3 cyl vs. 2 cyl?

[tony123]

Yotang, Thanks so much for your information. I look forward to hearing your explanation!

 

[yotang224]

>Mr. Ginormous,
I became a hijacker here. And last one is so long.
I apologize for them. I am going to end my contribution here.


>Mr. Scotty Dive,
I could not get any information of YM2020D's parts manual, even in Japanese site.

However, if you can get YM220's (export model), it may be similar.
Sorry, I am not sure.
-----------------------------

When I was a child, 1960s, there were about 5.5 million farm families in Japan.
My parents' home was also one of them.
I remember that the big black cow(or bull?) for farming was kept in my house.
With the economic growth of the second half of the 1960s, most of those cows was transposed to the machine.
These machines were almost small cultivators(walk behind type) at first.
My father bought a small cultivator in 1963. It was 5 HP KUBOTA.
At the same time, the big cow was gone.
However, It does not need so long time to replace these small cultivators to tractors.
YM1300 came to my house in 1977.
The total number of tractors in Japan became 2 million in short time.
After that, the big　wave of industrialization came to Japan.
Almost all small-scale farmers had another work related to industry.
They purchased a highly efficient new machine rapidly using a part of the salary.
In order to finish agricultural work only in weekend.
They replaced the tractor with the same feeling as buying the car in new mode.
The farmer who will replace a tractor in only five years was not unusual.
My father had thought it was crazy.

The Japanese farmer's average area under tillage was only 3 acres at the time.
Japanese farmer's house does not have a lawn. And it is very rare that they use FEL.
Did you understand the reason the number of the hour meter of a Japanese used tractor was so small?
I have no idea who started to export Japanese used tractor to the US at first.
However, I am very glad that those many tractors have the second life in the US.

Now, the number of farmers in Japan is continuing reduction. According to the statistics in 2010, they are about 2.5　million.
Many farmers gave up their jobs and old machines due to their age, like my father.


That is because many farmers' sons moved to urban areas, and do not like inheriting agriculture.
Another reason is that they can not get enough income from agriculture.
Telling the truth, I am one of them too.
I return to my home town occasionally and operate my father's tractor.
I am going to live in a hometown after retirement and to buy a new tractor.
However, if the old tractor YM1300 still runs, I may continue using it.
Then, I am afraid that I have to look for the repair parts in the US.:laughing:

Thanks, Everybody!

-----------------------------

 

[Pete Judd]

Youtang. Thanks it clears some things up, and gives us some inisight into the area that helps.

 

[284 International]

Yotang224, I hope that you continue to stay on this site, and contribute and share your knowledge, experience, and background with us. Thank you for explaining about the mechanization of agriculture in Japan. It is interesting, and similar to what we experienced in this country, but on a more compact scale, and probably with greater efficiency.

What crops does your family grow? I automatically assumed rice, but that would be as one-dimensional as assuming a farmer here grows only corn or wheat. I know from my experience with fruit trees that many of the best varieties of apples, peaches, plums, and other fruit are hybridized in Japan.

I hope you stay and continue to contribute, you are a valuable and appreciated member here. Thank you.

 

[TGeorge]

Yotang, thanks very much! This is the best explanation I have seen. I hope you will continue to post in the forum.

 

[Ginormous]

>Mr. Ginormous,
I became a hijacker here. And last one is so long.
I apologize for them. I am going to end my contribution here.

Mr. Yotang san,

Thank you for your kind hijacking of this thread. It was very interesting! Feel free to add more. :thumbsup:

 

[clemsonfor]

We can not express how happy and pleased that your here and are sharing your knowlege with us. You truly are an asset.

Someone i think needs to change the tread title from 3 cyl vs 2 cyl/ japaneese story OR better yet have a MOD cut the relevant threads out and then start a new thread with the moved ones, i know it can be done i have seen it i beleive, i think here. That way this little gem of information is not just availible for those of us with nothing better to do than click and read every new thread, so that folks just dont have to stumble upon it.


Your story is similar like another said to here in the US. My dad grew up and is about your same age. They have 130 acres (well i have it now) that was farmed with an old either Allis or Farmall, i cant remember. But there were also Fords and Masseys, JD's in those days. Thats why there are millions of the old fords from the 40's to the late 50's they were our doninant tractor that was cheap easy to fix and worked hard and did 10x the work of the draft animals. Many of these tractors are still around many have been scrapped. But as i m sure you know our tractors are a bit bigger maybe not HP wise but weigh more and are designed to pull plows for our type ground equiptment.



