Still running my 4240. It came brand new to our family dairy farm. I was 14 years old. Most the repair it has needed are just basic wear items. Waterpump , alternator. radiator starter. . She has been dependable and comfortable to run! Forever!!
The "Iron Horse" line-up of tractors are still going strong in this district, the majority of them being 4440's. Without a doubt they will continue to work for many more years to come!
My wife, her uncle and myself are in the process of getting her family farm going again, 2 years after her grandparents passed. 118 acres isn't much, but it kept them going for 60 years. We have a few old implements left over, and her grandfather's favorite tractor, the trusty 1980 4240. I fell in love with it as soon as I climbed up into it, and we've been enjoying the ups and downs of farming with it. Love seeing footage of this old iron.
Glad to hear that you intend to keep the farm within the family, it may not be many acres, but it will be something to be proud of many years from now. Having said that, I'm confident that your 4240 will not let you down, good luck in all of your endeavors.
I just recently stumbled upon your channel and I have to say I can’t wait for you to upload more videos, I really enjoy seeing these old “Iron Horses” at work. Keep up the great videos!
Your comments greatly appreciated. I do intend to put a few more videos on You Tube that date back about 25 - 35 years, only problem is converting VHS to You Tube is a very slow "painful" process that takes a lot of patience and a lot of time. Stay tuned.
Thanks for sharing these videos!!! Our soil would be way to heavy for a 4240 to pull that load. It looks like it was doing great work for you! Always liked the big long press wheel drills. I have a HZ drill with hoe openers. Very rare for my part of Texas. Thanks again for the video!!!!
The video you put together is treasured footage! You were ahead of your time getting all of this footage back then! Really neat seeing all of your JD paired implements from that era paired with your 4240. In 1981 my grandfather also bought a new "Iron Horse" 4240 with a new JD 215 tandem disk. We still have the 4240 to this day. Thanks for your nice video!
My Uncle David bought a new 20 foot JD 9350 grain drill in I believe 1978 , he loved that drill and he said it was one of the most profitable things he ever bought. Pulled it with a JD 4320 and could knock out about 80 acres in a good day.
My 9350's arrived in mid October 1980, and stayed until spring of 1996 when they were traded for 30 feet of the same. 80 acres was indeed a good day, 100 was exceptional!
@@DeereDon My uncle traded his off for a 32' hoping that they could free up some help by planting for him and his brother with one drill. Afterwards he regretted the decision. For one thing his 20' was much easier to get moved from field to field. He said they would have been better off with two twenty foot drills.
@@truthandfreedom885 A 32 foot would be a good load for a 4320, depending of course on soil type and landscape, if you don't mind me asking, whereabouts in the world, give or take, was this farm located. Don't need to answer if you don't want to.
Your way ahead of your time making farm videos lol. That is really great footage. I kinda miss the old days of tillage and summer fallow. Still haven't gone 100% zero till...but reluctantly I'm being dragged into it. I do like the straight combining though, so not all bad.
Watched your farm videos for the first time , about 1 Year ago. Now re-watching , even better the second viewing!! 2/3's through the film , can see a prairie wooden grain elevator in the background , would that be the town of Lipton Sask ? Thank you very much Don for beautifully narrative & farm video !!
Thanks for your interesting comments, and yes, you are very good at details, (regarding the grain elevator). If you look on Google Earth you should have no problem figuring out where these different videos were taken, which of course includes my farm-yard.
Dad used to pull a 12 foot offset disk or what you called it a bush disk. He rented it from the landlord along with renting the 7000 planter and a few tractors until he bought enough of his own tractors. I and Dad bought the 7000 planter from the landlord in 1989. That 12 foot offset disk was really heavy and turned our sod ground black in one pass here in southern Minnesota. Dad had a gasoline 190XT tractor for his big tractor and it was all that tractor could handle and we pulled it in 2nd gear. That was back in the late 1970's throughout the 1980's until Dad quit renting most of the land he ran and just ran his own farm and some family land and went to working in town. That was after we had two drought years in a row, 1988 and 89. I quit farming in 1993 and Dad and my youngest brother entirely quit farming and milking cows in 1997. I started running Dad's home farm again in 2010 after many years of not farming anything more than 10 acres of hay and a handful of cattle. I have an old but nice Allis 7050 and 200 for tractors and I have an L2 combine that I want to sell and an R52 that I currently farm with. I'm trying to rent more land but that seems pretty tough right now so I still work in town. I verbally had rented another farm from an old couple for the coming spring and was in communication with their son but a very large farmer swooped in now and rented it out from under me. I was looking forward to leaving my job and running more land but looks like that won't work just yet.
