I Do Not Care to Engage in the Idle Activity of Shopping, But When It Comes to Tractors...

Isn't she a beauty?

In fact, she is. But she's not what were shopping for. 

How much is that tractor in the lot?

More than you'd expect. 

Yes. We are shopping for a tractor. We've gotten some excellent advise from our county Agent, her pal from a neighboring county, the John (overpriced) Deere guy, our neighbor, and various other interested folks. 

So we have a pretty good sense of what action we need to take. BUT it always makes good sense to turn back a historical page or two and consult a crappy old book.

The Operation, Care, and Repair of Farm Machinery Twenty-First Edition, John Deere, Moline, Illinois. 1947

We need a disc.

We don't need a cultivator.

We most decidedly do not need a combine.

But we do need a Bush Hog [TM]

As an aside, I finally figured out what was up with that crappy old book. As it turns out, between 1927-1957 John Deere gave these books to high schools and Vo-Ag schools. Gave. For Free. 

http://www.magneeders.com/ocr.html

http://www.retiredtractors.com/Q/books.html

The state of the corporate state was very quaint back in the crappy old days. 

John Deere tractors are made in India.

The particular New Holland tractor we're looking at is made in Italy. (Italians don't make their beds.)

We are not done shopping! Thursday, we go to the Caterpillar place.

As it turns out, I don't mind tractor shopping.