ALL ABOUT TRACTORS BY PAUL WALLEM The Agricultural Council of America (ACA) has announced the celebration of National Ag Day will be March 24, 2026. This annual event recognizes and celebrates the abundance provided by agriculture and acknowledges the essential role it plays in our daily lives. Earliest tractor developments 1841 - First steam-powered traction engine was built by Robert Ransome, Ipswich, England. 1855 - First self-propelled steam-powered tractor in the U.S. was invented by Obed Hussey. 1887 - In Sterling, Ill., the Charter Gasoline Engine Company adapted its engine to a Rumely steam-traction engine chassis, and its first production run was for six “traction engines.” 1892 - Case was the first of the old-line companies to build a gas tractor. The “Paterson Tractor” was not successful, and the company did not build another gas tractor until 1911. 1902 - Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company, Minneapolis, Minn., contracted with Joy-Wilson Company of Chicago to design a farm tractor. This developed into the popular Twin City “40.” 1905 - International Harvester developed the first friction-drive tractor by utilizing the IH stationary gas engine with a Morton chassis. 1907 - Along with chief engineer Joseph Galamb, Henry Ford began work on an experimental gasoline-powered tractor. It was referred to as the “automobile plow” and was never called a “tractor” during development. 1928 - Italian tractor maker SAME is credited with producing the first diesel-powered agricultural tractor. A producer’s opinion about upcoming season I met with a semi-retired friend that was one of the first farm customers when I opened our IH dealership in 1969. Now 90, all these years later, he still is in the field spring and fall helping his son. He has mixed expectations about this coming crop year, but has been in the business too long to predict the outcome. He and his son own and rent land. He does not have high expectations for crop market prices but is hopeful a high yield will offset the increased prices for inputs. He sees no drop in cash rent. They won’t be trading for new machinery, and they have a good shop to do much of their own maintenance. He’s been a good friend, and I wish them a great yield this year. A different variable transmission New Holland’s T7.270 LWB offers 19 speed ratios without any break in drive. Shifting gears is accomplished with the push of a button or pulsing the Command Grip handle. The operator can select the desired gear by pushing upshift or downshift buttons or engaging automatic mode at the press of a button. Sweden’s tractor market Like the U.S., Sweden’s 2025 tractor sales were down sharply, showing a 33 percent drop from 2024. I received an email from Jan Arvidsson, a good friend from Klippan, Sweden. He is an avid IH collector. The charts he sent indicated that the 2025 leader in tractor sales was Massey Ferguson, followed by Valtra G Series. Built in Finland, Valtra is a wholly owned subsidiary of AGCO Corp. 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 and SUCCESSES & INDUSTRY FIRSTS of IH. See all his books on www.PaulWalem.com. Email your comments to pwallem@aol.com. |
