Most farmers love talking farm machinery, especially on the rare occasions that they get to purchase a piece brand new — and I’m certainly no different. Open Farms is now the proud owner of a new BCS 853 Diesel Tractor with Tiller. Don’t know what a BCS 853 is? Well, don’t worry I’ll be happy to explain. As the salesperson pointed out to me, it’s not just a tiller, it’s a tractor. What’s the difference? A tractor can utilize all kinds of attachments, such as a rotary plow, a subsoiler, a cultivator, mower, a snowblower — AND a tiller. Since all of those attachments are fairly expensive to purchase, we opted for just the tiller to start. It’ll turn our beautiful, loamy soil into a perfect seedbed in no time.
I’ve only used the tractor for a week, but already it has made a huge difference on the farm. With this new piece of machinery we’ve been able to turn the remaining fallow patches into beautifully seeded cucumbers and successions of green beans. In case you’re a farm nerd like me, here’s an additional detail on the tractor: It’s a Diesel.
The diesel motor will last 2 to 3 times longer than a gas-powered motor if cared for correctly and it has more torque than gasoline motors. Plus, it just sounds cool. Farm intern Samantha says it sounds a bit like a helicopter and I couldn’t agree more. It sounds like it has a lot of power – and it does have a lot of power!
So, if you haven’t already, come out to the farm, pick some vegetables and check out the new tiller, er, tractor. I’ll be happy to tell you all about it.
