What do you do for work?
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=128011
Printed Date: 28 Sep 2024 at 3:16pm
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Topic: What do you do for work?
Posted By: WF owner
Subject: What do you do for work?
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 9:21pm
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This may have been done before, but as I read these posts, I often wonder what some of you guys do for work. I assume most of us have some kind of farm background to have an interest in tractors, but what do you do to support your tractor "habit"? I grew up on a dairy farm here in northern NY state and still live in the same small town I grew up in. I was dairy farming and struggling, when I got a chance to go to work for NYSDOT as a laborer in November 1983. My goal was to get out of debt and return to farming. After a few years at DOT, I realized that my future was much brighter at DOT than it was farming. I did both until January 1998 when we lost our dairy barn in the worst ice storm our area had ever seen. We ended up selling the cows immediately and my Mom sold the farm a couple years later, after my Dad died. I was promoted to a supervisor at DOT in 1994 and then to a second level supervisor in 2008, which was as high as I could go, without being an engineer. I retired in May of 2014 and, as my youngest granddaughter says, I am now a bum, since I don't have a full time job. I served as Town Justice from 1984 to 1988. I returned to the Town Justice job in 2011 and have a little over 2 years left on my current term. For a small town, we have a very busy court, averaging about 75 cases per week. I currently have 15 tractors (14 AC). My wife says the next one better have a cab, because I will end up sleeping in it. |
Replies:
Posted By: Carl(NWWI)
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 9:29pm
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Grew up around uncles dairy farm and my parents HVAC business. I currently work as a service technician at a CaseIH dealership. And I own over 30 pieces of equipment. Mostly Allis, a few IH, a Versatile 145, 2 IH grain trucks, IH axial flow combine, which is actually a prototype, A Minnesota grain binder, Advance Rumely thresher... Some equipment I own with a couple good friends of mine. I am currently 23 years old. |
Posted By: shameless (ne)
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 9:31pm
| I started in law enforcement right out of high school, and stayed in it in several forms...then took on dads farm when he retired, so I kept working to help fund the farming until I could get established. I have done about everything, not because I had to, but because I wanted the experience and to learn different things. I retired from law enforcement as a dispatcher and NCIC/NCIS professional. and was just forced retired from farming this year. I still have all my equipment, and a chance to farm again elsewhere if I want. right now i'm keeping busy doing nothing! hell of a job, but someone has to do it! |
Posted By: NDBirdman
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 9:54pm
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My story is short. I am born on a farm in THE Great State of INDIANA! Due to the usual family stories, everyone wanted the farm after g/pa died. G/ma had her favorite kid, bad news there. The farm was to be divided up between the kids. My g/pa and father had said I was to get most of it, but none of it happened. After he died, we moved to town. Now, you'd think our part of the farming was over-with. Nope, just because she (g/ma) ran us off to town did not mean we were to not miss the work. So, most my younger years was spent in a car, traveling after work/schools and weekends, to the farm working as our age abilities allowed. Summers was spent there cultivating, slinging hay and staw, feeding those fartin beasties. As I got older, I said enough of this baloney and stopped going. I got a job in town and for the next few years forgot about what once was. I got the itch to see the world about 23 yrs of age. You can guess what happened next. I joined the Air Force and never looked back. I retired after 20some years. Nothing to look back at, the feuding wound up as a sale and some one else now owns our family farm, gone, never to be again. Very sad, my grand father worked his life, every waking minute on that piece of heaven to leave to his family. After a stint as a truck driver, construction worker, my back took a turn for the worse. Now I'm semi-retired. I work when I freaking feel like it. Which is 6 days a week on this farmstead, I filled it with animals... LOL I do work for neighbors some during planting but during harvest I end up working alot. Just got told I have close to 5K acres to chisel plow this fall. As soon as the beans dry out and we start harvesting, I'm going to be having fun til freeze-up. It's painful for me, but they tell me go at my rate, work as many hours a day as I can which usually tends to be 6 hours or so, then the bouncing gets my back in a mess. I'm supposed to have a new tractor this fall with nice air ride, hope so. ------------- 1955 WD45 S#205467, 190XT #6652 DXT |
Posted By: Tcmtech
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 9:56pm
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I've always been an odd jobber myself. Just like the lifestyle and the fact I don't have to deal with a idiot boss or manager every day other than myself. I've done many normalish jobs in my life but so far everyone of them has either ended from severely bad management/ownership issues I had to walk out on (literally in a few over the years) or the companies simply going under. I've always had a passion for machinery and all things technical but unfortunately in my area people with skills were never seen as valuable (most places I worked for sure billed me out like I was worth my weight in gold though) so I came to the conclusion that I was best off working for myself and doing seasonal jobs.  Why work myself to death making some ungrateful dink rich-er when I can work for myself and make the same crappy pay but do it on half the working hours per year and have a lot more free time for the things I enjoy and keep some of the business away from him?  I did love my oilfield job though and would go back to that tomorrow if things picked up around here again.
