HAMILTON, Ohio – At John Brown’s annual Plow Days, they just plow up a little ground, eat, and talk tractors. 

Brown plants a field of short-crop soybeans. After they’re harvested, on the designated Sunday (this year it was Sept. 14), farmers come from near and far to plow up the field. These are mostly old tractors, so there are breakdowns. But there is a lot of help to get them going. This was about the 10th annual Plow Day. Nobody was sure. But Brown provided a field, a lavish feast, and some just-for-fun trophies for each one.

“We have a lot of friends and neighbors here with old antique tractors,” Brown said. “It’s a little hard and dry out there today, and it’s making a lot of dust, but it’s OK. The fun, the camaraderie, is the main point: getting people together. I put out the food, they bring drinks, and we just have a good time reminiscing about old tractors.”

Dale Weber, owner of Weber’s Farm Market in Harrison, agreed. Weber has what he called an IH or red tractor problem; he wasn’t sure just how many he had. He farms with most of them, but some are just “garage queens.” Today, he had just come to watch.

“Mostly it’s just a social thing,” Weber said. “We just enjoy coming and talking tractors. It doesn’t matter if there’s paint or rust. We just enjoy coming.”

Dave and Gail Lierer were having fun watching their grandsons, ages 16, 15 and 8, plow.

“Today is to get the younger generation to understand what we went through when we were farming this way,” Dave Lierer said. “Anymore, you’re minimum-till and no-till. You’re just planting and trying to conserve the moisture and the soil. You’re not really plowing the ground like you used to. This is how it was done years ago. It’s fun to see the younger generation have an interest.”

One grandson, Aaron Lierer, 15, was plowing with his own tractor, a 1952 Farmall Super A.

“I’m just having fun,” he said. “This is my first tractor. I got it when I was 6 years old. I farm with my family right outside of Reily Township. I plan on farming eventually, keeping my family’s farm going.”

Then, on the other hand, there was Scott Bittner. A self-proclaimed city slicker. 

“I am a city slicker, and I come here to see things that I have never seen before,” Bittner said. “I have been coming for three years. I want to remain a city slicker, but I enjoy seeing their way of life.”

Paul Reinhardt, definitely not a city slicker, was there with his 1964 Farmall 806. His was one of the first ones made. And it had a story behind it.

“That tractor had a lot of history behind it,” Reinhardt said. “In 2019, we had a barn fire. And we had a tractor in there, it was a Farmall 856. Well, it had sentimental value. It belonged to me and my brother, Richard. It was the first tractor we bought together. The tractor was burnt, but the motor and everything seemed to be good. It was a gas tractor. We bought it cheap. We took the motor out of the 856, and a few other things, and kind of pieced it together to make that tractor. The 806 is a little older version of the 856. A lot of the parts are interchangeable, and we made them match. My brother passed away. It’s kind of a remembrance tractor; it’s a special tractor.”

The Kiefer family, brothers Tony and Doug, were there with sons, Luke and Cody. They were a kind of standout in the crowd, having some of the only green tractors in a sea of red.

“We have a John Deere A here today with an electric start,” Tony said. “We have just always been John Deere – it’s what we grew up with. We like the resale value.  We have like 17. The one we have today belongs to my nephew, Luke Kiefer.”

Added Luke, “It’s 1052 John Deere A. I came here to have fun and do a little plowing. I farm with these two older folk here,” he said with a grin, pointing to his dad and uncle.

One of Brown’s tractors working the field that day was an International T4, made in Canada.

“We found it at an auction last year,” he said. “It is a rare tractor; there were only like 1,100 or 1,200 made. It has some unique features on it. The tracks are wide and stretched out, for whatever reason. It’s got hydraulics on it, power takeoff, and torque on it.”