ALL ABOUT TRACTORS

 By PAUL WALLEM

 Tractors have been designed to pull a huge variety of loads. As a farm kid in the 1950s, I constantly heard my father and neighbors talk about their two-plow and three-plow tractors.

It was assumed back then that a two-plow tractor would be pulling a two-bottom plow. Some in our neighborhood owned a three-bottom plow. (No one uses those descriptions anymore).

This was a period when the neighborhood tractors were John Deere A, Farmall F20, Ford 8N, Allis WC or Massey 30.

Then more neighbors bought three-bottom plows as they traded up to JD G, Farmall M, Allis WD45 or Massey 44.

The irony was that a two-bottom plow was all that some tractors could handle on one farm but on another piece of sandy ground it was an easy pull.

Next, four-bottom plows started showing up in the neighborhood as larger tractors gained popularity. Again, the soil type of a farm determined which tractors could handle the four bottoms. Typically they were Farmall 460 or 560, JD 3010 and 4010.

What no one remembered was the ability of some of the earliest tractors, many years earlier that could pull huge plows. Early photos showed a 1912 Mogul pulling an 18-bottom plow. During the same period around 1912, three IHC Moguls were shown together pulling a 55-bottom plow. This was all about advertising, however. These mammoth units were not common sights on a farm.

CH Wendel’s book, “150 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER, is a good source of information regarding the ever-increasing plow sizes. According to his book, two- and three-bottom plows were on the market by 1920. IH was selling three-, four- and five bottom plows by 1941. Their model 720 came in 1965, with sizes up to seven bottoms, then eight. As before, larger plows followed larger horsepower tractors. Every tractor manufacturer did the same.

Then new farming practices grew in popularity, as no-till started appearing in the 1960s. Tillage tools began replacing plows, in many operations, as conservation of topsoil became a growing concern. The largest tractors on the market grew in popularity to pull large chisel plows.

Those increases have never stopped. Neither did the size of plows, As four-wheel drive tractors arrived on the market with ever-larger horsepower, plows grew to eight, ten, twelve bottoms and more.

Today plows have all but disappeared off the market. With over 100 million U.S. acres under no-till, few are still in use. With the constant increase in tillage tool size, however, tractors have an ever bigger job pulling the larger implements.

In past years, the largest tractors on a family farm were on the plows and disks. Now the increase in planter sizes, some equipped with ground-working attachments, require much larger horsepower up front.

Operations that have added acreage need larger equipment to get work done quickly. Another need for larger equipment comes from lack of labor.

Increased size of tillage tools and planters is obvious in some countries such as Australia. The Zells Farm operates 47,000 acres of wheat, and uses the largest seeder in the world. Their 214’ airseeder is capable of planting 2,400 acres per day.

An interesting contradiction comes out of another continent, however. Brazil is home of the largest farm operations in the world. One grows over 500,000 acres of soybeans annually, yet they continue to use smaller equipment. The reason is low-cost labor. Management of some of these large locations see no need to invest in larger equipment, with experienced labor so plentiful.

Some analysts predict that tractor horsepower has peaked. They comment that the growth of electric-powered tractors will put an end to the horsepower race. Time will tell. Meanwhile the largest tractors get larger. Listed below are the world’s 10 largest, according to a YouTube video from “Top 10 files.” Listings like this one change constantly as manufacturers announce new models, but this one is an example of what is produced around the world:

Model, Manufacturing location, Horsepower

Deutz Fahr 9340 TTV    Germany    336

Massey Ferguson F8700S   US      405

Kirovets K742             Russia      420

Claas Xerion 5000      Germany    509

Challenger 1050         US       517

Challenger  MT875E   US             600

John Deere 9620RX    US             670

New Holland T9700     US             682

CaseIH Quadtrac 620  US             692

Since we were farm kids larger tractors impressed us. For many they still do.

Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate IH in domestic and foreign assignments. He resigned to own and operate two IH dealerships. He is the author of THE BREAKUP of IH and SUCCESSES & INDUSTRY FIRSTS of IH. See all his books on www:PaulWallem.com. Send comments to pwallem@aol.com.