With the popularity of new farming techniques, old-time plowing has been left behind as an antiquated practice, upsetting farmers who grew up learning on old tractors that required more skill.
Though old-time plowing takes up more time, some farmers long for it. Brian Knudtson, a farmer from Farmer City, Iowa, lamented that some of "today's tractors with GPS" do not need someone "to drive them." He looks back fondly to a time when classic John Deere tractors were utilized by farmers and farm life relied more heavily on a farmer's expertise.
The Globe-Gazette recently interviewed a group of farmers – aged from the very young to old – who were gathered to try their hand at older tractors. Another local farmer, Dave Laugen, noted that a lot of "older guys are reliving their childhood" on the old tractors. He added, however, that not only older farmers were enjoying the time on the old school tractors: his young son was "just begging for a ride" with his grandpa.
Nowadays, tractors routinely have many hundred horsepower and are technologically advanced, allowing farmers to plow much more efficiently than in the past. However, this gathering shows there is still a desire to understand the skill that older farmers have and learn from it.
Some farmers long for the days of classic John Deere products
Newer tractors enable farmers to plow much more efficiently.