Behind The Paint, The Race To Create The First Farm Tractor

In the early 1900’s, agriculture was ready for new technology, including transitioning from steam engines to smaller and more affordable tractors. 

Neil Dahlstrom, Manager of Archives and History at John Deere and author of Tractor Wars, says this period, often referred to as the “tractor wars,” introduced power farming – one of the most fundamental changes that has shaped the agriculture industry into what it is today.

John Deere, Ford, and International Harvester competed during this time period and raced to introduce the tractor and revolutionize farming. All while four million people left rural America and moved to cities, leaving farms shorthanded and making the importance of introducing the tractor that much more clear.

Tractor Wars offers an inside view of the story behind the paint, all who were in a race to invent modern agriculture – a power farming revolution that would usher in a new world.