Another question, are the yanmar tillers really cheap and availible over there?

 

[Car Doc]

Thanks for your contributions to the forum yotang!

We all have wondered what our tractors did and the story of who owned them when in Japan I think about that every time I start mine up.

We all learn from intelligent discussion and we all love historical facts so please keep it up!

 

[tony123]

Thank you so much. I could read First person info on the topic all day long!

I continue to use the keychain that came on my key. Obviously put there by a Japanese farmer, it makes me think of its first life every time I grab it.

 

[shawnjvl]

Speaking of 2 vs. 3, I drove a Kioti LB1914 today with 211 hrs. He is asking $5000 for is with finish mower. Compared to my 2000 it has no power and the turning radius was awful, after testing it I would never be happy with it. So I'm keeping the Yanmar.

 

[yotang224]

May I reply to your several questions?
It was my surprise that many US people are interested in Japan's tractor and agriculture situation.

>Mr. California
>Was that the big Fukushima tsunami that hit you way down in Osaka?

Wakayama (My home town, South of Osaka) is enough far from Fukushima. So the tsunami was no problem for us. September last year, a big typhoon hit my hometown. My parents's house got about 5 feet depth water(flood) from the floor. My father said that was third experience in his life. Good luck for us,it was not sea water and not muddy water but relatively clean water.


>Mr. 284 International
>What crops does your family grow? I automatically assumed rice, but that would be as one-dimensional

as assuming a farmer here grows only corn or wheat. I know from my experience with fruit trees that many of the best varieties of apples, peaches, plums, and other fruit are hybridized in Japan.

Wow! you know about Japan very much! As you said a lot of orchards exist in my hometown. However, most of the crops were only rice because our land was low and wet.


>Mr. Clemsonfor
>Another question, are the yanmar tillers really cheap and availible over there?

Even now, the standard equipment for Japan's small tractor is tiller. It may be possible to continue to get them. However, Japanese tillers are designed for use in rice field. I have no idea whether it suits US land.

Thanks again!

 

[clemsonfor]

Even now, the standard equipment for Japan's small tractor is tiller. It may be possible to continue to get them. However, Japanese tillers are designed for use in rice field. I have no idea whether it suits US land.

Thanks again!

Thanks for your responses to all our questions. We really enjoy your knowledge as well as others from around the world in different areas from us.

Back when yanmars first made it here i think they all were shipped with their tillers attached and then were basically given away with the tractor when purchased or sold for a few hundred US $ extra. Over the years i dont think all the tractors were shipped with them and either the exporters or the US folks realized they were popular and started charging for them, at lest this is my understanding. Now no Yanmar is sold with a tiller, you have to buy them extra and it seems rare now for anyone to get them. They are not much cheaper than a US/euro style tiller. Those that have the Yanmar tillers love them and say they do a Great job tilling in our various soils over here. I would not of thought that as they are designed for the rice fields and soft mucky soil there in the low wet fields. But even here in those who have hard dry clay earth they turn it to powder, from what i have been told.

This is obviously a tribute to the toughness and engineering that is designed into the yanmar tillers and tractors. A tiller over here in our hard soil takes a beating, i have seen several US tillers over the years and they take a beating in our red clay here.


Again thanks for your time and posting for us. Feel free to chine in on anything. We love to hear first hand info from where our tractors came from.


EDIT: Please excuse my ignorance, i am just a average southern guy that has not traveled far from home really, let alone out of this country. But do many folks over there use bush hogs or rotary cutters to keep feilds cut or do they use sickle cutters? Do you all have bax blades or post hole diggers for the three point hitch. I know some of them have 2 point hitches and are realy never designed to not have the tiller attached?

 

[clemsonfor]

Oh if what He says is true, which i beleive him (why would he tell a lie, there is no reason for him too!). Who made up the story we have heard all these years and keeps getting reposted all over the websites including the dealers about the TAX INCENTIVE thing?

 

[Ginormous]

Oh if what He says is true, which i beleive him (why would he tell a lie, there is no reason for him too!). Who made up the story we have heard all these years and keeps getting reposted all over the websites including the dealers about the TAX INCENTIVE thing?