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Posted By: DanC911
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 10:00pm
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I grew up watching my dad go to work every day for a business telecom company. We were far from rich but he bought our house, kept us fed (with the help of our 50 by 100 garden), and gave us a good life. When it came time to choose a high school I went off to tech school to study electronics figuring I could do as well as my dad. After high school I studied bio-medical engineering in college but I couldn't see myself sitting in a hospital basement calibrating IV pumps so I went to EMT school, Paramedic school, and spent the last 25 years as a firefighter. It went by very fast but I couldn't have asked for a better career. It is an honor and a blessing to be able to help someone on the worst day of their life. I cannot say the I've loved every minute of it but it is a fulfilling calling. I'm not sure how much longer I am going to stay. I am eligible for my pension now but there are a lot of things that may delay my retirement and relocation out of the People's Republic of Connecticut. Like my dad, I never got rich. But we own our home, have reliable cars, and there is a little left over for tractors!! ------------- 1950 WD, 1955 B, 66 Jacobsen Chief-O-Matic, 68 Simplicity 2110, 77 IH Cub Cadet 1450 w/front loader |
Posted By: tomstractorsandtoys
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 10:03pm
| I still farm. We milked cows for 20 years. We now have a small beef herd and buy a few extra feeders to fatten. We grow and clean rye and oats as cover crop seed. I buy and sell(and usually fix) a few tractors and implements. It is getting much harder to pay the bills and not near the fun it use to be. Sometimes I think about getting a job and becoming a hobby farmer. Tom |
Posted By: Pat the Plumber CIL
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 10:03pm
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Duh ? ------------- You only need to know 3 things to be a plumber;Crap rolls down hill,Hot is on the left and Don't bite your fingernails 1964 D-17 SIV 3 Pt.WF,1964 D-15 Ser II 3pt.WF ,1960 D-17 SI NF,1956 WD 45 WF. |
Posted By: Andrew(southernIL)
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 10:17pm
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Farm with my uncle for "fun". Make my living as an Electrician. Wired everything from a house, to a hospital, a coal terminal, a nuclear chemical plant, schools, power plant, and currently doing a wast water treatment plant. ------------- If fishing is a sport your looking at an athlete |
Posted By: Eldon (WA)
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 10:18pm
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Grew up on a dairy farm in South Dakota. Left to go to college, did a stint as draftsman/engineer for a time in SD and MI, wound up out in the great northwest 15 years ago and started collecting Allis stuff and doing custom tractor work to pay for it. I now have a good customer base and spend my time getting paid to play with my tractors...life is good! ------------- ALLIS EXPRESS! This year: |
Posted By: JoeM(GA)
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 10:28pm
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Been in tractor dealers most all my life, worked parts in 3 Ford dealers, one Kubota, and one Deere, took a 10 year detour to a Motion Picture Production company, made a good living, now retired at 56 and looking for a small farm to play on with my toys in North GA. ------------- Allis Express North Georgia 41 WC,48 UC Cane,7-G's, Ford 345C TLB |
Posted By: CrestonM
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 11:01pm
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I mow pastures for people with my trusty 8N. But then again, I'm still in college.
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Posted By: HaroldOmaha
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2016 at 11:52pm
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Raised on a dairy farm in Berne-Knox, New York 1953- 59 had Allis equip, Worked as assistant Herdsman in college (SUNY-Cobleskill) 2 years. Went to forestry college
at Paul Smiths, got draft notice and ran to the Air Force recruiter and signed up. Eventually went to Tucson, Arizona. Volunteered for Alaska, Office personnel read the request wrong and sent me to Nebraska, as a weather computer operator. Worked on local dairy farms around Omaha in my spare time. Liked the area, less crowed than New York, Met the farmers daughter, married her, After the service worked as a carpenter, went to electronics school, worked as electronic technician, Lumber salesman, got a commercial pilot license, Went back to carpentry, done remodeling ever since. retired 3 years ago. Still get calls. Have a small collection of 50's Allis equip. Re worked my 45D so kids could drive it under my supervision. Gave 30+ kids driving lessons one Sunday afternoon at the fair. One young fella say's Hey, this tractor has power steering it turns so easy. No it doesn't. Harold
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Posted By: jwal10
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 12:04am
| Started life on a small dairy farm. Had polio at 7. Dad sold out when I was 8 and retired. A few cattle, some sheep and 50 acres of peppermint. Left home at 12 in '68 and started farming on my own. Sheared sheep up and down the west coast for a few years. Farmed until 1992 when health forced me out. Worked for the city in water treatment and distribution for 16 years, last 12 as the supervisor until my health went away again. Full retirement at 55. Renter of one of the farms wanted to give it up last year. Son has increased his operation and am helping him as I can, tractor driving and combine. Still building small rental cottages in my spare time for the kids. Working on 3 right now, get them weathered in and do the finish work in the winter. I am 60 now, not a lot of use of left hand and arm, had left ankle fused Feb. last. Gotta keep busy. Taking some trips to see Oregon now, Took I-5 to San Diego, back up the coast in the spring, up I-5 to Canada and back home this summer....James |
Posted By: 7040
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:05am
| Grew up on a dairy farm in southern wi. We also did custom farming, tillage,planting, bailing and grain harvest.we also did 95 % of are repairs. Dad said all of his kids were going to minimum of 1 year post high school education. I was going to attend uti to learn diesel mechanics and when previewing school dad asked how many kids were enrolled in the program tour guide said 483 they also tough hvac repair only 62 students. Dad talked me into the hvac class. I graduated from their in spring of 1993 on Monday of the following week I started working at my current job as an hvac repair technician and I'm still there. We rent out the farm and I work on tractors as one of my hobbies (all diesel so far butt I have a good chance at a little d15) |
Posted By: Dave H
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:25am
