Illinois Girl Collects IH Equipment

Illinois Girl Collects IH Equipment AG WORLD One would think that a tractor would be the last thing a 17-year-old girl would buy after receiving a $3 000 check Hannah Foster admits she also considered buying a pickup but she figured the tractor’s value would hold better In addition to her restored 1955 Farmall Cub she has invested in about a dozen implements that can be used with the tractor Foster now 21 admits she isn’t a typical girl She earned her big check by carefully choosing three clone-like Cornish Cross chickens and entering them at the Illinois State Fair five different years In 2010 she earned a place at the Sale of Champions and a bidder paid $3 000 for her chickens Combined with money she earned working on her family’s farm and selling Sheltie pups she had enough money to buy the tractor The fifth of seven siblings six girls and one boy Foster explains that she and her sisters tend to be tomboys because they have helped on their family’s farm “ever since they could walk and carry a bucket” Foster her father Darrell and brother Russell are members of the National International Harvester Collectors Club She likes the small size of the Cub for hauling on a trailer with implements to events in Penfield Ill the Red Power Roundup and the Half Century of Progress “I decided to collect implements because when you go to shows there are rows and rows of just tractors ” Foster says “They didn’t save implements like the tractors so they are harder to find And implements are more educational for young people ” Her Cub tractor has a 1-pt fast hitch which makes it easy to hook up implements By shopping at sales and on Craigslist her fleet includes a corn planter two-way plow harrow and a handy platform carrier the Fosters restored with new lumber “My favorites are my corn sheller and hammermill because it’s nice to know they made implements small enough to work on the Cub ” Foster says She also likes using them for demonstrations at shows When she runs the hammermill she thinks of the man from Virginia she bought it from He said the last time it was used was 1956 when he and his mother ground corn for chicken feed Her rotary hoe is her rarest implement Her brother Russell sandblasted and painted it in its original colors red and blue Collecting runs rampant in the Foster family Russell has purchased restored and sold more than 50 tractors since 2006 and he collects farm tractor and implement literature and manuals When Foster’s sister Jennie won $5 000 for her chickens in 2012 she also purchased a tractor – a 1946 Farmall B Foster says her friends think her collection is cool – it was popular as a photo backdrop at her graduation party She loves collecting and agriculture She raises pups and works on the farm caring for livestock and putting up hay She doesn’t think she will find all the implements that go with her Farmall but she has plenty to keep her busy for now As for a pickup she managed to buy one of those too She is the proud owner of a 1956 International S-112 pickup Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Hannah Foster 294 N 1200 E Rd Paxton Ill 60957 ph 217 749-2369; fosterhannah1993@yahoo com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.