I am not a world-renowned traveler by any means, but almost every farm I have visited over the years has an old tractor they claim they will “fix up and get ‘er runnin’” one day. My farm is no exception. For years, we had an old John Deere 2840 that we put out back in 2020. My father loved the old tractor, and it served its purpose well over the years, but as equipment evolved it could not keep up.
Throughout my childhood I dreaded the 2840 because little did I know, it had been hooked on a piece of equipment three times its capacity. So, the day we put it into retirement, I cheered while my father grumbled. On that day, though, my father vowed it would run again, and now, five years later, it is.
Over the Easter weekend, while everyone else was enjoying Easter egg hunts, ham, and all the fixings, my father decided it was time to resurrect the old tractor. So armed with bee spray, a log chain, and one of our bigger tractors, Dad and I set out to pull the old tractor to the shop to break it down, order parts, and get it ready for its new job. I was not thrilled about this adventure. After all, I honestly believed the tractor was the devil after all the issues I had with it as a kid. Dad was like a kid in a candy shop. He was hopping around, checking every gauge and fluid level, while trying to get me to accept the fact that the tractor was being put back into the lineup. I continued to roll my eyes the entire afternoon, but I helped hook it up, and I pulled him and the old tractor to the shop to work on another day.
After the bees were taken care of, tires pumped up, chain hooked, and the brakes checked, we slowly meandered down the hill. I was in the big tractor, Dad in the 2840. After two new batteries, a new fuel filter, and a new clamp for the muffler, the old tractor came to life once again. Now, I did take it upon myself to fix the nonexistent seat and order a new one, but besides that, the old tractor ran like it had five years prior to retirement. Dad smiled and I just laughed.
The author is a sixth-generation farmer and fifth-generation dairy producer in southwest Virginia, where she and her family own and operate a 145-head Holstein dairy. Courtney is involved in agriculture organizations throughout her community and is a graduate of Virginia Tech.