Sorry for not responding sooner but I did enjoy reading your extensive history concerning your farming experiences. Seems you too have similar problems in regards to weather related issues as well as dealing with others who wish to farm large tracts of land.
@@DeereDon I really have been very blessed to be able to have what I do have at any rate. I live on the family farm I grew up on and have so much more than most people in the world. Actually right now I am just farming but I am looking for a job to supplement my farming habit. :) I spent 20 years in a lab at Mayo Clinic and recently left but I don't miss it one bit. PS I wish I could do as good of a job putting up videos as you have done. I really enjoy them...... even if it's about the green stuff. :) Take care.
Hello "Scruffy", nice to see you here again, hope you have a wonderful New Year as well. (I am curious what part of the world you hail from, don't need to answer that if you don't want to, no problem)
@@DeereDon northern part of Wisconsin USA. I was hoping to see your snowblower in action again but, seeing as you don't get that much snow i can wait. Now if you were from around here I wouldn't have wait as long ha,ha. We have about 8", 20 centimeter for you so far. Good to see a video from you again.
@@scruffy6151 Just finished reading your excellent comments. We do have some snow but not enough to make a video yet. I do have more "old" videos to post, but they take a fair amount of time to convert from VHS to MP4, (it took me quite awhile to find a device that would accept my old VHS tapes), a very slow ordeal. But do stay tuned!!!!!
Hi Don. Your videos have popped up on my TH-cam again and so it’s inspired me to watch them again…just curious on your decision to buy a 4240 and not a 4440? My grandfather did the same thing, of which we still own, and it was bc the local jd dealer had it in on their lot; no 4440 to be had bc my great-uncle (grandfather’s brother) bought the last one on the lot! My grandfather had also bought and mated a new JD disk to his 4240 in 1981…a model 215 tandem disk.
Our 4240 had over 25000 hrs on it before it really needed any major work. They sure dont make them like they used to. Now that tractor has close to 40000 hrs on it. Needs a restoration but man those tractor wouldn’t die no matter what they were put through.
Hello Kevin: By 2005 I was at 10 1/2 qtrs., both owned as well as rented, but by 2010 I had already lost 5 qtrs. of rented land, by that time I had seeded 40 crops, so decided that it was time to make a graceful exit from the agricultural world.
@@kevinbirn5141 I sold my land to a good friend, but kept the home quarter and rented it to him. Home quarter has been in the family 103 years in another month.
That is very nice that your home quarter is in your family 103 years this month. I sure like your tractors you still have. They are in very beautiful shape. My Dad had a 4010 john Deere tractor when i was young and we have a 4320 john Deere tractor on our farm too. It was a 1972 model with duals on it and we put a 148 john Deere loader on our 4320 john Deere tractor
I thought that Case and harrow looked familiar as I do watch roosty6. Must say I have to commend you on the excellent care you took of your machinery. Do you still got your like new 4455? Great job on the videos you put together! Wish you had more. Mike from central Minnesota.
Hello Mike: Glad you liked my 4240 video, and yes, Roosty 6 and I live about 10 to 12 miles apart and have known each other for the past 55 years, give or take. As for my 4455, yes, I still own it, and if you search around on my website you should be able to find at least three separate videos that I made with that tractor as the main subject. (My thumbnail photo for my website shows me standing in front of my beloved "old" 4455, taken about 30 years ago!)
