Farming with one tractor
DAVID MINK GateHouse Plus

The boom of megacorporations and big industry brought an industrial mentality to the world of farming. Bigger meant better, which meant more profit in the end.

If 10 tractors could produce a set amount of output, then it stood to reason that 100 tractors would produce 10 times as much.

For today's small farm owner, however, massively upscaling your operation is not an option. In fact, with the ever-rising price of diesel fuel, increasing your equipment load around the farm could prove to be a death sentence.

In trying times like these, it may be beneficial to approach the problem of increasing fuel costs from the other direction. Rather than scaling the operation up to produce more output, a farmer could scale the operation down to reduce the input.

The ideal market situation would consist of scaling down input while maintaining the same output. That means higher profit margins.

One of the easiest ways to start the process is to reduce the number of tractors you drive. Although few large farms actually work this way, accomplishing all of your agricultural needs with only one tractor can greatly reduce the amount of fuel you pay for each time the diesel man comes to fill up the tank.

Moderately-sized tractors are generally the best multipurpose tractors in a singleunit operation. Although large tractors are good for primary and secondary tillage and small tractors for light utility chores and mowing, moderate tractors can generally accomplish all tasks set before them.

Careful consideration, however, should be given to equipment selection. Large implements that require lots of PTO power are probably not suited for medium tractors. Any tractor should have enough power to pull its respective implement with the greatest draft at about four to five miles per hour.

With only one tractor, some scheduling problems are bound to arise. As long as you plan in advance, however, these should be minimal. Don't paint yourself into a corner by planting two types of crops that will need to be harvested at the same time. Do everything you can to shorten the amount of time you have to spend in the field. Switching from a tillage operation to a no-till operation literally cuts your planting time in half.

Although it is a constant struggle to divide your time and prioritize your work, readapting your farm to a one-tractor operation is very possible. In the long run, the fuel savings will easily offset any scheduling snafus.