Question for Hugh MacKay and others

2. Father and son 2,500 acres cash crop and beef, slightly over 900 hp so they are just over 1/3 hp per acre

3. 800 acres cash crop and hogs 300 hp plus custom hires combine, again close to 1/3 plus the combine.

4. Had an uncle in the 1950s farmed about 100 acres 20 dairy cows, did all his work with a Super A. I measure that one at 1/5 hp per acre.

5. My dad farmed 200 acres and 40 dairy cows in 1950s with Farmalls 300 and 130. Close to 1/4 hp per acre.

So you see progress has been great. I can not think of anyone today doing better than 1/4 hp per acre. In the mid 1950s a Ford or Chevy sedan would give you 25 miles per Canadian Gallon, today sedans about the same size with all the computer efficiency bells and whistles will give 25 miles per Canadian Gallon. That should come out to 20 miles per US gallon. I guess it just takes more horse power to be efficient.

I have two brothers that cover about 2600 acres of row crop and hay of their own with about 1100 hp, but they are constantly picking up additional work with neighbors that mainly consists of single pass work (run over somebody's ground with the soil saver or field cultivator and the neighbor plants it) or haying with their swathers and big square baler. They cover at least an additional 2500 acres that way for cash flow and to keep the equipment busy.

By the same token another brother and I have about 330 hp to cover only 320 acres of row crop and hay of our own, but we also cover about 300 acres of hay on shares and we pick up some field work with the heavier equipment behind the old 1456 and 856 (we don't do any custom work with the smaller equipment). We are not near as efficient as we both work off the farm and the equipment is usually sitting during "prime" working hours.

You really want to see inefficiency, look at the typical block in the suburbs, every house has a push mower, riding mower, ect and ect... usually comes out to about 40-50 hp per acre.

As a former full time farmer my concern is and always has been that you and guys like you, whether you be a full time farmer or part time holding down another job. I like to see people make money for their efforts. If I go back over my years of farming and look at the financial returns for the various years. I made more money when I was under powered than when over powered, and at various time during my career I have had it both ways. I just like to see hard working people make money.

And by the way it is nice to see you run tractors with comfort. 56 series were the most comfortable. I also had 66 series, looked like they should be just as comfortable but they weren't. Of course past history now tells us 66 was down hill in all respects.

I had a cash cropper tell me he was under 1/4 hp per acre. I said what about your combine, you are harvesting with it, yet your neighbor dairy farmer is doing all his harvesting with tractors. Then you have the farmer hiring custom operators, they are indeed paying for horse power.

I do believe there are farmers getting in under the 1/2 hp per acre. I think there are farmers aiming for 1/4 hp per acre, whether they are achiving is another matter. I think it can be done if you take out all the trucking tractors do, all the barn chores tractors do, all the feeding tractors do, and just leave the actual field work.