The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 8, 1919, Page 10

Tractor Experience in the Dakotas Survey by Department of Agriculture Gives Opinion of Farmers on Merlts, Size, Length of Life and Quality of Work The article on this page is taken from Farmers’ Bulletin 1,085, which can be obtained from the department of agri- culture, Washington, . The depattment has also is- slled Farmers’ Bulletin 963, on “Tractor Experience in 1llinois,” and Farmers’ Bulletm 1,004, on “The Gas Trac- tor in Eastern Farming.” AS tractors first came into gen- eral use for farm work in the northern portion of the Great Plains. Their introduction in this region came when great areas of new land were being opened<:up for settlement, and millions of acres of virgin prai- rie were being broken. .Horses were scarce and high priced in this territory, and little feed was available. Prairie breaking with horses and oxen, both of which were used exten: sively in this work, was tedious. The earliest gas tractor outfits, usually pulling from 6 to 12 or 14 breaker bottoms, offered a means of putting under culti- vation at a very rapid rate - this virgin land. The returns from the acreage planted by the use of the early outfits were such as to lead thou- sands of settlers to borrow money for the purchase of gas tractor outfits. Inefficient operation, how- ever, with overloading, delays for repairs, crude machines, crop failures and other diffi- culties, soon served to dis- credit the gas tractor for farm work in the eyes of a large percentage of farmers. Within a few years horses were bought, colts were raised, and much of the work which had been done previously by the large tractor outfits was per- formed by horses. As a result of the ex- perience with the large tractor outfits in the area mentioned, manufacturers rapidly improved their machines, and at the same time there was a decided tendency to produce small- er and less expensive out- fits. While at first a six-plow machine had been considered small, within a year or two most of the outfits being produced pulled less than six plows. Many machines pulling only two plows were manufactured and sold, while three and four-plow outfits became quite com- mon. A tractor, which a few years before had been considered small, soon came to be consid- ered large for general farm purposes. INTEREST IN GAS TRACTOR RETURNS IN NORTHWEST For two or three years following the passing of the large tractor, farmers in the Northwest were very skeptical in their attitude toward the small outfits, and sales of these machines were decidedly limited. Within the past two or three years, how- ever, there has been a reawakening of interest in the gas tractor on the part of farmers in the north- ern Great Plains region. The answers of over 300 tractor ownmers to the questions, “What do you find to be the principal advantage of the tractor for farm work ?” and “What are the principal disadvantages ?” may be summarized as follows: Advantages—The saving of time, with consequent .ability to have farm operations done quickly, thus cover- ing the desired acreage within the proper season, is most important and is mentioned by a large percentage of owners. Ability to do thorough work, especially in- hot weather, is emphasized considerably, as is also the saving in man labor and doing away with hired help, enabling one man to farm a large acreage and thus increase the total quantity of crops which he can raise. Economy is mentioned by a larger Three-plow Four-plow Size of tractor . Two-plow .. percentage of owners in this territory than in some other parts of the country, owing doubtless to the fact that the cropping system permits the tractor to be used for a larger percentage of farming oper- ations than in most. other regions; at the same time, the cropping systems are usually such as to utiiize horse labor rather inefficiently, thus making the comparison rather favorable to the tractor. Disadvantages—The principal disadvantage of the tractor in the Dakotas, 25 indicated by the re- ports of owners, lies in its inability to do satisfac- tory work under moist soil conditions. This diffi- culty is, of course, most pronounced in those sec- tions where the soil is particularly heavy, and where it is necessary to do considerable work in the early spring. Some of these heavy soils retain moisture long after the frost leaves the ground thus delaying spring work. Difficulty of efficient operation is the next dis- advantage in rank of importance as indicated by Tractor harvesting durum wheat on the I. P. Baker farm near Bismarck, N. D. Captain Baker evidently finds the tractor valuable for large-scale farming. He for the League and during the war period has been fuel administrator for North Dakota. the reports. This point is emphasized by tractor owners in all sections of the country, and should be kept in mind by every one who contemplates the purchase of a tractor. Expense in operation, undue increase in investment and