Spin up the turbo, lock it into all-wheel drive, and shift into high gear to take a high-horsepower tour of the tractors of the 1960s! American Farm Tractors in the 1960s discusses and explores the history of John Deere and other prominent manufacturers such as IH, Famrall, J.I. Case, Allis-Chalmers, Massey-Ferguson, Ford, and White farm equipment, along with the people who produced them. Minor marques like Caterpillar, Stieger, and Versatile are also discussed, along with obscure marques and orphans.About the AuthorThe author/photographer team of Rod Beemer and Chester Petersen Jr. have collaborated on several books including Inside John Deere, Ford N-Series Tractors, and John Deere New Generation Tractors. Beemer is a writer, researcher, and tractor enthusiast. Petersen is a writer and photographer whose work appears regularly in Successful Farming and The Farm Journal. Both men live in rural Kansas.
Tractor enthusiasts of any era will appreciate the wealth of technical data this comprehensive resource delivers. This expanded 2nd edition fuses familiar and reliable Standard Catalog data with results from the renowned Nebraska Tractor Tests, for the extended coverage savvy enthusiast need. Four grades of prices for most models, and updated prices for tractors of the 1960s and later, assist collectors in evaluating each model. Technical specifications including engine size, weight, performance ability and options offer a more depth report. Additional performance reports from the standard Nebraska Tractor Tests add to a solid foundation of information to create a resource that's second to none. • Information on tractors manufactured from 1890 to 1960 guides collectors through various generations of tractors • Updated prices for post-1960 models helps collectors remain updated • 1,800 detailed archive photos help enthusiasts identify various models
Covered within the pages of this book is all the essential information and vital specifications on the Nebraska Test Tractors built from 1920 to 1960, tests designed to protect consumers from substandard tractors by evaluating performance, durability, and safety. Information gleaned from these tests include such things as dimensions, capacities, engine configurations, maximum brake horsepower, maximum drawbar power, and more. Includes a timeline of crucial events in the history of farming.
"Mr. Dahlstrom...has written a superb history of the tractor and this long-forgotten period of capitalism in U.S. agriculture. We now know the whole story of when farming, business and the free-market economy diverged, divided and conquered." —Wall Street Journal Discover the untold story of the “tractor wars,” the twenty-year period that introduced power farming—the most fundamental change in world agriculture in hundreds of years. Before John Deere, Ford, and International Harvester became icons of American business, they were competitors in a forgotten battle for the farm. From 1908-1928, against the backdrop of a world war and economic depression, these brands were engaged in a race to introduce the tractor and revolutionize farming. By the turn of the twentieth century, four million people had left rural America and moved to cities, leaving the nation’s farms shorthanded for the work of plowing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, and threshing. That’s why the introduction of the tractor is an innovation story as essential as man’s landing on the moon or the advent of the internet—after all, with the tractor, a shrinking farm population could still feed a growing world. But getting the tractor from the boardroom to the drafting table, then from factory and the farm, was a technological and competitive battle that until now, has never been fully told. A researcher, historian, and writer, Neil Dahlstrom has spent decades in the corporate archives at John Deere. In Tractor Wars, Dahlstrom offers an insider’s view of a story that entwines a myriad of brands and characters, stakes and plots: the Reverend Daniel Hartsough, a pastor turned tractor designer; Alexander Legge, the eventual president of International Harvester, a former cowboy who took on Henry Ford; William Butterworth and the oft-at-odds leadership team at John Deere that partnered with the enigmatic Ford but planned for his ultimate failure. With all the bitterness and drama of the race between Ford, Dodge, and General Motors, Tractor Wars is the untold story of industry stalwarts and disruptors, inventors, and administrators racing to invent modern agriculture—a power farming revolution that would usher in a whole new world.
The Complete Book of Classic John Deere Tractors explores the range of iconic “green tractors” with which Illinois-based John Deere has become one of the world’s most recognizable brands. Part of Motorbooks’ Complete Book series, this fact-packed volume takes you through dozens of John Deere farm models, beginning with the 1892 Waterloo Boy and ending with the game-changing New Generation and Generation II lines. With selected text from The Bigger Book of John Deere by late legendary Deere historian Don Macmillan, this book details year-to-year model changes within each series and offers comprehensive specs charts compiled by Deere authority John Dietz. In addition to the Waterloo Boy, you’ll witness the entire 40-plus years of two-cylinder “Johnny Poppers,” from the 1924 Model D through the 830 Series models in 1960, and the styled tractors of the prewar and postwar years. Also featured heavily are the groundbreaking New Generation tractors launched to much fanfare in 1960 and their successors, the New Generation II lineup with their Sound-Gard cabs. Standard, row-crop, orchard, and even a selection of experimental models…they’re all here. In addition, you'll find coverage of John Deere’s rich international heritage, with tractors produced in Spain, Germany, and Australia. Illustrated with incredible color photography and period advertising, The Complete Book of Classic John Deere Tractors isan essential edition for the library of any Deere fanatic.
