The Development of a Hunter

Good Venison

Goose Decoy

The Blind

Squiral Meat for Lunch

Once the Harvest is complete Iowa Tractor Boys focus on meat for the coming Winter.

The End of an Era

In years gone by, Iowa Tractor Boys engaged in Farming with the concept being that you had livestock, grew corn and oats as well as hay. This required a wide range of equipment and also required a lot of labor. The Silo shown here on the ground was demolished because it was no longer being used. In the past it was used to store forage for feeding to Beef Cattle. Yes, it was the end of an era when this silo was imploded.

Harvest Time - Iowa Tractor Boys

A Young Iowa Tractor Boy with His Son in the Combine as they are harvesting Corn. Iowa Gold!!!!!!!!! A recent Post to this Blog discussed the potato harvest and how Iowa Tractor Boys grew their own produce. This image shows a combine with the corn header ready to harvest corn. This crop is used to feed livestock which produces our beef, our pork, our poultry, and our mutton. Additionally, corn is used in the production of cereal. Of course, corn from the United States of America is exported around our World. Additionally, corn and other grains are now being used to produce energy.
Here the hopper is being emptied to a grain wagon for transport to the holding bin and drying. Some Farmers ship their corn directly to a grain elevator for appropriate drying and future shipment to grain processing facilities or export.

The two pictures above display the wagon unloading operation to a holding bin for additionally processing at the onsite grain dryer. A few years ago, the composer of this post was complaining about the high cost of natural gas to heat his Georgia Home. His sibling Brother quickly informed him that the cost of natural gas to dry his corn crop had doubled in the past year, from $17,000.00 to $34,000.00. So much for complaining about a few hundred dollars to keep warm all Winter in Georgia. Additionally, I was informed that a tune-up and appropriate repair conducted on the corn combine for readiness for the harvest was a mere $17,000.00. So much for the high cost of keeping my pick-up truck in peek operating conditioning. It is amazing what the Iowa Tractor Boys must expend to produce our food material.

This Is Not Idaho

Yes, it is that time, the time for Harvest. What you are viewing here did not take place in Idaho. This is Iowa. You can quickly ascertain that this is an older model of a John Deere Tractor. A name that abounds in the land of Iowa Tractor Boys. What is happening in the above picture is that Iowa Tractor Boys are engaged in the plowing up of potatoes.
Shown here are two future Iowa Tractor Boys as they display with pride, the results of their labors after their Dad and two Uncles turned the potatoes to the top so that they could be picked up. One thing is certain, both of these young boys know where their food comes from. They even helped harvest it. Shown here are two generations of Iowa Tractor Boys. They just happen to be Uncles of the two young boys in the previous picture. You can be confident that this is not the total harvest of potatoes. Even Iowa Tractor Boys need to take a break now and then.

"The Formation of a Tractor Boy"

Many years ago, My Sister gave the above miniture collection of John Deere Tractors to my Son for Christmas. She was the God parent at his Baptism in 1972. The Tractors have been maintained all these years. The tractor on the top is a "Green" version of the Original Traction Engine which I have discussed in a previous post to this Blog. In fact these tractors have become the genesis of an entire "John Deere" Collection which has been established by this same Son. He does indeed have a John Deere Room in his home.
Because of his John Deere Tractor Collection everyone who knows this "Tractor Boy" in exile in the State of Georgia gives him frequent gifts to add to his John Deere Collection. Shown here is a Tractor given to him by his Father-in-Law.

Iowa Tractor Boys

and

The Field of Dreams

July 1994. During vacations to Northeast Iowa, this former Iowa Tractor Boy often visited the "Field of Dreams" near Dyersville, Iowa. This photo shows my Son on the far left and my Dad in the Middle. I, of course am on the far right. This is an image taken on the Westside of the Field of Dreams, just beyond Left Field. As I reflect on the "Boys of Summer," even though I never played Baseball, this image is very precious to me. This "Field of Dreams" was the site of the hit movie released in 1989 and is still maintained so that visitors can see the actual field. It is a tourist mecca. It is my understanding that a "Reunion Game" is played each year on Labor Day Weekend. Of course you can learn a lot more at:

http://www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com/distance.html

Northeast Iowa Farm

Antique Association

You have recently viewed information about the First Gasoline Powered Traction Engine that was developed in Northeast Iowa.

More recently a group of Young Farmers and Retired Farmers established the Northeast Iowa Farm Antique Association to conduct an exhibit of various action events each September so that future generations could appreciate how it used to be on the Farm. This view is from the Show conducted in 1983 and shows a steam engine. For additional information about this event I would encourage you to visit this web site:


http://www.silosandsmokestacks.org/resources/FieldTripGuide/Clayton/plagman_barn_northeast_iowa_farm_demonstration_and_antiques_show.htm