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Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern Agriculture
"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.
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.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published January 11, 2022
69 people are currently reading
416 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 28, 2024
Being in agriculture I had high hopes for this one, but have been left disappointed by it in the end. The start was interesting in how all the major tractor companies had their beginning and how they all came around to developing tractors, and just the sheer number of companies there were in the beginning of tractor development. After this the author gets lost in all the mergers of companies and the building and shifting of factories to build these tractors, and the price wars fought by the companies, especially Ford.
What the book lacks for me is the details of tractor development and how changes were implemented on farms in the USA. Instead the author focuses too much on the hierarchy of the companies and movements of men and companies in the battle to win market share, so out of an economic viewpoint this book will hit the mark probably.
It is such a pity that more focus was not given on development and how these companies revolutionized farming. The tractor is one of those events that almost single handedly brought agriculture out of stagnation and in the early 20th century and heralded the dawn of big agribusiness. This was a big miss for me...
What the book lacks for me is the details of tractor development and how changes were implemented on farms in the USA. Instead the author focuses too much on the hierarchy of the companies and movements of men and companies in the battle to win market share, so out of an economic viewpoint this book will hit the mark probably.
It is such a pity that more focus was not given on development and how these companies revolutionized farming. The tractor is one of those events that almost single handedly brought agriculture out of stagnation and in the early 20th century and heralded the dawn of big agribusiness. This was a big miss for me...
February 9, 2022
Disappointing. A company history that focuses on corporate machinations rather than the technology of agriculture, and there is little on the transformation of agriculture and what that meant for food, people and environment.
"The early years of the 1900s were dominated by the struggle by big corporations to maximise market share and transform farming into a system that could feed their profits. Neil Dahlstrom's book tells part of the story but I suspect most readers will be left wanting more." Read my full review on the blog: http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/20...
"The early years of the 1900s were dominated by the struggle by big corporations to maximise market share and transform farming into a system that could feed their profits. Neil Dahlstrom's book tells part of the story but I suspect most readers will be left wanting more." Read my full review on the blog: http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/20...
March 7, 2022
The Development of the Tractor Industry
The author covers the development of tractors which began mid-19th Century to 1929, when tractors had become essential farm equipment. Henry Ford manufactured the Fordson and John Deere tried to develop a high quality tractor quietly while Ford did it with very public promotion. Great story.
The author covers the development of tractors which began mid-19th Century to 1929, when tractors had become essential farm equipment. Henry Ford manufactured the Fordson and John Deere tried to develop a high quality tractor quietly while Ford did it with very public promotion. Great story.
December 20, 2022
I liked it a lot, though it tried to make IH the victim, even though they had several crimes against Ford and John Deere
July 17, 2022
Review title: Gaining traction
On the farm growing up, some of my most precious memories are of time spend driving our old John Deere Model A tractor, which then was just an old used tractor my dad had found but today is a widely collected and restored antique (especially valued for its unique single front wheel). I am not sure this is the exact year of our tractor but this picture is definitely the model. Its two-cylinder engine would beat a tattoo that echoed over the hills when it was working hard, especially after my dad replaced the rusted muffler with a straight piece of stove pipe that was basically an amplifier!
But I never thought about the history of tractors until I saw Tractor Wars on the new book shelf at my local public library. Neil Dahlstrom, a corporate archivist at John Deere, did think about it and decided to write this history of how tractors were invented and eventually replaced horses. While building on the automobile innovations of the turn of the 20th century, the history goes back also to the industrial uses of steam to power trains and stationary engines in factories and on farms. As Dahlstrom documents, from an initial period of innovation by hundreds of inventors and small companies, the "tractor wars" came down to the industrial leaders John Deere, International Harvester, and Ford, each coming from a different position of strength and expertise: John Deere in plows, International Harvester in implements and the industry leading sales and service network, and Ford in manufacturing efficiency and mass production.
First had to be settled the question: what was a tractor, how would they be used, and would they replace the horse, the universal source of agricultural power? The word "tractor" was first used by the Hart-Parr Company, one of the early innovators that didn't survive, as a "shorthand term for 'traction engine.' " (p. 30). Early models took the firm of motorized implements such as John Deere's "motor plow" (see picture on p. 50), but companies, farmers, and agricultural organizations quickly realized that the many steps in preparing soil, planting seeds, and harvesting crops would require a more general purpose tool to be affordable for farmers. An early advertisement broke down the comparison of the cost and value of a tractor vs the horse (p. 96) in favor of the tractor, but as late as 1921, well into the automotive era, the Horse Association of America was challenging the cost effectiveness of the tractor vs the horse: "Can you buy a tractor, use it for three years, and sell it for more than it cost?" (p. 175)
Even the manufacturers who would come to dominate its early history and adoption weren't sure of the practicality and especially profitability of the tractor. John Deere was in the farm implement business and struggled with how to design and built an affordable general purpose tractor. International Harvester had the market-leading and profitable position in harvesting implements and no need to risk that position especially in light of their occasional legal battles over monopolistic practices given their huge market share. Ford was not interested in farm implements because they were not easily adapted to assembly line manufacturing, and primarily interested in tractors because Henry Ford saw himself as a savior of the family farming lifestyle he had enjoyed as a boy by applying his assembly-line techniques to the construction of a light, cheap tractor to free farmers to work in his factories. While the Fordson tractor (so named to distinguish from tractors by other manufacturers with Ford in the name) was produced in huge quantities, John Deere and International Harvester struggled with design and manufacturing decisions necessary to produce machines more suitable to heavy-duty usage. And like much of American life, the tractor wars were both interrupted and transformed by the First World War.
