Are Antique Tractor Collectors a Dying Breed?

[bakerg]

Seems like a lot Antique tractor shows are getting smaller and a lot of collectors are selling off there collection or have died and family is selling the collection off for money. I had inherited a John Deere H when my father died in 1997 and I restore it and took it to shows in my area. Over time I went to less shows with the tractor and evenually sold the tractor to someone who could put the tractor to better use.:ashamed: I still go to shows to see old iron, but when the older gentlemen pass on, will these shows still go on? Is the younger generation going to carry on the tradition? Just wondering what you all think.

 

[TripleR]

I think they are a dying breed and it is a result, in my opinion, of the changing demographics, attitude and method of farming. I no longer see the connection to the land and equipment once shown by farmers who were diversified with row crops and livestock with a little woodland or game preservation. No one keeps the same tractor more than a few years, uses several and can't afford to "retire" a machine still capable of productive work to use as a hobby project.

Our local school recently had an "Ag Day" just like when I was in school and there wasn't a tractor on the lot over five years old or under 200 HP. When I was in school, the working tractors were often 10 years old at least and many were ones we painted in VoAg.

 

[NativeSon]

Here in East Texas we are die-hards about almost everything. Here in Wood County we have a Tractor Club and they meet once a month (religiously) and they take over a huge meeting room in restaurant for their meeting. They are very active and do some amazing work.

Charlie

 

[TomSeller]

Yeah, there is so much influence on whatever is the newest these days. I am no collector but do have a number of middle age tractors and value them highly. I do wonder who will keep the older "pullers" that have limited use outside of parades. Without loaders, 3 pt and PTO, I could not see buying one myself as I use all of mine regularly. But they sure are cool.

 

[Soundguy]

literally a dieing breed.

the average age of collectors in the club i belong to is probably 65

We have more obits than new members in the quarterly news letter every year. I MAY be the youngest guy in my club and I have a long grey beard.

 

[BlackRaptor]

I would have to agree very few younger people have much of an interest in old iron. Im 31 and kind of the oddball I guess. I plan on building up my collection and restoring every one of them.
My 70 was my grandpa's will restore in a few years and over the next ten years I plan to add a B farmall A john deere farmall 460 case 800 or 730 all to restore. All those machines have family ties also.

 

[MIKE R]

People tend to collect what they grew up with, and in today's society very, very few kids are growing up on farms, or have any connection to agriculture other than the food they stuff their faces with while playing video games.

In my area there are probably 30 tractor collectors over age 55 and 4 or so collectors under 55, including myself.

I collect anything farming related, tractors, implements, tools, signs,... I do my best to keep tractor collecting alive, organizing the tractor cruise annually. I have found that getting the new equipment and old equipment together for events brings more people into the hobby as they see the connections between the new machines and the old machines.
When at shows with my tractors I always like to let kids sit on them. Seeing the smiles on their faces and how exited they get when you help them get up onto the seat shows me that there is still some hope for our collecting hobby and there will always be someone to share it with.

 

[Soundguy]

also getting harder to find shops that work on generators and vregs.

Or people that want to bother with points!

 

[murphy1244]

I bought my Massey just for fixing up. Seems we have plenty of those Hobby guy's around here.

 

[deerseeker001]

Gary there are plenty of older Tractors around here,probably more old than new.