Good question. I have heard the tax incentive thing in another context. A guy who was stationed in Japan with the military (20-30 years ago?) said that the Japanese would regularly have these days when everyone would carry out older electronics and throw them in a pile in the street. He claimed it had something to do with taxes. He also said he and his wife outfitted their apartment with stuff from these piles and which the Japanese thought was weird...

 

[Ginormous]

Given the hot market for tillers here now, I wonder if someone could make some money getting a container filled just with Japanese tillers. Any takers? I'll sign up to buy one! :thumbsup:

 

[deepNdirt]

If not for the Tax incentive then why put perfectly good low hour tractors into retirement?
I have one question, How many tractors will a Japanese farmer own over say 30 years? on an average of course.... if we are recieving 30+ year old tractors, then these tractors are either rarely being used over this period of time, Or, been parked for a very long time,
Here in the USA a tractor would have to be on it's last leg to be retired, Many tractors here today are still being used even after 50 -75 years old,

Another question: are there any Used tractor dealerships in Japan? is there no option for buying a used tractor there? if No then why not?

 

[winston1]

I have been blessed to be able to make a couple of mission trips to Japan and can first hand testify there are garbage dumps with nice items thrown in them. I was told it was because the Japanese are very cramped for room so many times when buying something new something else had to be put out to make room for it. I do know there houses are much much smaller than the average American house. My experience was in the Tokyo area.

 

[yotang224]

It may be a correct answer in Tokyo.
However, there is the problem with the country side rather than a city.
For example, there were about 55 farmhouses in my village in 1965. About half of them had a small tractor.
How about now?
The farmhouse decreased to 30, and there are really only 10 houses of them to cultivate the crops　actually. Houses more than 10 turned into a haunted house.
Most tractors which lost their master were gathered and bought at a very low price by unknown and suspicious buyer.
I can sometimes watch the tractor which has been rusted with being still left in a shed.
You may think that it is an extreme example. However, even now, I know that such a thing is taking place everywhere of Japan.

On the other hand, the tractor manufacturer appealed to the customer interest of the farmer for competition skillfully. Because it was necessary to secure sales in the market which became small.
For your information, the mean use years of the Japanese tractor are about 20 years.

Oh, I became too much pessimistic. The situation is changing little by little. Some employee who were tired from living in a city and retired people begin to return to their hometown.
They will begin hobby-like agriculture again. From now, maybe so many used tractors will not be sold. (I hope so.)

 

[California]

Yotang, fascinating!

You paint a picture of a culture that was unknown to me. I just now learned a lot, reading your post.

I have read about small farms in Japan, but I thought the number of small farms was unchanged over many years and the only change was more mechanization. Your description of vacant, abandoned houses and farms is new to me. This helps to explain why there were so many good tractors gathered up for export. I don't think any of us here knew about that.

I think many of the US Yanmar owners who post in this forum match your description:

tired from living in a city and retired people begin to return to their hometown.
They will begin hobby-like agriculture again

... and I hope your neighborhood will begin to fill up again with retirees and salarymen.

 

[clemsonfor]

If not for the Tax incentive then why put perfectly good low hour tractors into retirement?
I have one question, How many tractors will a Japanese farmer own over say 30 years? on an average of course.... if we are recieving 30+ year old tractors, then these tractors are either rarely being used over this period of time, Or, been parked for a very long time,
Here in the USA a tractor would have to be on it's last leg to be retired, Many tractors here today are still being used even after 50 -75 years old,

Another question: are there any Used tractor dealerships in Japan? is there no option for buying a used tractor there? if No then why not?

Just like Yotang said below your post and hinted earlier. His family farm i think he said is 3 acres. Assuming maybe a 1/4 acre or a 1/2 is a home veggi garden and maybe an animal pin he has around 2.5 acres left to grow rice. Even if all 3 is in production and the home is not included thats small. its easy to see how such low hours can be attained. If what we have heard about only tilling once a year is true this is easy to have a 30 yr tractor with 700 hours even way less in Yotangs case of tilling 3 acres once a year.

Think even if you bushhoged 3 acres 3x a year here you would not have more than 25 hours a year on that tractor. I disked my 1+ acre foodplot twice last year and Bushhogged the fields (around 7 acres) twice as well, and i think i only put around 20- 30 hours on my ym2000 last year. I still need to change the oil this spring to get it ready for this year and bushhog next time i go to the farm.