When Bill Ingersoll needed a four-wheel-drive front-assist tractor for windrowing potatoes, he bought a Belarus 825 off the showroom floor from Lake Country Service in Fort Atkinson, Wis., for $13,500 in 1992.

“It turned out to be an excellent purchase for that amount of money and truly perfect for gathering this crop,” he says. “I was able to windrow two rows, attach the harvester and then pick up four rows in one pass. The machine also had a three-point hitch that provided flexibility so I could apply down pressure to cultivate pumpkins in late June.” This tractor was manufactured in the Minsk, Belarus, factory from 1983 to 1996.

Today, the Sullivan, Wis., farmer uses the 825 exclusively to pull his sprayer, which is set for a 33.5-foot pattern that covers 12 rows of corn. He also relies on the four-wheel assist to provide additional pulling power to handle variable textures of his muck soils. Features on the 825 include a D242 turbo-charged diesel, 4.7-liter, four-cylinder liquid-cooled engine; wide front end; power steering; attached cab; inside heater; disk brakes; 100-hp rating; PTO; full hydraulics; tachometer; two lights on the back; and a transmission that features 18 forward and four reverse gears.

Major repairs over the years have been adding a new clutch and replacing the main brakes. To help grow 140 acres of sweet corn and 120 acres of soybeans, Ingersoll relies on two Ford 8000s, a Ford 8700, a Ford TW15, a John Deere 8320, a Farmall 656, an Oliver Caterpillar OC6 and an International Harvester 2+2 tractor.

“The 825 is my favorite because it’s the most fuel-economical tractor on the farm,” he says. “This machine has a nice easy flow and is consistently dependable, operating 400 to 500 hours per year.”

Persinger writes from Milwaukee, Wis. To have your favorite tractor featured, email or send in a photo of yourself with your tractor, along with a 300-word write-up about the tractor, to [email protected] or Wisconsin Agriculturist, P.O. Box 236, Brandon, WI 53919.