. Being a big heavy machine it will pull bigger implements much better than the newer JD we have that’s the same HP.
When I was farm handing in school my boss had a 1066 and a 1466 that we used for haying. Very solid dependable machines. A/C sucked on both and the shift linkages are prone to getting sloppy and hard to operate but the old Binders are good cheap horsepower.
I'd be interested in knowing how much he farmed. Compared to the "average" sized farm for 78 and today etc. Neat stuff.
Course - today, I think you pretty much have to be born into a farm or marry into it - can't imagine being 30 and saying "screw this cubicle, I'm going to raise beef and wheat" and being able to do so. Financially.
Video guy would get along well with my Father In Law. He finally retired 5 years ago. His newest machine was a fancy 1983 5088. Ran a IH 715 right up to the end. His M belonged to his father, and was still used regularly.
I've got a 45 year old Ford 5600 with a front end loader. Year in and year out it probably averages $100 a month in repairs, tires, etc. But that beats making payments. I hire hay work with me doing the raking and hire some bush hogging.
Do not like payments, especially interest payments.
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
I worked for IH after high school at the last factory branch in Connecticut. Every once in a while a parts man would order something with the wrong part number and we would end up with stuff from agriculture. I was working there in 79 or 80 when they fazed out the scout. In typical IH fashion they dumped the SUV just before the country started buying 4x4s for soccer moms. They must have had parts for about 20 gas engines still in use at the time. We just started peddling the dt466 diesel engine in midsized trucks. That engine came from agriculture.
