We have an old Massey Ferguson tractor: 1953 30 HP. I personally don't know too much about tractors (this is my husband's "toy") and would like to educate myself. We got it last year and I have been too busy to get out and teach myself to use it.

What kinds of attachments are still available for this? Can I still get equipment for haying? Any problems you have encountered?

Anything you want to tell me about this ancient wonder (I am a year older!) would be appreciated....

Thanks very much in advance.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 01, 2000

Answers

Sheepish: Check out this site. Its pretty neat!....Kirk..............http://www.ytmag.com/

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), April 02, 2000.

You should have a full line of equipment still available for your purchase and use. You don't mention if the tractor has a 3-point hitch system, but what you can use with your tractor will depend upon if it has one. I'm guessing that it probably does.

Since childhood I have been smitten with utility tractors and the implements available for them. Probably because we didn't have such a tractor on our farm while others did. As a result, when I purchased my tractor in 1996, I outfitted it with about every toy, er I mean every tool that you could ever want. You asked what all was available, here is what I have. Front end loader, bale spike for same, back blade, box blade, 68" roto-tiller, single row cultivator, multiple row cultivators with hoods, sweep blades, chisels, post hole digger, wire roller, cement mixer, furrower, ridge buster, 3-pt. quick attach/release hitch, crane, round bale carrier, spike tooth harrow, rotary hoe, spring tooth harrow, seedling transplant sled, precision vegetable planter, 2 row and 3 row planters, grain drill, broadcast fertilizer spreader, field sprayer, rotary mower, rod weeder, undercutter, Hoeme chisel, one-way plow, trailers, and anything else that I've forgotten to mention. Much of the equipment came via a friend whose dad decided it was time to clean house of little used items. Some of the equipment I purchased new. Items that I would still like to have are a two bottom plow, a multi-vator, a landscape rake and a plasticulture layer. I hasten to add that I'm not married so can spoil myself with such things without depriving family of anything.

-- greenbeanman (greenbeanman@ourtownusa.net), April 02, 2000.

Sheepish, you also didn't mention if the tractor has hydraulics. I'm not familiar with MF, so if that's a stupid question,(as in all MF tractors come with hyd.) please forgive me. Anyway, with hydraulics, you can do a whole lot more than without. We have a Ford 9N, a fairly small tractor but with the hydraulics and a 3-pt hitch we can find lots of attachments. Most implement dealers have used stuff or can steer you to someone who does. I don't remember if GBman's list included an auger but that is my dream attachment. Lots of fences to build.

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), April 02, 2000.

Sheepish,

What model MF? I don't think its a Massey Ferguson from 1953 as Harry Ferguson, the inventor of the 3 point hitch and partner of Henry Ford (until a nasty lawsuit in the late '40s) was building his own tractors in 1953 (as I understand it), the Ferguson TO-20, TO-30 and TO-35. Ferguson invented the now standard 3 point hitch, first used on the Ford 9N (1939). This system of two lift arms and a top link allow for the easy switching of implements (well, easy in a comparative sort of way).

First and foremost is safety, a tractor deserves a lot of respect and too many people are killed and injured by tractors every year because they don't pay attention or flat out don't know what they are doing. You need to determine if your tractor needs an overrunning coupler - this is a device that fits over the PTO (power take off), and you need one if you have an older tractor (like my 9N or any of the older Fords) that does not have a double clutch arrangement. A tractor with a double clutch or overrunning coupler thats running a PTO implement, say a bushog, will not push a tractor forward thru momentum when the clutch is disengaged; i.e. if you don't have overrunning protection, you are out mowing, and a cow runs in front of you the momentum of the implement may push you forward even though you stomp on the clutch and brakes.

You may want to consider rollover protection (ROPS) if your land is hilly, especially if you have a row crop/tricycle gear tractor (narrow front end).

