An American Legend In Farm Manure Spreaders
When the first New Idea manure spreader rolled in production at the end of the 19th century, it was considered a radial piece of technology for the average farmer. But within 20 years there were manure spreaders of some make or model on nearly every farm, dairy operation and horse ranch in North America. Read this article to learn how an ordinary American school teacher’s new idea manure spreader changed the course of farming history.
The Start of the New Idea Farm Equipment Company
Sometime in 1899 Ohio schoolmaster Joseph Oppenheim became concerned about a common problem that happened frequently in his local farming community. Many of his young students would miss several days of class in order to help their families manually spread manure and other livestock wastes on neighboring fields and pastures.
Worried how this necessary but time consuming farming chore could negatively effect the education of his students, he and his future son-in-law Henry Synck invented the world’s first mechanical manure spreaders.
Area farmers where so delighted with Oppenheim’s bright “new idea” that the name stuck when after Oppenheim’s death, his widow and Henry Synck started the New Idea Farm Machinery Company in 1899.
The design and quality construction of the New Idea spreader along with other types of New Idea farm equipment were so popular that it wasn’t until 1999 that the plant that Synck built in 1899 was closed due to budget constraints.
During those 100 years the New Idea manure spreaders were “Built for the Bottom Line” and were famous for their workmanship and durability. In fact there are still thousands of New Idea spreaders being used in everyday farming operations.
With the easy availability of New Idea manure spreader parts and manuals, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to find a more than a few spreaders being collected and lovingly restored as antique manure spreaders 100 years into the future.
The original New Idea manure spreader was basically a wooden wagon drawn by a single or team of horses. Using a mechanical “shredder and spreader” device, manure is picked up from inside the bed of the wagon, separated into smaller pieces and literally “flung” into the air to land on the surrounding soil.
It was powered by a series of belts or chains that used the momentum of the wagon wheels to turn the beater blades and pick up paddles. This basic design was the core for all later model manure spreaders in the farming industry. Later on PTO (power take-off) models are designed using a special spline driveshaft from a high horsepower tractor to power larger, industrial capacity units.
While messy and odorous, the first model New Idea manure spreader did speed up the application process which drastically decreased the man-hours it took to top-dress a growing field or pasture. So in the long run, Joseph Oppenheim’s dream of providing more time for his students did came true.
