It's All Trew: Farmers bend to advances in plows

The transition from horse-drawn to tractor-drawn farm equipment was both welcomed and resented by farmers. Age of the farmer had a lot to do with the resentment, as the older farmers did not want to change longtime familiar practices. But with each passing year, the fields grew larger, forcing the change, whether the farmer liked it or not. Some were not capable or did not want to study and learn how to set and adjust the new-fangled equipment to work properly. As a result, the few who did understand and learned the methods of adjustment were in great demand within the community. An example was the Krause one-way, a disc plow which cut the soil, stalks and weeds loose and tossed the lot to one side a few inches, severing roots and preventing regrowth. It cleaned the ground almost miraculously, but it had to be adjusted properly, especially if the soil was dry and hard. My father, J.T. Trew, was one of the few who understood the workings of the plow, having learned his expertise from years of experience. If the plow was set properly, it would do a better job, pull more easily and stay in its proper space while conserving fuel. After the Dust Bowl ended, with normal annual rainfall resuming, it was a common practice to plow the wheat stubble immediately after harvest. A month or so later, depending on rainfall, the stubble was again plowed to mulch it into the soil. When fall came, the land was again plowed to kill the weeds and volunteer wheat and to plant the next year's crop...read more