Dairymen and Allis Chalmers
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=134820
Printed Date: 06 Nov 2025 at 1:13pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Dairymen and Allis Chalmers
Posted By: HaroldOmaha
Subject: Dairymen and Allis Chalmers
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 12:50pm
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The other day a farmer visited me, and I told him I was raised on a dairy farm in upstate New York. Then he saw my Allis's and he ask me "How come dairy farmers seemed to be Allis Chalmers people. Good question, I didn't have an answer. What do you think?
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Replies:
Posted By: TimNearFortWorth
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 1:29pm
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You could not swing a dead cat without hitting an A-C in upstate NY back in the 60's. 45's seemed to be the lite utility as left over from the 50's and D17's were very common on the small dairies. Uncle had the A-C dealership across from the State Hospital in Rome, NY and they were loaded with A-C's as they grew most of what they ate, the most G's I have still ever seen in one place. Truck Farms were also plentiful as great area to this day for growing vegetables in central or upstate NY and dairies provided manure. D19's were around but not many it seemed and D21's were rare. I attribute most of this to the hills and hedgerows making many a small field and we had some major hedgerows removed (and drainage tile layed) throughout the late 60's and into the 70's via partial govt. programs. With most operating 2nd or 3rd generation dairies where the old Dutch/German style barns designed originally for massive amounts of loose hay, single story additions were common to add stanchions/cows when expanding. We cleared plenty of land for more tillable acreage over the years and were left with the decision to add onto our large main barn or go free-stall in the late 70's. Pole barns had already been added for machinery/heifers for replacements but my parents wisely pulled the plug and sold in 1980. International and JD in the 80 - 120 hp size had come on very strong about 1970-1975 but unless you added a separate barn cleaner shed and reworked the barn cleaner/barn yard for clearance, many like us stayed with short squatty units with 30" rubber that could still fit on the main barn floor of the dairy in the winter so the tractor would start and the spreader would not freeze. Imports started flooding in and the major brands struggled with pricing so the heavy little 65-70 hp "utility" stayed the main tractor for many including us. When you could by an import for just under $5K in 1970 and the D19D sold for just over $7K in 1963, well, let's just say with eight kids we went the import route as we were not ready to redo the barn cleaner and build the weatherproof shed to store a larger tractor. D19's had a bad rap, D17 would not do it in those hills and even my uncle could not talk my father into a 190XT for the money. We did look at the 100+ hp White units towards the end as my uncle had taken them on due to ongoing issues with A-C ag line management. Can still see many B's, CA's, 14's and 17's in that area to this day. |
Posted By: KenBWisc
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 3:32pm
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Traditional dairy farms tended to be smaller farms. Allis made tractors for small farm farmers.
------------- '34 WC #629, '49 G, '49 B, '49 WD, '62 D-19, '38 All Crop 60 and still hunting! |
Posted By: Dan73
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 3:38pm
| It is also by region where the IH dealers where good they farmed with farmall M and 350 around here. One if the dairy farms not to far from me used 3 farmall M tractors to hay and one case 100 hp to mow and handle the manure spreader right up till they went out of business about 2010. |
Posted By: Pat the Plumber CIL
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 3:50pm
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like others have said A/C catered to the small farms and dairy farms were small farms back in the day . I read on here once that the downfall of A/C began when the milk companies stopped buying milk in 10 gallon cans from smaller farms . Get a bulk tank and upgrade or get out of business . A lot of smaller farms could not justify the investment . they would sell their herds and get a job in town at a factory or other business . That led to bigger farms and bigger equipment ------------- You only need to know 3 things to be a plumber;Crap rolls down hill,Hot is on the left and Don't bite your fingernails 1964 D-17 SIV 3 Pt.WF,1964 D-15 Ser II 3pt.WF ,1960 D-17 SI NF,1956 WD 45 WF. |
Posted By: Mikez
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 5:37pm
| Where abouts in New York |
Posted By: HaroldOmaha
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 8:48pm
