This picture is of my mom, uncle and grandpa in New Richland, MN. The John Deere tractor has been in the family for over a half a century. My uncle recently restored it. This particular model is not a compression ignition engine but runs on diesel once a lighter fuel warms it up. The family has got a lot of use from this thing. It is fun to drive. To start it you spin the flywheel with your hands. It has a lot of power although nothing compared to new equipment.
My next experience with diesel was when I would help nearby farmers when the hay started to grow. The bailers would get their energy from the pto (my mom always said, " Stay away from the pto or it will rip your arms off!) The new bailers would kick the 40 pound, itchy bundles into the wagon this made it easier. Otherwise if it were the old style you would get a hook and stack the bundles on a flat wagon. This was harder but neater. The bailers would fail a lot of the time. This was good since it provided a break. The tractor rarely provided idle time.
My favorite job involving diesels was at Oak Summit golf course in Rochester, MN. Here we had two Kubota tractors one had an air-conditioned cab and the other had a wide bucket. We used these to shape the course, pull down scrubby trees, and raise each other with a chainsaw to a height where we could get at the undesirable branches.
Now my dream is to be a heavy equipment owner. Then I could play with buckets, dozers and scrapers to my hearts content.