It began with the invention of the self-propelled steam-engine tractor. It was later replaced by the gasoline-operated farm tractor. There were also many newly invented implements to be used on the farm with both horses and tractors. Some of these new farm implements were used in the harvesting of farm crops.
Henry Wesseldyk had become the first thresherman in Borculo with his purchase of a Port Huron steam engine and a threshing machine. The Port Huron steam engine was huge for its day. It weighed 17,000 pounds and had 65 horsepower on the belt and 19 horsepower on the drawbar. It had to be constantly fueled with wood or coal while it was operating. It could burn up to a ton of coal a day and also used 2,500 gallons of water to create the steam.
Henry Wesseldyk also used the steam engine to operate a portable sawmill on his farm. Farmers would often bring logs to his farm to be sawed into lumber.
Farmers always used loose straw to bed their dairy cows. It was important for them to get a years’ supply of dry straw in their barns. Many barns were too small for this, so they would compress and bale their straw stack before storing it in their barn. Baling up straw was a big business after the threshing season was over. Albert Bosch was often seen speeding from farm to farm with his 1920 Titan, pulling his antique wooden-wheeled straw baler at the top speed of 3 miles per hour.
The cost of baling was by the ton. Each bale was weighed to determine the baling cost, which was $36 per ton. A chart was used to record the weight of each bale.
They also did custom work in the winter months using a mechanical cornhusker shredder. In the winter months they also did customer work with their buzz saw to cut firewood for the residents who burned wood in their homes for heat.
The corn husker shredding machine was much smaller than the threshing machine. It had a blower for blowing the shredded cornstalks out of the machine, and had a small elevator that brought the husked ears of corn into a wagon. It had a flat platform where the bundles of corn stalks were laid. The operator would then feed the stalks into the machine.
Below is picture of Henry Wesseldyk and Albert Bosch cutting wood with their buzz saw. The logs were laid on a table which could be pushed ahead and into the saw blade to cut the wood into smaller pieces. The log would then be moved over for the next cut.
By 1960 the large threshing crews had all disbanded and were replaced by the grain combine to take over the harvesting of grain.