For 3 years now I've gotten by with a harrow disc, a 12" two bottom plow, a bushog (rotary cutter) and a sub soiler. This does my garden nicely. A lift boom would be nice (lets you move heavy stuff around with the tractor) and I hope to find a digging scoop and grading blade at auction or for sale cheap. But for a garden you can prepare a nice seed bed with the plow and disc harrow. I use the sub soiler to cut through or pull up tree and bramble roots.

I personnaly am not familiar with Massey Fergusons, but they are a popular tractor around here and all parts are readily available. I may well have my dates screwded up when Ferguson became part of Massey but you may have a newer tractor than you think.

Sorry for the long winded response and happ tractoring,

Bob

-- Robert (STBARB@usa.net), April 02, 2000.

Sheesh, I thought learning about computers was intimidating!

Thanks for the info so far....Greenbeanman, you must be the catch of the county!!

Ok. I will go get the model number and ask if there's hydraulics. I think it does. 3 Pt hitch, PTO...all that I will find out , too. I know we have a front loader attachment and a back blade. Other than that, it has a big cement block on it (to stabilize it?)

What I really want to do is to put up some of our orchard grass this summer If we get lucky and no rain for a week or so. So I guess I would need something specific to cut with (brush hog sounds high, but our pasture sits on an old glacial moraine, and I swear we should be miners for all the rocks, not farmers...anyway) and something to bale with (small bales).

Thanks for the input! I'll post when I get info.

p.s. I was raised in a city...can you tell? My cousin who was raised on a farm moved to the city, and I moved to the country. She thinks I am nuts. I guess I probably am.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 02, 2000.

Sheepish,

You do not want any sort of rotary mower (bushog/brushog etc.) for cutting hay, it will chew the grass up too much. You may want to see if someone local will cut and bail for you, I think guys around here charge .25 a square bail. If you want to do it yourself see if you can find someone selling off an older hay package - a sickle bar mower, a hay rake and a bailer. Try to get equipment that's been barn kept. I don't think your MF, whatever model it is, is going to have the PTO horsepower to run a newer mower-conditioner. I should also say that no mower is going to like the rocks you mentioned in your field. In this part of the country (SE In, SW Oh, N Ky) I think you can pick up a serviceable hay package for $1000.00 - $2000.00.

Bob

-- Robert (STBARB@usa.net), April 04, 2000.

Sheepish,

I think your best bet is to hire someone to put the hay up for you. In my experience, equipment breakdowns peak during hay season, especially on older equipment, and unless you are able to sell several calves, goats, etc. -whatever you are feeding- or can sell hay, you may never recover the cost of the equipment, even used equipment. Regarding the tractor itself, I don't think I've ever seen a full-size Massey Ferguson tractor that did not have the standard 3- point hitch assembly. Chances are yours is so equipped, and you should be able to find plenty of attachments to ease life around the farm. I think it was Bob that thought your tractor may have been newer than early 1950's (if it wasn't, sorry Bob!), and I agree. I recently looked at a Ferguson tractor which was I think an early 1950's model and competition to Ford's 8N and Jubilee models. If I'm not mistaken Ferguson and Massey Harris merged in the late 50's to form Massey Ferguson. I might add a bit of advice, too - be really really careful as you learn to operate the machine. If your tractor doesn't have live power (a safety feature which allows you to clutch tractor with PTO running and the tractor doesn't try to keep moving in a forward gear or in reverse), you can easily run into or over things while bushhogging, rototilling, etc. Also make sure the brakes are in good shape. Brake shoes often need to be replaced on the older tractors. Finally, just pay careful attention to learning the quirks of your machine. Old tractors like old cars are often tempermental and have a mind of their own. Sorry to be so wordy. Best wishes with your new tool! N. Mays

-- Neal Mays (mays@raptor.afsc.k12.ar.us), April 05, 2000.