delays from trouble, ete., were also mentioned by a small percentage of owners. Other disadvantages were given, but not in sufficient number to warrant mention. The dis- advantages are not emphasized to as great an ex- tent as was the case a few years ago, or in nearly 80 many cases as are the advantages. The introduction of any improved farm machine generally reduces the man labor required for any farm operation,-and thus permits one man to ac- complish more work and so farm more land than with the older methods. This holds true regarding " tractors of sizes which will accomplish more work per day than can be done with horses. Because of the local conditions and the type of farming followed, farms in the Dakotas have always been of comparatively large size, . yet 44 per cent of the farmers who bought | COST OF TRACTOR PLOWING PER ACRE | Total cost of < Fuel Other items of cost plowing Gl‘i‘:g. Efi;fi' Gaso- | Kero- | o1 | Greage| [Re- [Depre-| Man | In- tractor| tractor line sene pairs 31.7922 $0.69 so.ssz& $0.0714| $0.02 | $0.15 [$0.41 1.55 69 | -39 .07 .02 18 | .36 4| 1.37 69 | .391%| 07 .02 a1 | a1 The above figures give the approximate cost of plowing an acre with two, three and four-plow tractors, based on first cost of $1,050, $1,450 and $2,000, respectively, and a life of nine years of 45, 52 and 64 working days, respectively, a year. PAGE TEN 2 t"d»‘ R, ciation| labor tractors increased the acreage which they were farming, the average increase being 139 acres. The recommendations of the experienced tractor owners who furnished reports as to the size -of tractors which are most suitable for their farms are particularly significant. SIZES GENERALLY USED ON DAKOTA FARMS The proportlon of these men who bought the dif- ferent sizes, together with the sizes they recom- mend after having used the tractor, regardless of the sizes which they own, is as follows: Percentage Percentage Size of outfit of farmers ' of farmers buying recommending © TWO-PIOW .iuveinniioacenssmenens 17 b Three-plow .... .. 56 52 - Four-plow .......cc000 e 12 30 Five-plow and over 15 13 The question as to the smallest farm on which a tractor may be expected to prove profitable is often asked and has been much dis- cussed. This obviously depends upon a number of factors and particularly the type of farm- ing followed. In the opinion of Dakota farmers the mini- mum number of acres on which the two, three: or four-plow outfits may bhe expected to prove profitable are 185, 225 and 314 acres, respectively. Attention is called especially to the fact that these figures represent the smallest size of farm for which these tractors should be purchased, in the opinion of men who have had experience with them, and not used most . profitably. Nearly all tractors are used under conditions which are ex- tremely severe for any kind of machine. They travel over rough and uneven ground, and are subjected to severe shocks both from obstructions in the path and from the load being pulled. A still more injurious con- dition is their exposure to an almost constant shower of dust ‘and dirt, which, if the soil contains much gritty - substance, attacks all gears and bearing surfaces, not only those on the exterior of the machine but also those inside the engine itself, unless an effi- cient filter is provided for the air intake to the carburetor. This excessive wear due to dust was a very serious matter with the earlier models of tractors, but great progress has been made during the last year or two in protecting the machines -in this respect. It is obviously impossible to determine definitely the probable life of the latest model tractors, since none of them is worn out, but the nearest approxi- mation to the actual figure would unquestionably be the average of the estimates given by a large number of men who had used them for a season or two. Tractor owners were asked for an opinion as to the number of years their own -particular machines would give satisfactory service. As would naturally be expected, the average of the estimates o0f men who have found the tractor satisfactory and profitable was higher than of those who gave ad- verse reports on their machines. The average of the estimates of the first- is a strong booster and the latter 6.2 years. The fact should not be overlooked, however, that the percentage of favor- able reports was considerably higher than the unfavorable, nearly 85 per cent of the ownerg' reporting that their machines had proven profitable. -‘The average of all estimates on the life of a tractor is almost nine years. The average number of days these machines were used annually for both home and custom work was 51. These figures, therefore, would indi- cate a working life of approximately 450 days. Stationary operations are, of course, less wearing. terest $0.68% 0.1 869 Zos% ik the size on which they can be - mentioned class of owners was 94 - b3 LA J yr R b - ol - - & 3 <~ Wa Sy 4wy - oty ! Rl o o » I~ - - - i et T A et S AT, o LB