Russ' Vintage Iron

All Column Articles

  • While mostly retired, the Quinn family's 1957 John Deere 620 tractor does still work on the farm occasionally. The tractor has been in the family for 65 years. (DTN photo by Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    Those who love vintage iron look forward to the beginning of summer, as it marks the start of small-town parades, tractor shows and antique tractor pulls. June is when many small-town celebrations take place, and parades are often at the heart of those. Who is bringing vintage iron to these...

  • Arlington High School FFA students in Arlington, Nebraska, participated in Drive Your Tractor to School Day on March 24. (DTN photo by Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    FFA students always look forward to Drive Your Tractor to School Day each year. While it usually takes place on a cold morning, many students drive their family's tractor to school to promote agriculture. In many small towns, the event turns into a special day for the entire community.

  • This 1947 Farmall Cub was bought new by Henry Rath and is a multigenerational tractor currently owned by Henry's grandson, Tyler Rath, of Belgrade, Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of Tyler Rath)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    This month's edition of Russ' Vintage Iron features two Farmall stories from readers. These come after Case-New Holland (CNH) announced various activities planned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the now-famous Farmall name.

  • The Farmall name appeared on IH tractors for nearly 50 years, ranging from 1924 to 1973. Among the last IH tractors to feature Farmall was the model 1456 tractor. (DTN File Photo)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    Case IH celebrates 100 years of Farmall tractors. In 1923, an IH engineer had a vision of a tractor that would replace horses and perform many -- if not all -- farm tasks. The new tractors would allow farmers to easily cultivate their crops and the legendary Farmall brand was born.

  • The Quinn family's 1957 John Deere 620 tractor and wooden-wheeled wagon decorated with Christmas lights and an illuminated Santa Claus from Christmas 1992. (Photo courtesy Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    Large, farm-place Christmas light displays always impressed me as a kid. Seeing Christmas lights on buildings, fences, and even farm machinery was remarkable. For a few years, roughly three decades ago, we did the same thing on our farm.

  • The Gambles Farmcrest 30 tractor is really a Cockshutt 30, which was sold in the U.S. The Canadian farm equipment company sold its tractors in the U.S. through the farm store for a few years in the late 1940s. (DTN photo by Bryce Anderson)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    In this month's edition of Russ' Vintage Iron, we take a closer at some of the lesser-known tractor variants. Some vintage tractor manufacturers had slight differences in their versions of the same series of tractors, while other makers had more complex different versions of the same tractor.

  • Last month's Vintage Iron column prompted several readers to reminisce about the plowing. (DTN photo by Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    Russ' Vintage Iron column about John Deere potentially ending production of the moldboard plow prompted stories about the past from readers. This month, we present three of their interesting tales of plowing.

  • A vintage John Deere model F145 plow. John Deere announced recently it was stopping production of a moldboard plow but still will produce a reversible moldboard plow. (DTN photo by Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    There has been some talk on social media recently of John Deere ending production of the moldboard plow, the implement the man John Deere founded his business on 150 years ago. Years of using John Deere plows created many memories for generations of farmers.

  • A vintage De Laval milking machine on display. (DTN photo by Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    A birthday party in a friend's dad's farm shop led to an interesting discovery: a vintage De Laval portable milking machine from the 1920s. This small engine allowed dairy farmers to milk cows, separate cream and even run light in their dairy barns with the use of equipment for the first time.

  • (Photo courtesy of Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    When someone you love has dementia/Alzheimer's disease, there's a long goodbye, such as for someone who is a beloved wife, a mother, and grandmother -- and so much more.

  • We may have solved the mystery of what this seat was off of. (Photo courtesy of Fred Knop)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    In this month's edition of Russ' Vintage Iron we have perhaps solved the mystery of what implement a vintage cast iron seat came off of. In addition, we also look at vintage iron listings on Facebook Marketplace.

  • Russ Quinn remembers acts of kindness his uncle Dennis Plambeck specialized in, such as helping feed Russ' cattle when Russ broke both his wrists. (DTN cattle photo by Russ Quinn)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    DTN Staff Reporter Russ Quinn pays tribute to his uncle who passed away this fall and shares some memories of him.

  • Do you recognize this vintage implement seat? If so, you could solve a mystery for an Iowa Farmer. (Photo courtesy of Fred Knop)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    Most farmers and ranchers are not ones to waste things, which might be why some farmers have a steady supply of "items" and sometimes they might not know what exactly they have. One Iowa farmers asks for help identifying a vintage implement seat he found in a building on his farm.

  • Ford Tractor dealers were supposed to have at least one Select-O-Speed demonstrator tractor painted gold on hand as a sales tool. (Photo by dave_7, CC BY 2.0)
    by Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter

    Ford Tractor Company, as part of an ad campaign, tried to pump up sales of its new Select-O-Speed transmissions in 1959; Ford Tractor dealers were supposed to paint at least one of their tractors gold. Russ Quinn asks if anyone owns, or has stories about, these rare golden tractors.