Butterfield, MN, farmer Dale Baerg's Converted Self-Propelled Ditching Machine serves as a combination mobility device, snowplow, and grader. He utilized the original 40-horsepower engine but replaced the four-speed transmission with a hydrostatic transmission from a used combine to provide infinite speed selection with only one control lever. Baerg removed the existing seat so he could operate the unit from his wheelchair and lowered the floor to provide adequate headroom. A lift was constructed to raise him and his wheelchair from ground level to the operator's station. Once aboard, he's located directly behind the machine's steering wheel. Baerg's lift platform, which looks similar to one used for vans, is raised vertically by two hydraulic cylinders mounted within steel tube casings. Once his wheelchair is off the lift, he trips a switch to activate a linear actuator, which lowers a safety arm that holds the chair in place. A second linear actuator retracts to rotate the lift platform to a vertical position, creating a safety wall behind the operator's station. Baerg steers the machine with a tri-pin steering device. He also mounted a tri-pin device to the top of the hydrostatic transmission lever such that it pivots sideways to activate the switches that raise and lower the push blade. This allows him to operate the blade without taking his hands off the hydrostat lever. When pulling a wagon or other implement, Baerg unhooks the hitch simply by activating a hydraulic lever.