Agriculture Movement: The Tractors Are Coming - Part 2
Heritage Iron Magazine, Mar/Apr 2024
NOW AVAILABLE!
“The tractors are coming, but the people are the legends.” That’s how part one of this article ended in the previous issue of Heritage Iron. From hell or high water to freezing rain and snow, what could persuade farmers to drive their tractors thousands of miles across the country to our nation’s capital? When Congress and President Carter continued to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to a perfect economic storm that threatened to destroy the American farmer, those same farmers formed convoys of tractors and descended into Washington, D.C. by the thousands. A plight once easy to ignore while the farmers were on foot, that changed when they had leverage in the form of iron horsepower.
Agriculture Movement: The Tractors Are Coming - Part 1
Four Rivers Night Shift - Working past the 9 to 5 to finish an F-20
Agriculture Movement: The Tractors Are Coming - Part 1
Heritage Iron Magazine, Jan/Feb 2024
What would you do if your family’s livelihood and legacy were threatened? With commodity prices tanking, but input costs rising, farmers in the late-1970s who had previously been sitting idly by watching an economic downfall devastate generation family farms decided enough was enough. After voiced frust
Heritage Iron Magazine, Jan/Feb 2024
What would you do if your family’s livelihood and legacy were threatened? With commodity prices tanking, but input costs rising, farmers in the late-1970s who had previously been sitting idly by watching an economic downfall devastate generation family farms decided enough was enough. After voiced frustrations asking for fairness and change continued to fall upon deaf ears, the rumble from thousands of tractors headed toward the nation’s capital sent Congress the message loud and clear, “The tractors are coming.” Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Lulich’s Orchard 770 LP: Touched by the Hands of Time
Four Rivers Night Shift - Working past the 9 to 5 to finish an F-20
Agriculture Movement: The Tractors Are Coming - Part 1
Oliver Heritage Magazine, Dec/Jan 2024
Other than your admiring reflection, there is a lot more to a freshly restored tractor than what meets the eye. Stop to consider, for instance, the many hands that touched this story’s focus, a 770 orchard LP. From the team that assembled it in Charles City; to the salesman who introduced it to the or
Oliver Heritage Magazine, Dec/Jan 2024
Other than your admiring reflection, there is a lot more to a freshly restored tractor than what meets the eye. Stop to consider, for instance, the many hands that touched this story’s focus, a 770 orchard LP. From the team that assembled it in Charles City; to the salesman who introduced it to the original owner; that first set of young hands that nervously held the wheel under the watchful eye of a dad or grandpa, and everyone in between where it is now, which is with the Lulich family in Lyndon Station, Wisconsin. Ethan Lulich knew this tractor deserved the time and attention that would honor where it had been… and where it still may go.
Half Century of Progress 2023
Four Rivers Night Shift - Working past the 9 to 5 to finish an F-20
Four Rivers Night Shift - Working past the 9 to 5 to finish an F-20
Heritage Iron Magazine, Nov/Dec 2023 -
Noted as the largest working vintage farm show in the United States, the Half Century of Progress lives up to its reputation by doing everything on a scale that supersedes the limits of large into massive territory. Rantoul, or as it’s officially known, the Half Century of Progress, is the grandaddy
Heritage Iron Magazine, Nov/Dec 2023 -
Noted as the largest working vintage farm show in the United States, the Half Century of Progress lives up to its reputation by doing everything on a scale that supersedes the limits of large into massive territory. Rantoul, or as it’s officially known, the Half Century of Progress, is the grandaddy of all tractor shows. It’s a bi-annual event hosted every other year at Rantoul Aviation Center, the decommissioned Chanute Air Force Base, in Rantoul, Illinois.
