JUST STUFF
the new home for the miscellaneous odds & ends that find their way to me
in one form or another & then sit around & collect dust on my desktop
while I ignore them & do other things or until I figure out what to do with them
- kind of like all the old tractor & engine pieces & parts that sit around &
collect dust in our garage. I'm not allowed to touch the garage stuff but from here on,
the stuff that accumulates on my desk is going here.
(A little poem shared by Andy)
It's not my job to run the train,
The whistle I can't blow.
It's not my job to say how far
the train's allowed to go.
It's not my job to let off steam
or even clang the bell.
But let the damn thing jump the track
and see who catches hell.
(author unknown)
It's not my job to run the train,
The whistle I can't blow.
It's not my job to say how far
the train's allowed to go.
It's not my job to let off steam
or even clang the bell.
But let the damn thing jump the track
and see who catches hell.
(author unknown)
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"There are only three things that can kill a farmer: lightning, rollling over in a tractor, and old age." Bill Bryson |
There are three easy ways of
losing money - racing is the
quickest, women the most pleasant,
and farming the most certain. Lord Amherst |
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Life on a farm is a school of
patience; you can't hurry the crops
or make an ox in two days. Henri Alain |
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| 1947 Firestone Farm Guide Book~ Facts and Figures on Practical Agriculture | |
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Several months ago, Andy, The Tractor Club's Safety Chairman, handed me a pocket-sized little booklet put out by Firestone Tire & Rubber called the Farm Guide Book~ Facts and Figures on Practical Agriculture. The booklet belonged to his father-in-law and was published in 1947. Among other things, the booklet offered safety tips, tips on avoiding tractor tire abuse, insect control, how to measure cribbed corn, charges for custom farm work, estimated costs of using various farm machinery, and states the advantages of rural electrification. I found several items of interest in Andy's booklet which resulted in this section of this page. Thanks, Andy! |
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| Safety | |
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In 1947, farming was rated by insurance companies as one of the most hazardous occupations. 16,000 farm people died from accidental causes in 1945 and 1,500,000 suffered non-fatal accidents. The booklet listed a few precautions to take to prevent or minimize accidents on your farm: Slight scratches often lead to amputation and even death. Although I was unable to readily locate current statistics, I did find that according to Accident Facts published in 1990 by the National Safety Council, farm accidents and other work-related health problems claimed as many as 1,300 lives and caused 120,000 injuries a year, most of which are preventable. Tractor accidents on farms caused the highest number of fatalities with tractor overturns accounting for 44% of all tractor fatalities. Farm accidents claimed as many as 300 children's lives per year. In 2000, according to TRAC (Tractor Risk Abatement & Control), injuries involving farm tractors resulted in nearly 270 deaths and accounted for 11,000 lost-time injuries. While the numbers are going down, farm tractors continue to be the primary source of fatal injuries in agriculture. Overturns consistently account for more than half of all tractor-related deaths. Young people under the age of 25 are involved in a high percentage of farm accidents. |
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Regarding Tractor Safety, you can click HERE to view "A Tractor Accident Can Happen to Anyone" a full-length video on tractor safety available for viewing on the National Ag Safety Database web site. |
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| Custom Farming Rates | |
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1947 |
2007 |
| Cost of Using Farm Machinery | |
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1947 (cost of tractor not included) |
2007 The formula for calculating today's cost of using farm machinery is a long several-lined worksheet. You can view that worksheet by clicking HERE. |
| Controlling Insects | |
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In 1947, DDT was the insecticide of choice. It was noted that the chemical was poisonous and was to be handled according, avoiding inhalation and contact with skin, foods, feeds and drinking water. It was determined that crop yields for potatoes and grapes increased due to the use of DDT. Flies, household insects and chewing insects were effectively controlled for periods of 8 to 13 weeks with the use of DDT. DDT was banned in the United States by the EPA at the end of 1972 after approximately 3 decades of domestic use. Often called the "miracle" pesticide, DDT came into wide agricultural and commercial usage in this country in the late 1940s. The peak year for use in the United States was 1959 when nearly 80 million pounds were applied. From that high point, usage declined steadily to about 13 million pounds in 1971, most of it applied to cotton. Limited use of DDT continues in some countries today and controversy over the use of DDT continues. Since 1972, malaria has resulted in the deaths of over 50 million people. |
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| Milk Yields | |
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On May 21, 1942, it was reported that one cow produced 41,943.4 pounds of milk in 365 days. In 2007, the average yield per cow was 18,000 pounds. Dairy Trivia....Milk is the only food product never touched by human hands. From an article printed in The New York Times in May, 1914: Nearly 10 tons of milk and the equivalent of 1260 pounds of butter made up the world's record production of a Guernsey cow named May Rilma in Berwyn, PA. For the 365 days ended May 1, 1914, the cow's record was 19,673 pounds of milk and the gross earnings for the cow for the year totaled nearly $1,200. |
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| Avoid Tire Abuses | |
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1947 |
2008 |
| Rural Electrification | |
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The Firestone booklet enthusiastically welcomed the arrival of electricity to rural areas. "Electric power offers the most efficient and least expensive help a farmer can employ. It turns night into day, and removes the drudgery of heavy, backbreaking chores. It reduces the cost of operations and speeds up the time in which they can be done. Farmers who use electricity most, secure the greatest benefits from it." Remembering little about the history of electricity and rural areas, I found this site, The New Deal Network, rather interesting. It includes 5 mini history lessons on the creation and history of the Rural Electric Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Another interesting site regarding rural electricity was the USDA Rural Development web site. You can access Rural Development Electric Programs page by clicking here. |
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