Hello Martin: Yes, that is correct, we were applying Avadex in this video, I really had no problem with Green Foxtail at the time, so all I had to worry about next spring was one application of Buctril M in June and I was done tramping my wheat fields with tractor and sprayer. Some farmers were using "Fortress" but I had used it once before and came away with mixed feelings.
@@DeereDon Interesting 😊 when avadex was used here it was applyed with sprayer, and in the spring. Probably because we werent tilling shalow enogh in the fall.
Hi Tony: Probably weights on the front of tractors sold in this part of the world are as rare as a 3PH on the back. I will agree that there is the odd time a tractor might get a bit light on the front end, but it would not affect performance to any great degree. At the moment I can only think of less the half a dozen tractors (JD) that I have seen in this district over the span of the last 50 years, and half of those tractors had the weights removed by the owner at some point in time as they were really not necessary. Just the way it is I guess.
I have lots of hours in a 4240. Love them. They're small enough and big enough at the same time just like a 4020 seemed to be.
Still running my 4240. It came brand new to our family dairy farm. I was 14 years old. Most the repair it has needed are just basic wear items. Waterpump , alternator. radiator starter. . She has been dependable and comfortable to run! Forever!!
The "Iron Horse" line-up of tractors are still going strong in this district, the majority of them being 4440's. Without a doubt they will continue to work for many more years to come!
My wife, her uncle and myself are in the process of getting her family farm going again, 2 years after her grandparents passed. 118 acres isn't much, but it kept them going for 60 years. We have a few old implements left over, and her grandfather's favorite tractor, the trusty 1980 4240. I fell in love with it as soon as I climbed up into it, and we've been enjoying the ups and downs of farming with it. Love seeing footage of this old iron.
Glad to hear that you intend to keep the farm within the family, it may not be many acres, but it will be something to be proud of many years from now. Having said that, I'm confident that your 4240 will not let you down, good luck in all of your endeavors.
Your videos are fun to revisit. I enjoy vintage farm films like these, especially of equipment working in the fields. Happy Holidays!
I am glad you took the time to watch again, Seasons Greetings to you as well.
Farm rules: Whoever turns their lights on first.... loses.
Another great video Don!
Them were the good old days i have 4240
There`s just something about the older tractor that will always have a special place in my memories !
Thanks for a Great vid beautiful fotage
Greatings South Africa
Thanks for taking the time to watch this video, especially from on what is basically the opposite side of this planet from where I am farming.
Reminds me of my Dad and the way it was for him . Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi DeereDon, Thank you very much for all of your videos! Especially this one with the 4240. That was my favorite tractor.
Thanks,
Bill
I just recently stumbled upon your channel and I have to say I can’t wait for you to upload more videos, I really enjoy seeing these old “Iron Horses” at work. Keep up the great videos!
Your comments greatly appreciated. I do intend to put a few more videos on You Tube that date back about 25 - 35 years, only problem is converting VHS to You Tube is a very slow "painful" process that takes a lot of patience and a lot of time. Stay tuned.
Thanks for sharing these videos!!! Our soil would be way to heavy for a 4240 to pull that load. It looks like it was doing great work for you! Always liked the big long press wheel drills. I have a HZ drill with hoe openers. Very rare for my part of Texas. Thanks again for the video!!!!
Thanks for your interesting comments, much appreciated, just curious, which "general" part of Texas are you from, and what type of soil do you farm?
@@DeereDon West Central area. It varies but mostly a black loam. Wheat grown. Granddad grew cotton, Milo, wheat and sesame.
The video you put together is treasured footage! You were ahead of your time getting all of this footage back then! Really neat seeing all of your JD paired implements from that era paired with your 4240. In 1981 my grandfather also bought a new "Iron Horse" 4240 with a new JD 215 tandem disk. We still have the 4240 to this day. Thanks for your nice video!
Yup of a guy worked his fieldstone that now a days people would think yiur here crazy
I have the 6125 M. Really love it. Especially the 1.3 us gallon per hour fuel consumption.
Awesome old footage. Thanks for sharing!
I really enjoyed the footage and your commentary.
Thank you, keep em coming.