Four Rivers Night Shift - Working past the 9 to 5 to finish an F-20
Four Rivers Night Shift - Working past the 9 to 5 to finish an F-20
Four Rivers Night Shift - Working past the 9 to 5 to finish an F-20
Farm Collector, Oct 2023
Four Rivers Career Center is a technical institution that welcomes area high school students for vocational learning. Dan Brinkmann, an Auto Tech teacher at the career center for the last 19 years, started Night Shift in 2008. From dirt bikes to semi trucks, dump trucks, and most notably, tractors, the after school
Farm Collector, Oct 2023
Four Rivers Career Center is a technical institution that welcomes area high school students for vocational learning. Dan Brinkmann, an Auto Tech teacher at the career center for the last 19 years, started Night Shift in 2008. From dirt bikes to semi trucks, dump trucks, and most notably, tractors, the after school program has earned a reputation for transforming a bucket of bolts into a work of machinery art.
Jimmy Decker III - Multi-Generation Deere Traditions
Hurtin' Dirt Farms - Where it's still cool to farm old school.
Jimmy Decker III - Multi-Generation Deere Traditions
Heritage Iron Magazine, Sept/Oct 2023
Jimmy makes his home in Darlington, Maryland, an agricultural community. But, the older, high-horsepower Muscle Tractors like the 6030 aren’t quite as prevalent as they are here in the Midwest. So, when an opportunity came knocking for Jimmy to own a 6030, his admitted dream tractor, he went for it.
Heritage Iron Magazine, Sept/Oct 2023
Jimmy makes his home in Darlington, Maryland, an agricultural community. But, the older, high-horsepower Muscle Tractors like the 6030 aren’t quite as prevalent as they are here in the Midwest. So, when an opportunity came knocking for Jimmy to own a 6030, his admitted dream tractor, he went for it. “At the time, they were the biggest two-wheel-drive John Deere produced. I love the way they look and how big they are, and I never really thought I’d own one.”
Logan Krone - Documenting History Through Photos
Hurtin' Dirt Farms - Where it's still cool to farm old school.
Jimmy Decker III - Multi-Generation Deere Traditions
Oliver Heritage Magazine, Aug/Sept 2023
Logan is a young farmer from Lester Prairie, Minnesota, who has a true appreciation for the older era of equipment. “I don’t have to hook a laptop into it to fix it. They’re all mechanical, and a sweet looking design. And there’s just something about the old tractors, the old cabs and old open stat
Oliver Heritage Magazine, Aug/Sept 2023
Logan is a young farmer from Lester Prairie, Minnesota, who has a true appreciation for the older era of equipment. “I don’t have to hook a laptop into it to fix it. They’re all mechanical, and a sweet looking design. And there’s just something about the old tractors, the old cabs and old open stations; they just catch my attention more than any new piece of machinery would. The fact they’re all made out of steel and every piece on them has ‘made in the USA’ stamped in it… that’s kind of what I like.”
Hurtin' Dirt Farms - Where it's still cool to farm old school.
Hurtin' Dirt Farms - Where it's still cool to farm old school.
Hurtin' Dirt Farms - Where it's still cool to farm old school.
Heritage Iron Magazine, July/Aug 2023
Custom plowing, planting, and harvesting are common practices in a lot of areas. What’s maybe not so common is seeing it done with all old school equipment, but a group in Central Indiana has created a successful business doing just that. Welcome to Hurtin’ Dirt Farms where the motto on their sign is, “It’s still cool to farm old school.”
That Nod of Approval - Bo Schmitt's 1955 Oliver Super 88
Hurtin' Dirt Farms - Where it's still cool to farm old school.
Hurtin' Dirt Farms - Where it's still cool to farm old school.
