When Dad and Mom began their married life on the farm, most all of the farm work was done by horses. In their early years of marriage, they began to purchase farm machinery and eventually a tractor. On February 14, 1945, the last team of horses sold for $29 apiece. It was an end of an era. Dad bought Mom a string of pearls for Valentine’s Day with some of the money from the horses!
Mom never questioned the fact that she married the right man. She often said he was more intelligent and interested in more ideas than the other young men she dated. But, it didn’t take long for her to realize she had married a true innovator. Her role soon became the “steady hand” in managing the farm.
The list of innovations on the farm is long. Some were successful, but others brought near disastrous results.
The Big Barn
This was a farm building b
uilt in the 50’s that had poles inside to support the building and a steel skin on the outside. Mom wanted a wood framed building that was solid like other farmers built. Today, about all farm buildingare built like the “Big Barn”.
The Texas Plow
All farmers in Jackson County used the moldboard plows in those days. Dad bought a “Texas Graham-Home” plow in the 50’s that was different because it had large steel teeth that tilled the soil. Today almost all farmers in the Corn Belt till their soil with a machine that is quite similar to the “Texas Plow”.
Fertilizer
In April, 1937 Dad put fertilizer attachments on his corn planter. He was among the first to use commercial fertilizer to grow better crops.
Planting corn using a tractor
Most of us have see the photo of Tom planting corn with horses, but in May, 1937 Dad was already planting corn using a tractor!
Aerometer Electric Pump
Water on farms had been pumped using wind power for many years. This process changed in November, 1939 when water was pumped using electricity on Tom and Esther’s farm.
Habco Corn Dryer
The spring and summer of 1951 was very wet and cool. This resulted in corn at harvest time that was too wet to store. Dad purchased a Habco corn dryer from Nebraska. This was one of the first corn dryers built. They used it to dry corn for themselves and for neighbors—who they charged for the cost of drying the corn.
Soybeans
Farmers in the Midwest grew corn, hay and oats. Some innovators like Dad started to raise the new crop from China –soybeans. In 1945 Dad and Mom sold soybeans for $2.05 /bushel. This was long before other farmers began to raise soybeans. Today soybeans are the second most important crop in the Midwest and ironically, China is the biggest buyer of soybeans in the world.
Herbicides
Dad, the innovator tried conservation tillage, narrow row soybeans, etc on his farm. This resulted in weeds multiplying very quickly and taking over the farm. With the farm teetering on the brink of disaster, crop herbicides were introduced. Herbicides were products that were sprayed on the soil that allowed the crop to grow but prevented the weed seeds from germinating and growing. In the last 50’s and early 60’s products such as Atrazine, Treflan, Amiben were introduced. Dad was an early adopter of these products and the farm was saved.
Corn Picker, Corn Sheller, Corn Combine
For year’s corn was harvested by hand. Dad and Mom were early adopters of the mechanical corn picker, the mechanical corn sheller, and the self propelled combine.
Melroe Bobcat
When Dad went to Gwinner, North Dakota to pick up this small, 3 wheeled self propelled machine used to clean livestock lots and help with other farm chores, and he had bought one of the first. Today, virtually every farm, construction company, governmental unit, etc. has one or more Melroe Bobcat machine or a similar kind of machine. Today they have 4-wheels or are articulating machines that help farmers complete their chores.
Roto Baler
This machine was purchased in February 1956 for $1,300.00. It made round bales—very unusual for the time since most all farmers made square bales. Today, most hay world-wide is baled into round bales. 
The Constant Inventor
Early in his farming career, Dad took a welding class at the local high school. This opened up a whole new world to him. He came up with some very unique ideas to make things work around the farm. He almost always had a project going. He could often be found work on his latest project at the west end of the machine shed while the neighbors were already out in the fields. Like other inventors-innovators, he very much “marched to his own drum beat”. He hauled home pieces of steel, various items bought at farm sales, etc. He justified it by always saying it would be handy to have—“just in case”. Mom, the faithful wife generally stood by him, but did occasionally show some frustration. But through all the inventions and projects, they remained true to each other. -Kent
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