Former Iowa Tractor Boy Farming

Everyone knows that the publisher of this Blog grew up in Iowa but now resides in Georgia. The one acre lot that also contains his home is filled with trees and a small area along the street with real grass that needs mowing.

A few weeks ago the lawn looked rather sick so the decision was made to apply some 33-3-3 to improve the color of the grass. The grass has quickly overcome the weeds and with the recent rains has flourished. Here you see the Former Iowa Tractor Boy mowing during a break in the rains. The grass does look good and now requires mowing every 2 1/2 days. The "farm" equipment you see here is a 22inch, six blade McClane reel lawn mower. It does an excellent job in keeping the Bermuda grass looking good.

Turkey Hunting

Iowa Tractor Boys and Free Time

We have all heard the adage "All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy." Here is a picture of an Iowa Tractor Boy with a Turkey that he has just harvested.

Some of you may know this young man who is also a former Sailor in our United States Navy. While he served he was a Gunner's Mate. That stated, I would remind the readers here that he was an excellent shot even before he joined the U. S. Navy.

Old Time Farming Equipment

In a previous post I discussed the modern high tech methods that today's Iowa Tractor Boys employ to use chemicals to control weeds in a most effective manner.

Today's post will show you how the Iowa Farm scene looked in 1940. I was born in 1940 but I do recall when my Dad acquired his first tractor in 1944. He farmed 80 acres and retained his team of horses in addition to the new Allis Chalmers Tractor such as you see in the first page of this Blog.

This picture was acquired by a relative of mine who lives in Clayton County, Iowa. It shows the draft horse and some farm equipment from the 1940s and prior time frame. The Amish have a rather large settlement in Southwest Clayton County and they still farm using the old methods and equipment. Certainly interesting to see how things were done a mere 70 years ago.

When you view this picture and reflect back it is realized that one of the reasons that Farm Families during the first half of the last century had a large number of children. Children were a great source of labor as they grew up. Of course my Dad always stated that we were cheaper than a hired hand and that one pair of shoes usually lasted at least a year.

I enjoyed the opportunity to reflect back on the past as a Former Iowa Tractor Boy.

Technology At Work

Eliminating Weeds in the Corn Fields

Two Young Iowa Tractor Boys prepare to spray the Corn Fields with pre-emergence chemicals to prevent the weeks from growing.

This sprayer has a 60 feet boom and it is operated by GPS. It shows a map of the field and shows any patches that are missed as the Operator goes along, automatically stops the spray out of any one or more nozzles if spray has already been applied on that parcel. An Iowa Tractor Boy is running this with touch screen. The blue things on the end drop foam to indicate where he last was. You can see drops of foam. The farmer plugs in how much they want applied per acre and it keeps track. The Operator can also control it manually.




Here's the GPS screen in the tractor with the sprayer. The sun was shining which prevented the photojournalist from obtaining a clear picture. The green outlines the field that the Operator was spraying. The green outline was obtained by driving around the field to create the borders. The plus sign in the circle is the current location at when this picture was taken. It filled in green as the spray was applied. It is barely visable but you might be able to see some very thin white lines in the bottom green part. That is where we missed spraying. The operator may have been over too far. Or side winds blowing prevented the weed chemical from falling where it should have. The 15.0 at the top right is 15 gallons per acre. The other indicators provide additional data for the operator. In the fall, they move this screen to the combine and it tells the Iowa Tractor Boy Operator the number of bushels per acre at every spot.

All I know as a Former Iowa Tractor Boy is that today's modern equipment is very technical but I understand that it allows the Farmer to use less chemicals and to reduce their operating cost.

More than riding on a Tractor

You can quickly ascertain that Iowa Tractor Boys do more than operate Farm Equipment. Some of them raise Beef. Here is a new Mom - a Beef Cow - with a young calf. Yes the terrain looks a bit rugged but for a March is is quite normal, especially in Eastern Iowa along the Mississippi River.

Garden Grooming

As you can appreciate, real Iowa Tractor Boys live on functioning farms in the Heartland of our United States of America. Although they are actively engaged in full time farming activities they also take pride in the yards and gardens surrounding their homes. The title of this Blog is "Garden Grooming." In as much as I, the author of this Blog have spent some time in England I refer to yards and lawns as Gardens. Thus this title.

The young Iowa Tractor Boy shown here is operating a device mounted on the front of his John Deere Riding Lawn Mower which is called a "Rotary Broom." I have been informed that it is not a detacher and is used for grooming. This young Farmer also works at John Deere as a welder. Additionally he has a contract with the Clayton County Board of Supervisors to maintain several Cemeteries in Clayton County. A busy young farmer, but I must also say a very dedicated young family man who also is an Elder in his local Church.

As you might gather by now, Iowa Tractor Boys are generally engaged in their Occupation, their Family and in their Community.

Getting Ready for Harvest 2009

While it may appear to be folly to be preparing for the 2009 Harvest in March it is really a prudent undertaking. The implement dealers have staff that is under utilized and the Combine is now ready for action. This John Deere 9400 shown with the Corn Header has been thoroughly cleaned and serviced.