We had a 1980 model with Quad Range. Great tractor!
Nice job in that breaking doesn’t look like you had many rocks to pick!
Top stuff. Thanks.
My Uncle David bought a new 20 foot JD 9350 grain drill in I believe 1978 , he loved that drill and he said it was one of the most profitable things he ever bought. Pulled it with a JD 4320 and could knock out about 80 acres in a good day.
My 9350's arrived in mid October 1980, and stayed until spring of 1996 when they were traded for 30 feet of the same. 80 acres was indeed a good day, 100 was exceptional!
@@DeereDon My uncle traded his off for a 32' hoping that they could free up some help by planting for him and his brother with one drill. Afterwards he regretted the decision. For one thing his 20' was much easier to get moved from field to field. He said they would have been better off with two twenty foot drills.
@@truthandfreedom885 A 32 foot would be a good load for a 4320, depending of course on soil type and landscape, if you don't mind me asking, whereabouts in the world, give or take, was this farm located. Don't need to answer if you don't want to.
@@DeereDon They switched tractors. First year pulled it with a JD 5020 then he bought a JD 4620. Loud tractors to run but lots of power for the money.
Your machinery looks mint. Very well kept
Your way ahead of your time making farm videos lol. That is really great footage. I kinda miss the old days of tillage and summer fallow. Still haven't gone 100% zero till...but reluctantly I'm being dragged into it. I do like the straight combining though, so not all bad.
Watched your farm videos for the first time , about 1 Year ago. Now re-watching , even better the second viewing!! 2/3's through the film , can see a prairie wooden grain elevator in the background , would that be the town of Lipton Sask ? Thank you very much Don for beautifully narrative & farm video !!
Thanks for your interesting comments, and yes, you are very good at details, (regarding the grain elevator). If you look on Google Earth you should have no problem figuring out where these different videos were taken, which of course includes my farm-yard.
Dad used to pull a 12 foot offset disk or what you called it a bush disk. He rented it from the landlord along with renting the 7000 planter and a few tractors until he bought enough of his own tractors. I and Dad bought the 7000 planter from the landlord in 1989. That 12 foot offset disk was really heavy and turned our sod ground black in one pass here in southern Minnesota. Dad had a gasoline 190XT tractor for his big tractor and it was all that tractor could handle and we pulled it in 2nd gear. That was back in the late 1970's throughout the 1980's until Dad quit renting most of the land he ran and just ran his own farm and some family land and went to working in town. That was after we had two drought years in a row, 1988 and 89. I quit farming in 1993 and Dad and my youngest brother entirely quit farming and milking cows in 1997.
I started running Dad's home farm again in 2010 after many years of not farming anything more than 10 acres of hay and a handful of cattle. I have an old but nice Allis 7050 and 200 for tractors and I have an L2 combine that I want to sell and an R52 that I currently farm with. I'm trying to rent more land but that seems pretty tough right now so I still work in town. I verbally had rented another farm from an old couple for the coming spring and was in communication with their son but a very large farmer swooped in now and rented it out from under me. I was looking forward to leaving my job and running more land but looks like that won't work just yet.
Sorry for not responding sooner but I did enjoy reading your extensive history concerning your farming experiences. Seems you too have similar problems in regards to weather related issues as well as dealing with others who wish to farm large tracts of land.
@@DeereDon I really have been very blessed to be able to have what I do have at any rate. I live on the family farm I grew up on and have so much more than most people in the world. Actually right now I am just farming but I am looking for a job to supplement my farming habit. :) I spent 20 years in a lab at Mayo Clinic and recently left but I don't miss it one bit.
PS I wish I could do as good of a job putting up videos as you have done. I really enjoy them...... even if it's about the green stuff. :) Take care.
I see Roosty6 shows up at the 8:45 mark. That is going back a few years.
Yes, it was indeed a few years ago, too bad it was so late in the evening, made for such dark "scenery".
Way to go!
Happy New Year.
Hello "Scruffy", nice to see you here again, hope you have a wonderful New Year as well. (I am curious what part of the world you hail from, don't need to answer that if you don't want to, no problem)
@@DeereDon northern part of Wisconsin USA.
