As horses disappeared from Jersey farms a replacement lightweight power source was required to take over the lighter tasks around the farm. These mainly revolved around the potato growing industry. Until the late 1960's Jersey farmers were very reluctant to employ any machinery that might compact the soil. Once using a horse was no longer an option the only lightweight machines considered suitable were either a Market Garden tractor such as the Coleby pictured above or a Ransomes Crawler Tractor.
Either option solved the soil compaction problem, but each presented their own problems. In most cases the Ransomes made the job a two person operation, one to drive the tractor, the other to guide the towed implement. While Jersey Farms of the 40's 50's and 60's were of a small acareage, all but the very smallest were considerably larger than an average Market Garden. While the Coleby and other similar machines were well suited for the job they were designed for, they were not really capable of replacing a horse both for strength and reliability. |