02
Quality of Life

For some people, weekends are for enjoying gardening. To report on the lifestyles of these people, we visited the Hedges family who live in Lancaster, Ohio.

The State of Ohio is located in a very important position connecting the northeast and the Midwest areas of America. It is a state with a lot of manufacturing, finance and agriculture. It has the seventh largest economy in the U.S. It is also characteristic for the rich nature it is blessed with. Incidentally, the Wright brothers were also from the State of Ohio.

The husband of the family is Kurt Hedges. He is an Ohio State Trooper (policeman). His wife is a pharmacist and they live happily with their three daughters. Kurt says he enjoys raising his darling daughters and the gardening he does every weekend. He says, “I use a KUBOTA BX2670.” He uses the tractor to make the flower beds and for cutting the grass. The tractor is also put to use to collect the leaves that fall from the big trees of the neighboring house. He said: “I previously used a zero turn mower from a different company, but I was concerned about driving it on slopes and was unable to fully enjoy the mowing. However, the engine was very good and, as it turned out, it was a KUBOTA engine. I therefore tried changing from the mower to a KUBOTA tractor and bought a BX Series product a year ago. It is 4WD and feels very stable, so I am not concerned about the slopes. It is also very easy to use, so I am finally now able to enjoy mowing.” Kurt hummed to himself as he drove the tractor for us. Although a KUBOTA tractor is now described as a “must-have item” for gardening, there were many struggles on the way before we got to this point...

KUBOTA started its business in America in 1969. At the time, the company tried to make use of its proven results as the leading manufacturer of tractors for rice farming in Japan to advance into America. However, this was a huge miscalculation. The KUBOTA tractors had 15 to 50 horsepower. On the other hand, it was the norm for the tractors used in America's large farms to have several 100 horsepower. It was discovered that it would be difficult to get accepted into the American agricultural market. KUBOTA therefore came up with the idea of selling the tractors for mowing grass. An implement (a work device tractor attachment) for mowing was fitted and trial sales began. The reaction was better than had been expected. Gasoline engines had been the mainstream in the mower market and Americans had not yet had the idea of using a tractor with a diesel engine for mowing. This change of direction meant that KUBOTA tractors were quickly accepted by American society.

It was also KUBOTA that was the quickest to respond to expectations for a new kind of tractor that would not only cut the grass but also support gardening work all-round, for example, by digging holes and carrying soil. It was the implements that were the driving force in this. Representative examples are loaders and backhoes. By fitting an implement to the tractor to suit the application, a completely new kind of tractor was proposed to the market that could perform anything from grass cutting to light construction work. This established a “diesel compact tractor” market in America. KUBOTA then went on to acquire a 40% market share by the latter half of the 1980s.

According to Kurt, “Mowing the grass is the best method I have for relieving stress. I get on my tractor in the evening and am able to go to work the next day feeling refreshed. It's probably also good that I can have time by myself and become immersed. That is the only time my family will allow it because it is garden work (laughs).” The time created by the tractor brings happiness for both the work and the family.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson live in Somerset, Ohio. On their 8 acre property they have a vegetable garden, a hen house and a swing. Craig, the husband, works in coal mining. He can sometimes take holidays, but can also be away from the house for long periods of time. Lindsay, his wife, works in the fund raising office of a public garden. This is also a dual-income family. Lindsay said: “We moved here two and a half years ago. We had lived in town up until then, but had dreamed of living on a large plot of land where we could do everything for ourselves.” People repair their own houses and produce their own food. This idea is widely accepted in America. The Wilsons are in their early 30s and many of the younger generations are wanting to follow them.

The couple showed me their vegetable garden. They grow vegetables such as beans and tomatoes and say that they have had a bumper crop this year. Apparently there is too much food for them to eat during the growing season, so they have been canning it. Lindsay said: “When we first moved here in 2012, we asked somebody else to till the garden. That person was using a KUBOTA tractor. We watched and saw that it was simple to operate and thought that we would be able to operate one ourselves. We bought a BX Series product the following year, in 2013. We had decided that it would be used for cutting the grass, tilling the garden and clearing snow, so we were quick to decide when we bought it. However, we devoted ourselves to saving money for the purchase a year before we bought it (laughs).” It appears that working the land was Lindsay's idea. In addition to the vegetable garden, they also have several other projects centered on the tractor going on simultaneously.

So, how has the tractor changed this couple's lifestyle? When I asked Craig this, he smiled and said: “I ride the tractor once every 2 or 3 days. The work in the garden used to take 5 hours out of a day, but having the tractor has reduced that to 1.5 hours. I can play with the children in the time saved.” Craig has irregular holidays, so the time he can spend with his children is very precious.

The couple has three daughters. They say that they have a little wish that the daughters will become farm wives in the future. From weekend farmers to a fullscale farming family. This has already gone completely beyond the realm of being just a hobby.