By Bob Reid

Old farm tractors, like old soldiers, don’t ever really die but slowly fade away. That is unless their owner doesn’t want them to fade away in which case he or she might make a visit to Fawcett Tractor Supply Ltd. on the outskirts of St. Marys. The family-owned business contains thousands and thousands of spare tractor parts salvaged from tractors no longer in use but capable of extending the working life of similar models through a parts transplant. Sturdy cast iron bodies and simplicity of operation typical of older tractors allows mechanically inclined farmers to extend a tractor’s working life for decades. “They (older tractors) were solid, reliable and fixable,” said Micah Tavares, sales manager with Fawcett. Tractors like the popular Ford 8N or series of Farmalls made by International Harvester were once the mainstays on a hundred-acre farm. Models of that vintage seemed to last forever with a bit of attention when needed, said Tavares. “Put in a new set of points and they would fire right up,” he added. Every farmer has a favorite make of tractor iron – Ford, John Deere, Allis Chalmers, Massey Ferguson, Cockshutt, Case-IH – all represented at Fawcett. Until about 15 years ago they were all quite simple to repair for someone with some mechanical skills. The advent of electronics and computerization incorporated in recent years in all tractor lines has changed that, at least for those less comfortable with that rapidly evolving technology. At the same time, it has brought a lot of later model tractors to Fawcett’s salvage yard via insurance companies. “There is a danger operating electronic stuff in dirty conditions. That is what catches on fire,” explained Tavares. Fifteen years ago Fawcett stopped salvaging combine parts for a similar reason. “When a combine goes up in flames it really goes up. There is not much left,” said Tavares attributing that to all the chaff and dirt that collects on combines in normal operating conditions. Also, as combines got increasingly bigger there was a lot of heavy metal to haul around and store on the property. Fawcett’s was established in 1977 on a former pig farm. “My grandfather started the business as a way to combat declining swine prices,” said Liz Fawcett, the third generation of the family working at the business located on the original farm site. Keith Fawcett had approached the bank about borrowing some money to expand and improve his pig business. When he was refused a loan he decided to supplement his farm income by starting his own business in the farm workshop – salvaging tractors. That shop has expanded several times under Liz’s parents, Jeff and Donna Fawcett, to become the largest tractor salvage operation in eastern Canada, employing 31 people. The barn that was once full of pigs is now full of tractor parts. Tavares, Liz’s brother-in-law, described the tractor salvage business as currently being in a time of transition. Younger farmers more familiar with electronics are gaining the confidence to fix the complex guidance and computer controlled functions. “You will have young farmers not afraid to plug the tractor into their lap top,” suggested Tavares of those trouble-shooting diagnoses. He suggested there was also a cautious transition for the farmers who bought their very first tractor after switching from horses to horsepower. They, too, had to become familiar with the machine’s operation before taking it apart and putting it back together. The difference in those two vastly different eras is the shelf life of spare parts for late model tractors. While tractor manufacturers once carried parts for tractors 20 or 30 years or more, 10 years is the standard length of time now for carrying replacement parts by tractor manufacturers. “That is not very long in the useful life of a tractor,” said Tavares. This basically reflects the shorter shelf-life characteristic of all electronics as part of a throw-away rather than repair manufacturing philosophy. The electronic control units (ECU) on newer tractors have to function or the tractor is disabled. If it is not repairable the owner may simply decide to replace the ECU, especially if it is a higher-priced model. However that unit may have to come from France as tractor manufacturing is now an integrated process spread round the world. “The tractor owner might have a thousand acres of crop to put in and doesn’t want to wait three days for a part,” said Tavares. If Fawcett can immediately supply the needed ECU it will shorten the time for the farmer and that has a value, said Fawcett. The price applied to salvaged parts is actually based on age and availability. The rarer the part the higher the price. Eight out of 10 customers for parts are private individuals, said Tavares adding, “Usually we can come to some price agreement.” While farms have grown much bigger and far fewer, there is still a ready supply of salvageable tractors available. This bodes well for those farmers wanting to fix up an old beater. It may no longer be the main power supply on the farm but handy for pulling around wagons or some less demanding chores, said Tavares. He divides the customer base into those interested in restoring antiques and those wanting to repair a tractor that will remain in use. Mainly he stays clear of the antiques but he did deal a steel-wheeled 1912 McCormick to a German buyer. He also recalled a former tractor owner coming to the shop recently in search of an older model for nostalgic reasons. “He said it was his first tractor and he wished he had never sold it and wondered if it might have ended up here,” recalled Tavares. “Every farmer has the (tractor) colour they love and their shed will be full of the same colour.” If someone is looking for a particular model of tractor it is usually the one they grew up with on the farm, said Tavares. The search for salvageable tractors looks through a moving window determined by the passing years combined with tractor engine hours. Larger farms and custom operators may replace tractors leased after only two or three years to avoid repairs. But eventually those tractors wear out, sold into the used market to farmers willing to endure grease-stained hands and repairs for a reduced machinery debt load. Those units eventually need replacement parts that may no longer be stocked at a dealership. Fawcetts sells parts worldwide through on-line sales and five carriers that enter the business to pick up deliveries daily. While it was once not unusual to come across farmers who could rhyme off every model number in their preferred line of tractors, the vast number of models now available corresponding to seemingly endless options makes that exercise much more difficult. It has also made cataloging inventory much more difficult requiring three full-time employees, noted Fawcett. Not every part of a tractor finds a market. A portion then becomes scrap metal destined for recycling. The business has been dealing with the same recycler for 40 years, said Fawcett. Currently there is a strong market for used parts in models 15 years old or older like the John Deere 4000 series or Case Magnum line before electronics became so prevalent, said Tavares. Fifteen years from now it will be different models or series as the used tractor parts window shifts.◊