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Here is a change of pace. I got drafted in 66 and did not have enough sense to get out until 90. What a deal, right out of the chute Uncle sent me on a one whole year all expense paid vacation to sunny SE Asia.  |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:30am
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I grew up on a small beef farm in Michigan. It was dairy, started by my Grandpa in 1945, dad came home from the Air Force in 1960, they farmed it together for a while, Dad closed out the dairy when I was 2. He went to work as a policeman and kept the beef herd going. Too small to make a living off of, too big to be a "hobby". I graduated from college and moved to Dayton, OH. I worked for a company that did construction engineering for heavy industry. From there I went to work at Ohio U in Athens. Built and demonstrated experiments, research and designed research rigs for clean coal, petroleum corrosion problems, biochemical. Now work for a cutting tool manufacturer "back home" and have that same farm still running. Still too small to make a living, still too big to be a hobby. Days are long sometimes. |
Posted By: Dmpaul89
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:34am
| Watchmaker, farmer |
Posted By: farmboy520
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:35am
| Grew up on a farm that raises corn and soybeans. Dad was making it until the drought of 88 when mom found a job in town. My brother and I would help dad when we were not in school. We both went to college at different schools and after different degrees. I came back and got a job as a custom applicator at Fs and helped dad when there was time (not much of that in peak seasons. Brother came back and started hauling bottled water for a company in town. He would help when he was off also. I got married and started a family. Then my brother and I formed a parter ship and went in with dad on the farm. Brother got married and started a family and lives a couple of miles away from the farm. I live on the farm now after trading places with mom and dad. A tornado hit our farm back in 2009 and wiped the building off the place and damaged some of the machinery. We've rebuilt a shed and what equipment we have and have upgraded a few things. Dad passed away from cancer in Feb of 2015 right before he would of turned 75. We are still farming our ground and working our full time jobs. I am now the plant manager where I work and brother is driving for a trucking company not to far away. Brother and I are the forth generation to farm most of our ground and hoping to pass it on onto the fifth that we have watching and learning from us. |
Posted By: Butch(OH)
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:48am
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I have worked in the aggregate industry my whole life and now run a custom crushing and recycling company. I quit farming shortly after dad passed away in 1975. Mom kept the home place when I sold out and actually is responsible for kindling my interest in old A-Cs when in 1999 she asked me to restore the one tractor we didnt sell, Dad's 1938 model A which I still have. Try to restore that tractor lead me here and I have been bumming around this place ever since. |
Posted By: HD6GTOM
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 8:05am
| Grew up on a farm in southern Iowa always had 200+ head of steers in the feed lot. I started operating a tractor when I was 6. Was in the field buy myself when I was 10, mowed raked and baled all the hay till I got out of high school. Picked corn, pumped water by hand for these fat cattle, shelled ear corn etc, etc. Had to do the neighbors work for him, big man over 6'3", but had alheimers, of he got out of site of his house he was lost. He was very mean, comes from the alheimers. I started operating his 2-8-9N fords in 1961. got outa highschool went to computer processing college, went to the army in 1969, got out bought a fuel company did that for 15 years, sold that and started a tire shop selling everything from 4 wheeler tires to the huge earthmover tires. back went completely bad so I sold that and went towork for a pal in the car buiness. Now collect accounts for him. Not the job I want, but the only thing I can do. |
Posted By: Charlie175
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 8:22am
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I run a company that does Computer Repair and Commercial Construction Drafting. Farming is still helping out my dad (He's 86). Would love to have my own place to work my 8 A-C's, but land is very high around here. ------------- Charlie '48 B, '51 CA, '56 WD45 '61 D17, '63 D12, '65 D10 , '68 One-Ninety XTD |
Posted By: Ted J
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 9:03am
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I grew up on my Uncle's dairy farm over in Hokah, MN. GREAT years and ones that I'll never forget. Started out with horses and then he bought an Allis CA and then a WD45. Neighbor had a WD......what a difference in those two!! Later on I also worked in my other Uncle's gas station, it was a Shell station. Learned to FIX stuff........"it's already broke, so just take it apart and fix it!" Gragiated out of high school and then..... I too was like 'Dave H'.... "What a deal, right out of the chute Uncle sent me on a one whole year all expense paid vacation to sunny SE Asia.  "Came back to the states and started on the La Crosse Fire Department and spent 33 years there helping people and being a pita at work to the upper echelon. Miss the guys, but don't miss the politics and paper work. Retired and started buying Allis stuff and spending my time 'up Nort' on my hobby farm, fixing up A-C stuff and buying more....... I think the only disease I have...... ------------- "Allis-Express" 19?? WC / 1941 C / 1952 CA / 1956 WD45 / 1957 WD45 / 1958 D-17 |
Posted By: bigredisb
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 10:55am
| Grew up working on trucks and equipment in a family owned auto dealer in a small town in west central Wisconsin. I ended up getting a degree in Diesel Heavy Equipment in Kansas and came back to Wisconsin to work for CNH Industrial. Currently I manage all brands (Case, Case IH, and New Holland) training for North America. |
Posted By: farminharmon
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 11:05am
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Grew up on a family farm. Went off to study Agriculture at college. Now work for the local Soil and Water Conservation District, farm 250 beef cows/calfs, and do some livestock watering systems and fence on the side. ------------- B110 CA D10II (2)D12III 5040 5050 6080 170 JD5205 Kubota M9000 Kubota M95S |
Posted By: jordo2011
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 11:10am