Oliver Heritage Magazine, June/July 2023
That nod of approval. You know what I’m talking about. Every now and again, you run across a tractor that stops you in your tracks. You circle it slowly, impressed at the quality of craftmanship, and silently nod in approval of a job well done. As an owner, there’s no better feeling than watching
Oliver Heritage Magazine, June/July 2023
That nod of approval. You know what I’m talking about. Every now and again, you run across a tractor that stops you in your tracks. You circle it slowly, impressed at the quality of craftmanship, and silently nod in approval of a job well done. As an owner, there’s no better feeling than watching someone admire your work. We see a lot of very nice tractors, both original and restored, at shows and events, or posted on social media, so it takes a certain “wow factor” to get our attention. When high school student, Bo Schmitt, of Mount Pleasant, Texas, shared a photo of his Oliver Super 88 on Facebook, it wasn’t just us, but the entire world, that nodded in approval.
Something in the Orange - Layne Harnishfeger’s Allis-Chalmers Roots
Something in the Orange - Layne Harnishfeger’s Allis-Chalmers Roots
Something in the Orange - Layne Harnishfeger’s Allis-Chalmers Roots
Heritage Iron Magazine, May/June 2023
“I’m very fortunate to have been raised the way I was.” Those are the words of Layne Harnishfeger from Brookville, Indiana. Layne isn’t your characteristic millennial; not even close. In fact, he’s more the exception to the rule. As an avid tractor collector and fourth-generation farmer who bleeds oran
Heritage Iron Magazine, May/June 2023
“I’m very fortunate to have been raised the way I was.” Those are the words of Layne Harnishfeger from Brookville, Indiana. Layne isn’t your characteristic millennial; not even close. In fact, he’s more the exception to the rule. As an avid tractor collector and fourth-generation farmer who bleeds orange, he is dedicated to preserving the history of our favorite era of agricultural innovation… the Muscle Tractor Era.
Annika Ernstrom - California Dreamin'
Something in the Orange - Layne Harnishfeger’s Allis-Chalmers Roots
Something in the Orange - Layne Harnishfeger’s Allis-Chalmers Roots
Farm Collector, February 2022
When the Chevron Delo TRC crowned its 2021 national Grand Champion last fall, 12 talented contenders vied for top honors. Few would have put their money on the rookie – a self-taught young woman in her first individual competition – but the rookie closed out the night as the new champion. Meet Annika Ernstro
Farm Collector, February 2022
When the Chevron Delo TRC crowned its 2021 national Grand Champion last fall, 12 talented contenders vied for top honors. Few would have put their money on the rookie – a self-taught young woman in her first individual competition – but the rookie closed out the night as the new champion. Meet Annika Ernstrom from San Luis Obispo, CA. She’ll humbly inform you that her mechanical knowledge was self-taught, and limited at best, prior to entry into the tractor restoration world. She also confesses to being “that quiet introvert in the back of the classroom.”
Farewell to Farmall-Land USA
Something in the Orange - Layne Harnishfeger’s Allis-Chalmers Roots
Corey Verstraeten - 5-Time Finalist
Heritage Iron Magazine, May 2020
Farmall-Land USA is located along Interstate 80 in Avoca, Iowa, just forty minutes East of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Jerry and Joyce, along with a crew of dedicated volunteers, man the 26,500 square foot, climate-controlled museum during their open season. Visitors from all over the country come through to
Heritage Iron Magazine, May 2020
Farmall-Land USA is located along Interstate 80 in Avoca, Iowa, just forty minutes East of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Jerry and Joyce, along with a crew of dedicated volunteers, man the 26,500 square foot, climate-controlled museum during their open season. Visitors from all over the country come through to see firsthand the 225+ full-size tractors, over 2,000 toys, 75+ pedal tractors, over 50 Cub Cadets, plus threshing equipment, vintage tools, literature, and collector’s memorabilia… it’s a meticulously polished timeline of red power under one ro
Corey Verstraeten - 5-Time Finalist
Something in the Orange - Layne Harnishfeger’s Allis-Chalmers Roots
Corey Verstraeten - 5-Time Finalist
Oliver Heritage Magazine, December 2019 “My story isn’t a long one or a complicated one, but it is my life and I wouldn’t change it, even if the opportunity presented itself.” Those aren’t the humbled words of a celebrated scholar or historian, but instead those of a 5-time finalist, as well as Grand Champion, within the nation’s highest
Oliver Heritage Magazine, December 2019 “My story isn’t a long one or a complicated one, but it is my life and I wouldn’t change it, even if the opportunity presented itself.” Those aren’t the humbled words of a celebrated scholar or historian, but instead those of a 5-time finalist, as well as Grand Champion, within the nation’s highest ranking tractor restoration competition for high school students. His talent catapulted him into the spotlight this past year, with accolades reaching as high as Hollywood, so I guess you could even say he’s even become a bit of a celebrity.