| Farmed in the Berne- Knox area, 40 some miles west of Albany ( 1952-1960), then went to Cobleskill for college and worked farms there till I graduated. |
Posted By: d17brown
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 8:55pm
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had allis and dairy farmed until 2000 ------------- phil |
Posted By: Mikez
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2017 at 10:38pm
| Oh ok that's not to far from me. There was an old dealer on 443 out that way. Every time we go by dad tells me that was a allis chalmers dealer. |
Posted By: shameless (ne)
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 12:43am
| when I used to drive to work everyday, there was a couple dairy farms i'd drive past, one had several 180's that they used. all without cabs. and a larger dairy up the road had just converted from jd to fendt tractors. to this day...the 180's are still going on the smaller dairy. I say small....cuz they only have 2 really tall blue silos, the bigger one has 5 concrete silos. they could very well be the same size acre/cow wise! |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 7:01am
------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Pat the Plumber CIL wrote:Posted By: Sugarmaker
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 10:57am
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80 acre farms were about the right size for a couple WD45's. A dairy guy could make a living with 40 cows, grow a lot of his own crops and still get some sleep too!:) Dad had the 40 cows, two 45's, a WD, and a B. Worked for him for a long time. Finally got a Ford 5000 as the BIG tractor. Regard, Chris ------------- D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet. |
Posted By: Dan73
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 11:02am
Those where the good old days before greed and bigger and cheaper os better took over our food supply. It is sad but now I struggle to try and find a way to make a living on 100 acres. |
Posted By: Sugarmaker
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 11:34am
Dan, I understand. When I was old enough to do some farming, Dad was still milking cows in the early seventies. I had thought about maybe taking over the family farm/ He told me there was only enough money for one family. I went and found work in a shop. Dad made some of his money off good crop management and specilitiy crops like cabbage. And on the milk side he filled the 250 gallon Dari-Kool bulk tank every day in the summer. He was a good cow man! Regards, Chris ------------- D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet. |
Posted By: Dan73
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 11:38am
| Yup Chris we where milking 120 cows here in the 90s it was a 3 man operation setup in the early 60s. First free housing system in the north east. But at that point there just wasn't any money in milk up here still isn't. |
Posted By: Tenn allis
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 4:11pm
| A couple of reasons dealer network when I was a kid there were 3 dealers within 20 miles also the hand clutch a lot of pto work on dairies with kids doing a lot of driving they couldn't reach the pedals kick the clutch in neutral and still have pto by the way I'm still dairying |
Posted By: john(MI)
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 7:06pm
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In the late 60's and early 70's I worked on farms. One was dairy with AC. The other was beef with Farmall. One was north of town the other was south. I know the AC was near the dealer, but I don't recall where a red dealer was. We had a couple AC's and we truck farmed with a few cows and pigs. Dad bought the AC's mainly due to the price. He grew up with horses so it wasn't brand loyalty! lol! I think that had a lot to do with many farmers decisions back then, price! Close by dealers would have been second determining factor. The AC farm had a D17, WD45, and a small N type ford with a loader. The red one had a 560, 300, and an H. ------------- D14, D17, 5020, 612H, CASE 446 |
Posted By: Dan73
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2017 at 7:17pm
| My grandfather always bought based on the deal. He had a d14 traded for a d17 because the dealer came with both of them and told him to keep them for the summer to see if he liked them or not. Well the d17 is still here today. But he had a farmall h also still here and a case I forgot the case model but 60s vintage with just under 100 hp and a IH 986 bought on 83 I think plus a MF with about 165 hp we got about 1990 to run out grass chopper. Oh and a cheap Same. But out of all of then the d17 was always thought to be the best all around tractor. Everyone just loved the power direct. The d17 is just the right size for square bale haying. It can carry an accumulator or wagon behind the baler and you have a nice view of the baler. Some of the bigger tractors the angle is all wrong. |