Thanks for all the great input folks. I appreciate it. I haven't had a chance to get all the information I said I would, but I would like to respond that it's nearly impossible to find anyone to put up hay around here. I have 5 acres of pasture, and why would anyone bother with transporting their equipment out here and haying for me? At least that is what everyone has told me for about the last 5 years. Nobody will do it for even 20 acres....so I thought..as long as I have the tractor, why not do it myself? Couple of thoughts to the contrary: hay can be bought around here for as little as a couple of bucks a square bale (local grass hay) to around...hmmm I think $180/ton E. Washington alfalfa (best deal last year...a neighbor and I split a truckload). I think it's expensive, what do you guys pay? But at least I can get it. And it rains pretty often, so you have to be more or less *blessed* to be able to coordinate the weather with time available to hay at all. (that's been the story since cultivation!)

Safety sounds important. We did buy this from the 2nd owner who bought it about 2 years ago from the original farmer (we know the guy) and it was taken good care of. But other than that I keep running into tests and papers due at school, plus little lambs that decide they need to be born in the middle of the night (or not born) so I regret no more info quite yet. But I would still like to be able to clean out my barn and lime, fertilize my pasture, etc.

Other comments? I will get back to this soon.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 05, 2000.

Sheepish: We also bought an older tractor, a John Deere 420U. It has a wonderful auger, which we sure could have used about 200 trees ago! It is soooo much easier than digging this hard compacted ground with a shovel (oh, pardon me, my husband did tell me that what I call a shovel is really a spade.) Our old JD doesn't have power steering, and really puts my husband through the ringer, so I haven't even attempted to try to operate it. We do have to repack the hydraulic cylinders as they leak slightly. Otherwise, it is a great machine. We also have a small tractor, which was advertised as a Kabota, but is a grey-market model, made in the orient, and all the instructions are in Japanese or something! Can't get a manual, except for similar models, so we are winging it on that one. My husband is 6'1", so his knees don't really fit that one, but it is great for tight spots. Hope you can learn to operate yours! Have Fun! Jan

-- Jan Bullock (Janice12@aol.com), April 05, 2000.

Sheepish,

In response to your most recent post I think square bales go for $1.25- $1.75 around here depending on quality and quanitity variables. Since you can't get anyone interested in cutting and baling your 5 acres for you and as the purchase of all the required equipment can't be justified perhaps you could get by with a sickle bar mower and hayrake, forget the baler. Cut the hay, rake it, then use your front end loader on your MF and try to push/scoop the hay into the bucket, maybe with two guys on the ground with rakes helping the hay into the bucket. You could then try and get twine around the bundle of hay in the bucket and have a bundle of hay to throw onto your wagon then into the loft or wherever. This is obviously very labor intensive and I wouldn't mess with it unless you had the help available, and the time.

I think you would be able to pick up a good used hay rake and sickle bay for $500.00 or less. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Bob

-- Robert (STBARB@usa.net), April 06, 2000.

I'm so tickled that there are other women who have tractors. We bought a '54 Ford Jubilee with a blade and bush hot last fall and have added a manure spreader (I'm jokingly calling it my birthday present), a hoist, posthole digger and harrow. When my husband started talking about getting a tractor, my only stipulation was that it be small enough that I could drive it. We had an M Farmall and I couldn't drive it for anything because I'm too short. This Ford is perfect and I have a ball using it.

Just for the record, I'm several years older than the tractor and the same age as the manure spreader. It's gotten excellent care by all the owners and we even have the owner's manual for it. The harrow is also a really old piece but still usable.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), April 08, 2000.

hi ,i am also a lady farmer. safty is always a number one priority, but haying is great. if you are looking for older equipment, try and take some one with you, to find good old equipment you must know what to look for, it may not work when you get home otherwise. some types will not work with certain tractors, or hook-up on three point hitch. you can build a hay stack if you don't find a baler, we did for many years, i believe the animals liked it better. this too is a job to be learned as all others. remember; a job worth doing is a job worth doing well. have you ever done hay? do you have some one to advise you? it is real simple when you know the tricks. if i can be of any help,e-mail me lexi

-- lexi green (whitestone11@hotmail.com), December 04, 2000.