I was hoping to see your snowblower in action again but, seeing as you don't get that much snow i can wait.
Now if you were from around here I wouldn't have wait as long ha,ha. We have about 8", 20 centimeter for you so far.
Good to see a video from you again.
@@scruffy6151 Just finished reading your excellent comments. We do have some snow but not enough to make a video yet. I do have more "old" videos to post, but they take a fair amount of time to convert from VHS to MP4, (it took me quite awhile to find a device that would accept my old VHS tapes), a very slow ordeal. But do stay tuned!!!!!
@@DeereDon i have plenty of time to wait on video's. I am retired so I am done hurring ha,ha.
Have a great night.
God Bless.
Hi Don. Your videos have popped up on my TH-cam again and so it’s inspired me to watch them again…just curious on your decision to buy a 4240 and not a 4440? My grandfather did the same thing, of which we still own, and it was bc the local jd dealer had it in on their lot; no 4440 to be had bc my great-uncle (grandfather’s brother) bought the last one on the lot! My grandfather had also bought and mated a new JD disk to his 4240 in 1981…a model 215 tandem disk.
Our 4240 had over 25000 hrs on it before it really needed any major work. They sure dont make them like they used to. Now that tractor has close to 40000 hrs on it. Needs a restoration but man those tractor wouldn’t die no matter what they were put through.
More videos please.
I enjoyed watching your video. I live on a farm by Reward Saskatchewan. How many Quarters of land did you Farm when you Farmed if I may ask you
Hello Kevin:
By 2005 I was at 10 1/2 qtrs., both owned as well as rented, but by 2010 I had already lost 5 qtrs. of rented land, by that time I had seeded 40 crops, so decided that it was time to make a graceful exit from the agricultural world.
@@DeereDon Do you still own your Farm land that you owned or did you sell your Farm land that you owned when you quit farming if I may ask you
@@kevinbirn5141 I sold my land to a good friend, but kept the home quarter and rented it to him. Home quarter has been in the family 103 years in another month.
That is very nice that your home quarter is in your family 103 years this month. I sure like your tractors you still have. They are in very beautiful shape. My Dad had a 4010 john Deere tractor when i was young and we have a 4320 john Deere tractor on our farm too. It was a 1972 model with duals on it and we put a 148 john Deere loader on our 4320 john Deere tractor
I thought that Case and harrow looked familiar as I do watch roosty6. Must say I have to commend you on the excellent care you took of your machinery. Do you still got your like new 4455? Great job on the videos you put together! Wish you had more. Mike from central Minnesota.
Hello Mike: Glad you liked my 4240 video, and yes, Roosty 6 and I live about 10 to 12 miles apart and have known each other for the past 55 years, give or take. As for my 4455, yes, I still own it, and if you search around on my website you should be able to find at least three separate videos that I made with that tractor as the main subject. (My thumbnail photo for my website shows me standing in front of my beloved "old" 4455, taken about 30 years ago!)
Was it avadex you spread and harrowing in?
Hello Martin: Yes, that is correct, we were applying Avadex in this video, I really had no problem with Green Foxtail at the time, so all I had to worry about next spring was one application of Buctril M in June and I was done tramping my wheat fields with tractor and sprayer. Some farmers were using "Fortress" but I had used it once before and came away with mixed feelings.
@@DeereDon Interesting 😊 when avadex was used here it was applyed with sprayer, and in the spring. Probably because we werent tilling shalow enogh in the fall.
John Deere Green...
No weights on the front. I can see it bouncing a little in the beginning.
Hi Tony: Probably weights on the front of tractors sold in this part of the world are as rare as a 3PH on the back. I will agree that there is the odd time a tractor might get a bit light on the front end, but it would not affect performance to any great degree. At the moment I can only think of less the half a dozen tractors (JD) that I have seen in this district over the span of the last 50 years, and half of those tractors had the weights removed by the owner at some point in time as they were really not necessary. Just the way it is I guess.
I love it! Thank you for sharing.