Half Century of Progress 2019
Half Century of Progress 2019
Half Century of Progress 2019
Heritage Iron Magazine, November 2019 There are tractor shows and then there are TRACTOR SHOWS, and the Half Century of Progress show fits into the latter category. Held every odd year in August, this 4-day farm show encompasses over 300 acres and has an attendance of over 100,000 people during its span. It’s better described as more of a
Heritage Iron Magazine, November 2019 There are tractor shows and then there are TRACTOR SHOWS, and the Half Century of Progress show fits into the latter category. Held every odd year in August, this 4-day farm show encompasses over 300 acres and has an attendance of over 100,000 people during its span. It’s better described as more of an experience than just an event to attend, bringing in thousands of people across the country, and even the world.
Renner's Big Bud H-N 250
Half Century of Progress 2019
Half Century of Progress 2019
Heritage Iron Magazine, July 2019
The Renner family’s Big Bud was relocated from Wisconsin to its new home at Renner Stock Farms during the summer of 2018, though several tractors in the family’s collection have come to the farm locally. Tom Renner, Jr., Jake’s dad, owns Shiloh Valley Equipment Co. in Belleville, a tractor and implement
Heritage Iron Magazine, July 2019
The Renner family’s Big Bud was relocated from Wisconsin to its new home at Renner Stock Farms during the summer of 2018, though several tractors in the family’s collection have come to the farm locally. Tom Renner, Jr., Jake’s dad, owns Shiloh Valley Equipment Co. in Belleville, a tractor and implement dealership he founded 50 years ago in 1969. They’ve been affiliated with John Deere since 1973 and are one of the last single-store dealerships.
Pulling with the Partridges
Half Century of Progress 2019
Pulling with the Partridges
Oliver Heritage Magazine, April 2019
“Our Oliver story starts with my grandfather. Growing up on a dairy farm, he saw lots of equipment and brands, but struck a fancy to Olivers,” Dillion Partridge tells us of his late grandfather, Walter “Papa” Partridge. What began as a small, tinker project for the beloved patriarch of this Southern Mai
Oliver Heritage Magazine, April 2019
“Our Oliver story starts with my grandfather. Growing up on a dairy farm, he saw lots of equipment and brands, but struck a fancy to Olivers,” Dillion Partridge tells us of his late grandfather, Walter “Papa” Partridge. What began as a small, tinker project for the beloved patriarch of this Southern Maine family turned into a heartfelt tribute nearly a decade later.
2018 Delo TRC
Half Century of Progress 2019
Pulling with the Partridges
Heritage Iron Magazine, January 2019
You know the feeling of putting your heart and soul into a project? Whether as a farmer, a businessman or woman, or even a student, you pursue your passion and chase your dreams. Without complaint, you sacrifice time from other activities, dedicating the long hours required to garner success, and in the
Heritage Iron Magazine, January 2019
You know the feeling of putting your heart and soul into a project? Whether as a farmer, a businessman or woman, or even a student, you pursue your passion and chase your dreams. Without complaint, you sacrifice time from other activities, dedicating the long hours required to garner success, and in the end, you feel capable and triumphant. We call these dedicated people accomplished. We call them hard workers. Entrepreneurs. Winners. We also call them…. finalists.