| I grew up on a crop farm of about 400 acres with a few sheep and horses. spent my days balancing school, athletics, music and farm work. I was riding in the tractor with dad since i can remember. anyway, after i got done with college, i began working as a field man for a large swine company, but i was 2.5 hours from the farm. after three and a half years of that, i moved back home to the farm to try and start farming on my own. i currently work a sales job at a factory, manage 3,300 head of pigs, and work on the farm with my family (which has grown to just shy of 700 acres now). I will be 28 in a week, and i have been married for a whopping 5 weeks :) i'm hoping to have some ground of my own within the next year or so, and maybe a few of my dad's orange tractors! |
Posted By: Jwmac7060
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 12:08pm
| My grandfather was a tenant farmer for the first 6 years of my dad's life. Grandpa had 7 kids and quit farming took a job with the state of Indiana as the dreaded milk inspector. Dads older half brother farmed with his grand parents and dad grew up on that farm. Dad took a job as a hired hand for an older farmer in 1978 one year after I was born...Dad worked for the old man till 1981 and the old man retired,selling all of the equipment to Dad..u guessed it..it was all orange. Dad farmed that families 1200 acres until 2000 when the old man died and his greedy sister wanted to split the farm up.Dad got a job at the local school as a janitor and bus driver.I always have worked off the farm hauling grain. Ten years ago our local co-op was looking for a petroleum transport driver and I took that job and continued to farm with Dad on the remaining acres. Dad is now the director of maintenance at the school,he will be 60 on Saturday and I will be 40 in February. I've got two boys that help on the farm now one is 17 the other 13 |
Posted By: charlesbendal
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 12:20pm
| I was born in 1993 which makes me 22 years old at the moment. Dad and grandpa used to be partners with 3 other people at the largest farm in the county at the time it was about 2300 acres when I was 6 dad and grandpa got forced out and dad started installing kitchens for Kahles kitchens. He would do roofs siding and remodeling weekends and evenings. As I got older I would help more and more. I'm 2003 dad bought the farm I currently live on at an auction because it went so cheap. In 2005 we planted strawberries and got our first crop in 2006. We also planted pumpkins that year. In 2007 or 2008 one of the neighbors said we could farm his ground for free he had about 60 acres. Dad agreed to it. Then we had to have a bin a combine and a dryer dad said you can't justify all that for 70 acres so we kept picking up more ground. Fast forward to 2016 and we have about 70 acres hay 8 acres strawberries 10 acres pumpkins 900 acres corn 400 acres soybeans. My brother just graduated a year ago and we're both here full time. I keep learning to fix more and more. I keep up with this page mostly just to read and learn |
Posted By: Mrgoodwrench
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 1:06pm
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I'm a former Chevy/Cadillac technician. Fully ASE certified. For the last nine years I have worked as a cat/ Mitsubishi on road forklift tech. But after the end of the year we will be loosing the cat/Mit franchise( they pulled some agco like ba on us) and will be changing brands. ------------- There are 3 ways to do job GOOD, FAST, CHEAP. YOU MAY CHOOSE 2. If its FAST & CHEAP it won't be GOOD, if it's GOOD & CHEAP it won't be FAST, and if its GOOD & FAST it won't be CHEAP!!!! |
Posted By: thendrix
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 1:26pm
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I grew up around my grandparents pullet poultry farm. Also some cows and a little hay. Pawpaw told me to go to school and learn something besides farming so I did. I went to tech school in '99 and got my first machine shop job in 2000. A couple of years later one of the chicken houses burned and my grandparents were told they would have to rebuild the one that burned and upgrade the other two. Pawpaw told them "I'm 71 years old. Kiss my ass" and I thought that was the end of my chicken farming days. Fast forward 15 years, I quit my last machine shop job after 10 years and I now run a 4 house broiler poultry farm for my in-laws. We house between 75000 and 80000 chickens for 6 weeks at a time. Pawpaw told me to do something besides chicken farming and, as usual, I didn't listen. This is one time I'm glad I didn't. Here's a little look into our operation http://allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=126961&title=chicken-pictures" rel="nofollow - http://allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=126961&title=chicken-pictures ------------- "Farming is a business that makes a Las Vegas craps table look like a regular paycheck" Ronald Reagan |
Posted By: Brad-MN
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 3:59pm
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I started working in the paving industry right out of high school in 1996 and have worked my way up from a lowly laborer to Superintendent of rock and paving in those 20 years. My love of AC tractors comes from my earliest memories of riding on the fender of a D17 with my grandpa...spent many hours on there as a little tot! ------------- 1930 U 1938 A 1941 WF |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 4:09pm
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Supposed to be 'retired' now running cattle and meat goats but here lately I've been a full time mechanic it seems.Also have a few project tractors around to work on. |
Posted By: cottonpatch
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 5:09pm
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Self employed contractor for 16 years doing remediation work. Started selling epoxies and polymers last year. Big change working for someone else again. We have a small farm where we raise quarter horses, cattle, and horse quality hay. I was raised on Allis Chalmers and nothing else ever appealed to me. I am old enough to be a grandfather but have a 5 year old son that also suffers from orange fever. I bought him a series II D15 when he was a baby so he could enjoy the view I had as a youth. ------------- '52 CA, '61 D10 II, ‘61 D15, '66 D15II, '63 D17D III, ‘69 170, '73 185 Crop Hustler, '79 185, '79 7000, '77 7040 |
Posted By: Dick L
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 5:28pm
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Raised on the farm that laid in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Dad and Mom milked cows, raised hogs along with some beef cattle. Mom kept around 200 laying hens. That bought the food from the store and our clothes.
Farmed two 148 acre farms. I have owned and operated
a 25,000 sq ft plastic factory since 1976. At 78 I work in the factory about four hours a day and raise miniature horses. I cash rent my farm with hay for my horses as part of the farm rent. I still bale a hundred or so bales of hay on my little patch where I live and have the horses. In my spare time I tinker in my home shop and punch keys on this laptop computer. Kinda slow punching with only being able to use my thumb and first finger on my left hand.
