115
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Title
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115
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Transcription
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CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL EQUIPMENT
There was little doubt in my mind by the time we had visited the experiment stations and many of the farming areas in the Ege Region, that improvement in irrigation practices could be accomplished, only by getting the Turkish farmer involved, and making equipment that he knew how to use. We needed the local equipment dealers, and the manufactures from the communities where we were working.
I was still confused as what the duties of an Advisor should be. Naki had seen only irrigation equipment that was made in the United States. Would I still be an Advisor if I introduced an entirely new plan that no one in Turkey had ever seen? I felt sure that the farmers would understand, but very few of the Station Directors and Ministry personnel had farm experience, or knew how to irrigate. I discouraged anymore imports of American equipment. The farms were too small and it was impractical to use the large equipment that was available from the United States.
With assistance from the University of Nebraska group, I obtained bulletins and drawings of equipment we used when I was a boy on the farm. The Agricultural Engineering Extension agent sent me all the material they had. They cleaned out the Engineering Department files of animal drawn equipment. The file included multiple hitches for farm animals, small earth moving equipment such as fresno, plows, ditchers and floats.
With the help of Jack Steele, Carl Forsburg, and Naki, we were able to convince the Ministry of Agriculture in Ankara that it was worth the cost of making some of this equipment. The Ministry set up a budget that would cover the cost of construction. The next four months was a very busy time, we used local blacksmiths, and solicited the help of several equipment companies that made farm machinery. By March 15, 1956 we had enough equipment available to put on demonstrations and take enough pictures to prepare bulletins and other teaching material for training.
Teaching men to handle the equipment, training horses and oxen for multiple hitches took a lot of time. Translating English to Turkish, was enough to drive Naki and me crazy. To find words in English to convey an idea in Turkish is a story in itself.
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Rights
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Metzger Memories
