ALL ABOUT TRACTORS BY PAUL WALLEM During the early 1980s, New Holland and International Harvester created a secret task force to consider the merger of the two companies. Both were struggling with an extremely difficult agriculture marketplace as sales plummeted and interest rates escalated to record levels. The 1980 grain embargo had also caused a large drop in farm crop prices. Their proposal was submitted to Sperry Rand, the owner of New Holland. It was rejected. Six months later, IH needed expensive tooling for their newly designed 5X88 series tractor line but was not in a position to fund the purchase. IH management met with Case to suggest that IH would sell the 5X88 project to Case (who also needed a new tractor lineup), and IH would build it for them in the IH Rock Island plant. The tractor would be painted in Case colors. When Case owner Tenneco Corporation was told of this offer, Tenneco management instead met with IH’s top management and formed an agreement for Tenneco to buy the IH farm equipment division and merge it with Case. That purchase was concluded in February 1985. (The 5X88 tractor did go into production as the 3388/3588, called the 2+2.) New careers in agriculture Precision/Digital Agriculture has opened a large number of career opportunities. Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., has opened a $6 million facility sponsored by AGCO. A service technician’s associate degree will be offered. The two-year program will prepare students to meet the growing demand for skilled technicians to service AGCO’s Fendt and Massey Ferguson brands of equipment. Twenty-five students are enrolled for the first class. Credit courses will be available in power generation, power trains, hydraulics, electrical engineering, precision technology, and more. The facility will include a simulator cab to familiarize students with cab controls. This program is similar to the agricultural technology program at the same college, which is sponsored by Case New Holland (CNH). Programs like these are operating throughout the country to prepare students for careers. More manufacturers are getting involved to accelerate education in the technical part of equipment service. Why collect tractors? I asked a friend why he collects tractors. He has about a dozen. Here’s what he said: “My collection mirrors what my dad had on our farm when I was a kid a long time ago. Every time I climb up on one, plop down on the seat, and grab the steering wheel, I think of my dad doing the same thing all his life.” I’ve heard the same thing from other collectors. Memories play a big part in collecting! The tractor is a newcomer The first steel plowshare was created in China in 500 B.C. Mankind has been towing tillage implements in many ways since then, including camels, oxen, horses and water buffalo. Only in the past 127 years, since 1898, has the tractor existed. It was not till 1950 that tractors outnumbered draft horses in the U.S. In some parts of the world, animals still outnumber tractors for fieldwork. Here in the U.S., a great number of inventors developed various tractor designs during the years 1898 to the present. Over 200 different groups tried to succeed in the marketplace and only a few persevered. Those who did survive have provided great changes in crop production. However, history books document the fact that tractors are indeed a newcomer in the world of farming and ranching, This week’s Burma Shave sign: He Saw The Train and tried to duck it. He Kicked the Gas and then the Bucket! Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate IH on domestic and foreign assignments before resigning 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. Email your comments to pwallem@aol.com |