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Posted By: FloydKS
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:12pm
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I am clergy, as in Catholic Priest...grew up on a farm, cattle, hogs, chickens, corn, wheat, beans, prarie and alfalfa hay with a Roto-baler...welding in high school...math and Manufacturing Tech in college...worked for a year then lost my job and girlfriend dumped me so I went to the seminary - that is the short story...ordained in 1980 and doing the Lords work ever since. ------------- Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die |
Posted By: RLBPA1
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:36pm
| My Dad was a coal miner and had a small farm as well. I graduated from Pitt with a degree in Geology in 84. Worked for a Pittsburgh based consulting firm for three years then took a job with the state. Have been a Professional Geologist working in the abandoned mine reclamation program for the past 31 years. |
Posted By: Bob (IN)
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:37pm
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I farm full time now also have two semis do some grain hauling also I farm with a cousin we farm about 1700 acres before farming was a mechanic for excavation company before that a ready mix plant farming now for 16 years now ------------- great-grandpa's wc with picker, 20/35, speed patrol, uc, m crawler, 620, 653 dozer d21 d17 d19 |
Posted By: angusguernsey
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 7:50pm
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I am a Milkman. Not the farm end, we deliver the packaged products to stores, schools, etc. I've been at it for almost 15 years, up to a 6 truck fleet. Always intended to farm with Dad and brother, but life got in the way. ------------- D-17 series 1, AGCO mower. Grew up on a long line of A-C, but can't claim as my own. |
Posted By: WDDave
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 8:06pm
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In high school I went to tech school for carpentry, found that to be seasonal work didn't pay to well in winter . Went to automotive tech school for 2 yrs, they had job placement but all wanted to pay minimum wage. Ended up getting a job in a machine shop have been there 30yrs, I am a working foreman I do quoting/program/setup CNC machines also maintain machines such as ball screw replacement, machine alignment, and replace electrical boards and drives when needed. The tractor interest came when I was young up until about 14 I worked during hay season mostly on my mothers uncles farm he had all Farmalls we had a Farmall super C at home. Got my first Allis about 10 yrs ago a D14 backhoe/loader sold that 1 yr later that backhoe was breaking that little D14 in half. Bought the AC WD this summer. ------------- WD ,wide front, with loader |
Posted By: Tracy Martin TN
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 8:13pm
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I grew up on a small farm. One of ten kids. We had an AC C and a F20 Farmall. Raised tobacco and hay and corn. Picked the corn by hand. Had a fews cows. Later Dad bought a CA to use also. I swore if I ever got off the farm, I wasn't coming back. After graduating high school and trade school in 1979, took a job as a tool and diemaker. I liked the trade very well and it paid well then. Partnered up with brother and two friends and started our own tool and die shop in 1985. After a few years of that, decided partners were not for me. Bought my current business in 1991. By then I had bought my own farm in 1985 and started the AC bug of tractors. Been a pretty good run since marrying Hannah. Still do the machine shop thing and try to enjoy other stuff as well.Trying to get things ready to build at the farm, looking forward to that. ------------- No greater gift than healthy grandkids! |
Posted By: omahagreg
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 8:32pm
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Trim carpenter! Currently work for Kohlls Pharmacy in their 'Mod Squad' division! We modify homes so people can safely live there! ------------- Greg Kroeker 1950 WD with wide front and Freeman trip loader |
Posted By: Wdtractorman
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 8:39pm
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I stared working at 15 part time at uncles excavating business, stared full time when i graduated high school. Worked there 2 years till got real slow one winter left at lunch and went and signed up for automotive mechanic class at local trade school. After graduating there went to work for caddy dealership. Work there a year till the sold out and they layed off all of us there, That was about the time gm was going thew bankruptcy . After that my uncle called me back to work for him ,I mechaniced there for a few months till they desided they needed me more for an operator.been here for 8 years know I think. I'm the main finish operator, also part time Forman. Dad has part time farmed all his life I'm in with him know. Like others has said to big to be hobby but way to small to be full time. I also buy sell and trade trucks,cars,tractors, and mechanic on the side. Got married in 08. Frist kid 2012, son Archer. Daughter, Norah in 2014. |
Posted By: CTuckerNWIL
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 9:15pm
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I grew up on the farm my Dad took over at 19 in 1938, when his Dad died of a heart attack. He farmed a couple years and then let his younger brother run it while he spent the war in Fort Knox teaching field maint on tanks and half tracks. After the war with a wife and one son, he took over the farm, raised 8 kids and kept all of us including Grandma warm in the winter and fed decent most of the time. He sold the horses in 47 when he could buy a post war tractor which was a 47 C. In 51, he traded for the CA I have now. A BIG garden always helped put eats in the cellar and we always seemed to have chickens, pigs and a couple cattle along with a handful of milk cows. Grandma went to a nursing home when I was still in grade school so Dad took a 3rd shift job running the warehouse ( fork truck driver ) for a paper products company and farmed during the day. That's when he bought a wore out WD and an 8 foot wheel disc so one of us kids could help with the spring work. The CA did everything before that, and everything but the dicing after. The animals thinned down to one hand milked cow and maybe a stray horse or 2. 