The 21st century battle royal in agriculture may come down to tractors vs. robots and artificial intelligence. One century ago, the battle was horses vs. tractors. Fred Whitford, director of Purdue Pesticide Programs and an author, will soon chronicle that mammoth tussle. Your stories help him put meat on the bones of that book.

Recently, he asked for stories about farming with horses. Here’s his latest request: Does anyone remember converting Ford Model T cars or other vehicles for fieldwork?

“Apparently, you could buy conversion kits to turn cars into ‘tractors,’” Whitford says. “If you have a story, we would love to hear it.”

Send your story to [email protected] or mail to 599 N., 100 W., Franklin, IN 46131. Whitford will select a winner from the responses to receive one of his books on the history of Purdue Extension.

Horse vs. tractor

Meanwhile, Don Cummings, Jackson County, Ind., got Whitford’s attention with his family’s tale of tractors vs. horses. He will receive a book. His dad was the late Jim Cummings, longtime ag teacher at Whiteland High School and Central Nine Vocational School.

“Here’s how the Cummings farm got its first tractor,” Don says. “Dad and his brother, in their teens in the 1930s, begged their dad for a tractor. Pap bought an old Silver King with that big front wheel out front. Dad and his brother immediately said, ‘Let’s get rid of those stupid horses!’ Pap said, ‘Let’s wait a little while and see how this works out.’

“So, they hooked the Silver King to the plow and off they went. Pap sat on the front porch, smoking his pipe, as the boys took off down the hill to the bottom field, still in plain view of the front porch. First thing, the tractor ran off into the ditch at the end of the field. Dad and his brother walked back to the barn. Pap puffed on his pipe and grinned. They hitched up the team of horses to pull the tractor out!

“Once the tractor was out and the horses were back in the barn, they went another round with the tractor — off in the ditch again! This time, they walked back to the house, Pap still puffing on his pipe. Then he uttered these infamous words, ‘You boys still think we should get rid of the horses?’”

Postscript

Why the Silver King? “Grandpa probably bought it because it was cheap!” Don says. “Remember, this was during the Depression.

“I believe they kept the horses until World War II. Dad and his brother went off to war. Dad never came back to the farm, going straight to Purdue after the war.

“What happened to the tractor? That is a good question. Who knows? It might have ended up in the ditch and Grandpa just left it there!”