Looking for stories for Red Power Magazine, I found that on a farm near Marshall, Illinois a man had a tractor collection of Farmalls.  The location was listed in Darrel Darst’s Harvester Highlights. A call to Forsythe Farms had a tour arranged.  My friends Kent and Jane Elliott came along and chauffeured me to the farm in grand style.

Amie Kennedy the Property Manager for Forsythe Farms took us out to see Gerald Forsythe’s collection.  After making plans to see the collection I learned that Mr. Forsythe is quite famous.  He owned race cars, race tracks and is the owner of a cogeneration power company.  Farming is part of his business portfolio, and we were honored that Amie allowed us to view his collection and that I was able to write a story about it for Red Power.

Gerald Forsythe has some pretty rare tractors, a gold 305 Magnum that has been made into a farm toy, a platinum Limited Magnum 315 CVT and more.  Kent and Jane and I wondered from tractor to tractor and enjoyed the variety that included hicrops and orchards and even a rice tractor and a cotton tractor, plus one that drove backwards and would have carried a cotton picker.

Kent kept Jane and I entertained giving us specifics of different tractor variations.  I took copious notes and asked Amie a variety of questions for Mr. Forsythe once our tour was complete.  We were awed by the cool collection and impressed that with so many  things he could collect, Gerald Forsythe keeps a harem of lovely Farmalls on his home place and is willing to share them with other lovers of the IH persuasion.

Keep your eyes peeled for the story in an upcoming issue of Red Power Magazine!