60 tillable acres made for lean times off and on through the years but we never went to bed hungry unless we did something bad  Gradually he hired a neighbor to do more and more of the field work and Dad ended up renting it out to him a couple years before he retired for good in 1979. After high school, I took a job in a factory assembling detachable chain and within a couple months was running a press making the chain, 2 months later got offered a job in the tool room and and worked as a tool maker, die repairman, machinist or machine repairman for the next 35 years except for a few years working for CAT as a line inspector. My last job was as a machine tool service tech doing mostly machine work to repair presses, lathes, grinders and mills. I learned scraping and flaking to go along with the machine work on most of the jobs. I never cared much for the "road work" which involved loading up everything we would need to tear a machine down for repair, or put it back together again, but I didn't spend more than a few days a month away from home. Friday the 13th of June in 08, at aged 55, I didn't make it to work and haven't been back since. You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd and a Toyota Corolla will not come out well, when it Tee bones a Cheby Blazers passenger door post. A friend and neighbor a bit younger than me, that lived across the road from us way back when, now owns most of the family farm and farms all the ground I worked as a kid. He runs his uncles ground and just bought out the one neighbor that I worked most for as a pup. Now, when he needs an operator, I can go spend a couple hours at a time in one of his tractors just to make the day go by and, if something breaks down, which usually happens at the WORST time, I can supervise the repair if need be.------------- http://www.ae-ta.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.ae-ta.com Lena 1935 WC12xxx, Willie 1951 CA6xx Dad bought new, 1954WD45 PS, 1960 D17 NF |
Posted By: 427435
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 9:23pm
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I grew up on a diversified farm in SW Minnesota (hogs, cattle, chickens and 560 acres of mostly corn and soybeans) in the 40's and 50's. Got an engineering degree and went to work for Allis as a test engineer working with implements. Many years later, I retired as VP of operations for a company that made automated material handling equipment. I retired 10 years ago and have been working on traveling to all 50 states. There are 4 left and will be getting to them this fall. Besides that, I like fishing and use my small collection of garden tractors in a large garden. ------------- Mark B10 Allis, 917 Allis, 7116 Simplicity, 7790 Simplicity Diesel, GTH-L Simplicity Ignorance is curable-----stupidity is not. |
Posted By: plummerscarin
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 9:24pm
| I grew up farming with AC tractors so thats where my fascination with the orange ones came from. However, its a small operation so I went to work for a neighbor for several years on the green stuff and hauling grain for other farmers. Offered a job to go OTR and just lasted a year. Off the road and worked at CEI building feed trucks until I was referred to a plumbing company and the kind of work I really got to enjoy. 20 years of that until 4 weeks ago I took a job with the city as plumbing inspector. All that to feed my passion for playing on whats left of the family farm. |
Posted By: victoryallis
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 9:33pm
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Co owner of 1100 cash crop farm (mostly rented land) and process operator at chemical plant. ------------- 8030 and 8050MFWD, 7580, 3 6080's, 160, 7060, 175, heirloom D17, Deere 8760 |
Posted By: Anthony
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2016 at 10:22pm
| Me I am a REAL go get 'er! I get up in the morning take my wife to work and in the afternoon when schools out I go get 'er!!!! |
Posted By: Dan73
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2016 at 6:11am
| Grew up spending any time school was out with my uncles on the farm. We milked about 120 Holsteins and had a couple of pigs through the summer. But in the 90s it was clear that there was no way to keep the farm going another generation so I went to college got a degree in computer science and worked as a controls engineer for 20 years. My mother ended up with the farm after my grandfather passed and now I moved back to the farm to help take care of mom. The farm is along ways from any engineering work so now I am trying to rehab old fields and barns that where neglected for 2 decades or more. This is my 4th year of trying to start a grass feed beef farm and also trying to sell the best square bale hay off my land. My goal is to sell about half the hay I can raise and run the poor quality feed that won't sell through my belties. I actually think the horse people pay more for the hay then you can get for the beef that eats the same hay. But they only want top quality so I need a use for the rest. Besides I like having cows. I should have 10 calves born anytime now. |
Posted By: Stan R
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2016 at 7:05pm
| Parents have a farm in western ma (aka Connecticut river valley). Grew tobacco, dairy, hay, silage etc. but parents sold the dairy cows in mid 70's. College for me in Chemical Engineering with Professional Engineering License, went to work for various consulting engineering firms (Nuclear in US, Petrochemical plants in Asia, Synfuels when it was the in-thing, food industry expansions etc.). Left that industry and started working for a biotech firm outside of Boston. Now doing project work- managed the design and construction of 2 large Research Buildings, various utility plants, clean rooms, drug production expansions, etc. . But I still spend a lot of weekends back at the farm as we cut and sell hay to locals for their horses, goats, sheep, alpacas etc. Farm is considered a non-profit operation!! |
Posted By: Calvin Schmidt
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2016 at 8:44pm
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I grew up on the family homestead 100 acre mixed farm. I'm the 6th generation on this farm in western Ontario Canada. At 16 and needing a summer job during high school, I got hired as a labourer on a silo construction crew shovelling gravel into a one bag mixer for $65/week. At 18 years old, I was the crew foreman. At 20 years, I borrowed some money from my grandmother to buy a new set of silo forms and started my own business. In 1994 I sold the farm silo division and went fully into industrial silo construction which consisted of mostly grain storage, municipal water tower support pedestals, and one 328' chimney. In 2010 our daughter and son-in-law took over the business which today has the capability to pour concrete grain silos up to 100' diameter. This year we are on one project for the year building 14 new silo for a new flour mill of which 3 60' diameter silos will be used for vessel loading. I grew up on A-C tractors and equipment and current have more than 20 A-C tractors of which some still find field duty. My first farm tractor in 1976 was a D-21. Farming is down to 250 acres now from the days when myself and two partners grew 600 acres of dark red kidney beans every year. Today I'm semi retired from the silo end but still move the equipment, do most of the estimating, sales , and R&D (crazy new ideas). At lot has changed on our industry since I first started in 1964 where the silos are wider than they used to be high. ------------- Nothing is impossible if it is properly financed |
