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Mass Production & War
War had a profound effect on the farmer and the farm tractor industry. Horses the primary source of farm power were in high demand by the military during
World War 1; They were used for pulling artillery,
ambulances, and supply wagons. The value of horses, and the increasing difficulty of replacing them, was such that by 1917 it was
made known to some troops that the loss of a horse was of greater tactical concern than the loss of a human soldier. It is reported
that over 8 million horses died on all sides fighting in the war. With some breeds nearly reaching the level of extinction.
By the end of the war Brittan had exhausted nearly all their domestic horses supply and most all horses used by British
troop were purchased overseas. Even the well supplied American army was lacking horses.
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War changes the Farm Tractor Industry
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During the war, under the guidance of the Food
Administration American exports of food to Europe almost
doubled. In World War One, American farmers fed all of
Europe. Even a few years after the war, American farming
saved Europe from starvation as countries tried to
rebuild. This caused high demand and high prices for
farm products overseas.
Farming at that time was very labor intensive. Before the war good farm hands could be had from about two to three dollars [per day] and their board.
During the war farmers needed to pay about the same as the factories, mills, etc pay.
With the advent of World War, more than ever the farmer needed the farm tractor with its surplus power.
In this critical period, Henry Ford brought out his first farm tractor the Fordson.
The Fordson was the first tractor to be built on a
modern assembly line using all the mass production
techniques Ford learned producing automobiles. Mass
production meant lower prices to the farmer. Fords farm
tractor was lighter than any ever built, yet had a great
deal more power per pound. |
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More important, it sold for considerably less, and brought tractors
within the buying range of thousands of farmers who had previously farmed
exclusively with horses. It was closely followed by the McCormick-Deering
10-20, and John Deere's Waterloo Boy.
In an effort to boost war-time food production Great Britain pressured
Henry Ford to release his long awaited Fordson farm tractor. In 1917 Great Britain ordered
and received the first 7,000 American Fordson tractors. The order was filled in seven months.
Fordson tractor production for American farming came next. For years prior to
the Fordson's release roamers and even an announcement
from Henry Ford himself caused many farmers to greatly
anticipate Fords first farm tractor. When Ford finally
did begin American tractor production the entire country responded with 13,000 orders for his tractor. |
Mass Production and the Farm Tractor IndustryThe Fordson was the first mass-produced farm tractor, and all of its other attributes were really
secondary to this fact.
Mass production made the tractor effectively available
to the farmer for the first time. But more then that it revolutionized
the tractor industry itself. The Fordson brought intense competition
to the industry. That competition changed the tractor
in innumerable ways, many were just minor changes. However
the cumulative effect of those minor improvements would have an enormous effect on the farm tractor.
The competition that the Fordson stirred up eventually provided the
motivation and pressure for Farmall to develop a row-crop tractor.
Then the success of the row-crop tractor encouraged Allis Chalmers to produce the Model B
which forced the the industry to move toward the ultimate down-sizing of the tractor.
Ford Motor Company's production was impressive. In March 1918,
the company was finishing eighty
farm tractors per day and was expanding toward a goal of three
hundred units per day by December. By 1920 Ford boasted that he had sold one hundred
thousand
farm tractors. That number represented almost twice the number of tractors in use
when the Fordson was unveiled in 1917.
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At first the older farm implement and tractor
manufacturers were not prepared to compete with Ford. But as they recovered from the initial
shock of the flood of farm tractors coming out of Detroit , and as they
saw other automakers preparing to exploit the wartime tractor boom, the old farm equipment
companies began programs of reassessment and retooling at a frenzied pace.
Left A modern tractor with the same unit frame
construction as the Fordson and earlier Wallis Cub
emerged from International Harvester in 1923. Know as
the McCormick Deering15-30. The farming tractor signaled
the end of heavyweight IHC farm tractors.
click on image to
enlarge |
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Power Take-Offs Introduced
The power take-off (PTO) for tractors appeared toward the end of WW I.
International Harvester introduced a kerosene tractor with a PTO as optional equipment in 1918.
This was the first American farm tractor to offer a practical rear PTO mechanism for propelling trailed farming implements. The McCormick-Deering 15-30 (left) was the first tractor which
was equipped with PTO as standard equipment.
International exploited its familiarity with the farm equipment industry to introduce innovations that met the needs
of working farmers better than conventional tractors. One of these innovations was the introduction and mass
production of the power takeoff (PTO). |
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The The
farm tractor
explosion
| YEAR |
TRACTOR COMPANIES |
TRACTOR PRODUCTION |
| 1904 |
6 |
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| 1905 |
6 |
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| 1906 |
9 |
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| 1907 |
8 |
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| 1908 |
6 |
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| 1909 |
9 |
2000 |
| 1910 |
15 |
4000 |
| 1911 |
20 |
7000 |
| 1912 |
31 |
11,500 |
| 1913 |
39 |
7000 |
| 1914 |
58 |
15,000 |
| 1915 |
61 |
21,000 |
| 1916 |
114 |
29,670 |
| 1917 |
124 |
62,742 |
| 1918 |
142 |
132,697 |
| 1919 |
164 |
164,590 |
| 1920 |
166 |
203,207 |
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The PTO was designed to relay power directly from the tractor to whatever farm implement was in use. In earlier days when
horses provided all farm power, implements such as binders or mowers drew their power from their own wheels.
The farm implements wheels were fitted with cleats or lugs that forced to turn as the implement ran over the ground.
It was an awkward system at best.
When conditions were good, the implements wheels rolled and turned the rest of the machinery, but when the ground
was soft or muddy, the wheels often slid along under motionless shafts and cogwheels. Yet this crude system
continued well into the farm tractor era.
Top
In earlier days before the power takeoff (PTO) horses provided almost all farm power, implements such as binders or mowers drew their
power from a "bullwheel", a large wheel with cleats or lugs that was forced to turn as the implement ran over
the ground. The John Deere binder (above) illustrates the large "bullwheel" that transmits power to the implement.
click on image to
enlarge
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Antique Farming Top Visited Pages |
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Ford 8N Tractor
Ford 2N production stopped in July 1947 and 8N tractor production took over.
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Fords First Tractor
The Fordson was the first mass-produced tractor and revolutionized the industry
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Ford Tractor Conversions
Over one hundred companies offered kits to convert Ford's popular car
into a Ford Tractor.
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Massey Harris Tractors
Take a look at the roots of the Massey Ferguson Tractor
Company visit our Massey Harris Tractor page
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John Deere Tractor Model M
John Deere's Utility Tractor designed to replace the John Deere Model H,
John Deere Model L and Model LA
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Dairy Barn
The history of the dairy Barn and the work saving barn tools
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Manuals
and
Brochures
require
Acrobat
reader
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download
click on images to view file
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Allis
Chalmers Power Book |
Allis
Chalmers
Construction |
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