Posted By: caledonian
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2016 at 11:51pm
| I still live on the farm that I grew up on. My folks farmed and fed livestock, about 1200 lambs, 150 fat cattle and farrowed a few litters of hogs each year. We called the Omaha stockyards are second home as we were their often as we shipped livestock. Years went by I came home from school and dad and I still fed cattle as well as finished feeder pigs for slaughter. We never rented any ground just farmed the ground we owned, we were busy with livestock. Bought a lot of are feed needs. Now my folks are gone. My wife and I are still here And feeding some cattle. We own are home ground And rent out some ground in western neb that we bought from my wife's parents estate. We still use AC tractors that were purchased new when my dad was farming. We use newer AGCO stuff as well as green stuff also. The Allis tractors will stay here as long as I'm around. They are part of the family just like a good dog is. |
Posted By: olivetroad
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2016 at 10:31am
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We farm a mix of row crops and cattle, and we buy and sell used farm equipment out of my Uncles old AC dealership. Here is a link to what we do....... http://www.wisebrosinc.com/history.php
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Posted By: Tendencies
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2016 at 10:36am
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Retired US Navy Chief, now work Public Works for a small town, own some land I mow and plow snow with the CA.... ------------- DCC(SW/MTS) USN-Ret. 75-95 51 Allis CA |
Posted By: Robert Musgrave
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2016 at 10:57am
| I grew up on a 66 acre farm in NW Ohio. As a kid, dad had sheep, chickens, beef cattle and hogs. Corn, wheat, oats, soybeans and red clover hay. Dad also had honeybees and Gramp had a neighboring farm and kept the orchard. My youngest brother farms that "home place" and more. Mostly A-C but some other brands as well. Attended The Ohio State University and became a shop teacher for 35 years--this is my 7th year of part-time shop teaching at a Lutheran High School in SE Wisconsin. I have no acreage, live in town. I do have Dad's 1949 WD. I feel blessed that mom and Dad are both living at 92 years young. R. Musgrave |
Posted By: wfmurray
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2016 at 11:48am
| Retired 15 yrs, Maintance in plants 36 yrs,Two years in mil ,Two yrs in textile .Two yrs in furniture factory ,One year on road as salesman,One in auto tech school . Some short time jobs and tech schools.Grew up on small farm and was forced out of farming.Have dads 57 D/14 a restored and customized 49 B and a 69 power king and a merry tiller .Did not plant a hill this year.Turned 78 last week |
Posted By: CTuckerNWIL
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2016 at 1:54pm
That's pretty cool to have all that history put together on one page. Here is a "live" link. http://www.wisebrosinc.com/history.php" rel="nofollow - http://www.wisebrosinc.com/history.php ------------- http://www.ae-ta.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.ae-ta.com Lena 1935 WC12xxx, Willie 1951 CA6xx Dad bought new, 1954WD45 PS, 1960 D17 NF |
olivetroad wrote:Posted By: Adam in VA
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2016 at 3:12pm
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Grew up on a poultry/beef/rowcrop farm. I graduated from Virginia Tech in 2005 with a degree in Agriculture Economics. I started working in parts/equipment sales at a Massey Ferguson/New Idea dealer in September 2005. I also sold Pioneer seed products while at the Massey place. In July 2008 I went to work for a John Deere dealer as an equipment salesperson and stayed there until April 2014 when I left after there was some shake up after an ownership change. I've been working at a Vermeer/McCormick dealership in sales since May of 2014 and I'm loving it. We also sell LS Tractors, Tubeline, McHale and several other brands of ag equipment. I also farm some, but I'm pretty much a true hobby farmer.
------------- D21,D19,(2)D17,190XT,ED40, WD45,WC,B,25-40(Thresherman's Special),5030 plus buildings full of other stuff |
Posted By: tcorbett
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2016 at 6:49pm
| I grew up on my grandfathers small farm in Utah. Spend a lot of days sitting on a WD tractor, hauling hay and moving sprinkler pipe. I went to university and got an accounting degree and later my MBA. Worked for some tech companies and then started my own video production company. Too many days daydreaming while farming helped me with being creative. Made enough money to buy the farm from my grandfather. I live two hour drive from the farm, but spend most weekends there fixing and enjoying the peace. |
Posted By: Bensjamming
Date Posted: 15 Sep 2016 at 8:33pm
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Been a Welder for the past 15 years. Currently am working in a ship yard building US Navy LCS combat ships. Pretty neat making a 450 plus foot ship out of steel. Like tonight I'm welding up a turret for a 57mm gun that can shoot up too 22 nautical miles and still be within a yard if it's target while moving at 40 plus knots. Would love to have my own little fab shop and weld repair that would pay the bills and support my hobbies but not seeing that day coming anytime soon.... |
Posted By: j.w.freck
Date Posted: 15 Sep 2016 at 9:02pm
| grew up on a farm in north east ind,spent 5 years in the usaf.went to Spartan college of aeronautics,worked 30 years for delta airlines as a licensed a&p mechanic.on my off days flew from texas to ind.where my brother and I had a farming operation.retired from delta and flew airfreight all over the world for 18 more years.got into heavy aircraft maintenance as supervisor before retireing full time.now I have my 5 wd-45 diesels,1 ca 1 wd-45 gas and 1 c.pull some of my tractors and mostly build walnut furniture and just take it easy..... |
Posted By: allis g
Date Posted: 15 Sep 2016 at 10:12pm
| Work? |
Posted By: shameless (ne)
Date Posted: 15 Sep 2016 at 11:14pm
| X2 |
Posted By: LionelinKY
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2016 at 7:45am
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I was raised on the Sharon Springs,NY dairy farm that my Grandparents built starting from the Great Depression. I think Grandpa started with about 10 cows back then. By the time my Dad sold the farm in 1989 our barn held 105 milking cows plus all the youngstock. We were old school still doing baled hay and corn silage. Haymow held about 24,000 bales of hay and we emptied it every winter and refilled it every summer. I always wanted to partner with my Dad when I graduated high school. The auction was 1 month before my high school graduation. I took a job on our neighbors' farm for a few years while I pondered my future. It was also during this same time that I began dating a lovely creature that I now refer to as my wife. She was instrumental in persuading me to go to college, something I had never planned to do. I received an Associates Degree in Animal Sciences from SUNY Cobleskill before transferring to Cornell where I completed my Bachelors Degree, also in Animal Sciences. At that point, I was too sick of school to consider another 4 years of vet school so I took a job at an animal research facility where my girlfriend was already working after having completed her Bachelor degree before me. We were married a year later and started living the American Dream until she developed such severe animal allergies that she was forced to change her career altogether. Since I still liked her(LOL), we followed her family ties at the time to KY where we both then transitioned into medical laboratory science before our children started coming. My wife left the work force with the birth of our first and then we added 2 more. After 7 years, the lab closed leaving me unemployed for a total of 16 months. My wife started substitute teaching for the county school district which she still does now 8 years later. I just past 7 years with my current employer working in 1 of their hospital labs. I like all things AC but LOVE the 3 that my Grandfather bought and we used back on the farm. They are family and here to stay. ------------- "My name is Lionel and I'm an Allisoholic" |
Posted By: Stan IL&TN
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2016 at 11:21am
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Grew up on the farm in Southern Illinois. Dad raised corn, soybeans, wheat and hogs. Sometimes a few head of beef. I work at a children's hospital and maintain all the equipment in Radiology. MRI, CT, PET-CT, X-ray, nuclear medicine and ultrasound. They buy me books and send me to school. Sometimes I learn stuff. ------------- 1957 WD45 dad's first AC 1968 one-seventy 1956 F40 Ferguson |
Posted By: Jack(Ky)
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2016 at 9:02pm
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Started doing body and paint work right out of high school in '70. Nixon heard I could do bodywork so he kinda forced me to work on deuce and a 1/2's and 5 tons for a couple years in the seventies. LOL Worked in a bearing factory for several years and raised tobacco and cattle on the side. Have worked at Froedge Machine & Supply Co. for the last 25 years doing fabrication and service work. We have an industrial parts store at the machine shop and I've been working in it the last few years while still raising cattle and I have never really given up body and paint work. I have always liked AC tractors since I was a kid and I have a few of them I farm with. Not really planning on retiring but I would like to rearrange my jobs a little though. LOL ------------- '59 D14 '68 170 Diesel '81 7020 40 All Crop |
Posted By: REEDE
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 9:34am
| Parts man at a AGCO,NEW HOLLAND dealership in central IOWA sense 1981. |
Posted By: WF owner
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 10:40am
| I wish there was a way we could add these bio's to our profile... |
Posted By: allis g
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 2:15pm
| Retired 21 years LEO |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 9:57pm
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I am a GM diesel and automatic transmission specialist at a GM and Chrysler dealer. I have been a Powerstroke specialist until March of this year. I get to do that again since the owner of my dealership just bought a Ford dealership and they have nobody who knows/wants to work on them. I have held ASE Master with L1 and L2 Advanced gasoline and light duty diesel for many years, GM Master Technician, and Ford Gasoline and Diesel Engine Master, Chassis Master. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: 1terrygladys
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 10:57pm
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I was blessed to grow up in SW Iowa on a grain and livestock farm. Both of my Grandads were AC farmers and so was Dad. Grandpe did custom work with his WC and All Crop, but he passed away of heart attack at age 44, when I was 6 months old. Grandad did custom work with his WD and Rotobaler for years. I grew up on Dad's WD-45, doing everything from plowing to planting to cultivating to haying. Went to Iowa State and graduated in Ag Business in 1978. Began farming Grandad's place in 1977. My wife, kids and I moved on the place after he and Grandma moved to town. Still live there. When the 80s hit, I went to work in town for ASCS, as well as farming. Was with ASCS/FSA for 18 years. Horrible job, but it saved the farm for us. Lost my job, then my wife passed away. I quit farming after 28 years, then worked for Red Cross for 2 years, for a city for a year (including janitorial), then God called me into the ministry. I married my wife's best friend from church, and we'll celebrate 10 years this year. She's a wonderful wife, mother and grandma. I love serving Jesus Christ, being a grandad to our 3 grandaughters, and living on the old home place. We rent out the cropland but make hay on headlands and waterways for our daughter's horses. I enjoy reading and learning from this forum. You all continue to be a big help when I get time to work on my tractors. God bless! Terry ------------- WD-45, WD, 35 Unstyled WC, 36 Unstyled WC, SC Disk, JD 4430D, JD 4010D, JD B, Iowa pastor & disciple of Jesus Christ |
Posted By: Mule
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 11:52pm
| I'm a computer guy and work in information security but like to pretend I'm a farmer in my off time. |
Posted By: shameless (ne)
Date Posted: 26 Sep 2016 at 12:38am
| work? |