Dahlstrom applies his skills as an archivist working with all the major companies to mine and share valuable photographs and history, documented with footnotes and bibliography. He also did extensive research in the newspapers of the day as they reported on innovations, equipment trials and demonstrations, and business news that directly affected large proportions of their readership in an America that was still largely rural and agricultural. Yet the book he has written is readable and interesting to the general reader. If you have your own tractor history like I do, Tractor Wars is worth reading.
On the farm growing up, some of my most precious memories are of time spend driving our old John Deere Model A tractor, which then was just an old used tractor my dad had found but today is a widely collected and restored antique (especially valued for its unique single front wheel). I am not sure this is the exact year of our tractor but this picture is definitely the model. Its two-cylinder engine would beat a tattoo that echoed over the hills when it was working hard, especially after my dad replaced the rusted muffler with a straight piece of stove pipe that was basically an amplifier!
But I never thought about the history of tractors until I saw Tractor Wars on the new book shelf at my local public library. Neil Dahlstrom, a corporate archivist at John Deere, did think about it and decided to write this history of how tractors were invented and eventually replaced horses. While building on the automobile innovations of the turn of the 20th century, the history goes back also to the industrial uses of steam to power trains and stationary engines in factories and on farms. As Dahlstrom documents, from an initial period of innovation by hundreds of inventors and small companies, the "tractor wars" came down to the industrial leaders John Deere, International Harvester, and Ford, each coming from a different position of strength and expertise: John Deere in plows, International Harvester in implements and the industry leading sales and service network, and Ford in manufacturing efficiency and mass production.
First had to be settled the question: what was a tractor, how would they be used, and would they replace the horse, the universal source of agricultural power? The word "tractor" was first used by the Hart-Parr Company, one of the early innovators that didn't survive, as a "shorthand term for 'traction engine.' " (p. 30). Early models took the firm of motorized implements such as John Deere's "motor plow" (see picture on p. 50), but companies, farmers, and agricultural organizations quickly realized that the many steps in preparing soil, planting seeds, and harvesting crops would require a more general purpose tool to be affordable for farmers. An early advertisement broke down the comparison of the cost and value of a tractor vs the horse (p. 96) in favor of the tractor, but as late as 1921, well into the automotive era, the Horse Association of America was challenging the cost effectiveness of the tractor vs the horse: "Can you buy a tractor, use it for three years, and sell it for more than it cost?" (p. 175)
Even the manufacturers who would come to dominate its early history and adoption weren't sure of the practicality and especially profitability of the tractor. John Deere was in the farm implement business and struggled with how to design and built an affordable general purpose tractor. International Harvester had the market-leading and profitable position in harvesting implements and no need to risk that position especially in light of their occasional legal battles over monopolistic practices given their huge market share. Ford was not interested in farm implements because they were not easily adapted to assembly line manufacturing, and primarily interested in tractors because Henry Ford saw himself as a savior of the family farming lifestyle he had enjoyed as a boy by applying his assembly-line techniques to the construction of a light, cheap tractor to free farmers to work in his factories. While the Fordson tractor (so named to distinguish from tractors by other manufacturers with Ford in the name) was produced in huge quantities, John Deere and International Harvester struggled with design and manufacturing decisions necessary to produce machines more suitable to heavy-duty usage. And like much of American life, the tractor wars were both interrupted and transformed by the First World War.
Dahlstrom applies his skills as an archivist working with all the major companies to mine and share valuable photographs and history, documented with footnotes and bibliography. He also did extensive research in the newspapers of the day as they reported on innovations, equipment trials and demonstrations, and business news that directly affected large proportions of their readership in an America that was still largely rural and agricultural. Yet the book he has written is readable and interesting to the general reader. If you have your own tractor history like I do, Tractor Wars is worth reading.
January 25, 2022
There's something about tractors that draws a boy's attention. I learned to drive in the 1960s on a 1948 Farmall Cub on my grandfather's land in Vermont, and at a recent visit to a farm stand, I was delighted to find an almost identical, so it's not surprising that Tractor Wars caught my eye.
In Tractor Wars, Neil Dahlstrom gives us an inside look at the birth of the farm tractor starting in the late 1800s and culminating with Ford's transition to overseas manufacturing in Ireland at the end of the 1920s. Drawing heavily on biographies, board room records, and newspaper clippings, the book's focus is on corporate strategies, alliances, and competitions. Readers may be surprised to discover how late to the game John Deere was, but not especially surprised that when Henry Ford entered the fray with his Fordson tractor, his techniques of mass production and ruthless pricing gave him immediate dominance in the field(s).
While the focus is on the competition, largely between Harvester (which became International Harvester), Deere, and Ford, what I found most interesting was how the story of the tractor meshed with other events. The rise of an industrialized economy and the outbreak of war in Europe meant the beginning of the exodus from the farm, and the tractor was a large part of the mechanization of agriculture that allowed for much larger yields and reduced labor. Henry Ford, who looms large in this tale, grew up on a farm but had no love for farming and was frustrated by the inefficiencies he saw in farm practice. Not only did he want to make farming a modern business, but he wanted to free the agricultural workforce to work in factories.
Though it came almost 10 years after the tractors covered in Tractor Wars, the International Harvester Farmall Cub holds a special place in my memory.
At the turn of the century, horse and mule were the rule in farming, but over the next two decades, the adoption of power machinery lead to bigger farms and paved the way to modern agribusiness. Ford, always the champion of the average buyer produced a smaller tractor than Harvestor, or eventually, Deere. Aimed at the small farm and priced to be affordable to anyone his Fordson tractor would dominate sales for over a decade.
Neil Dahlstrom puts human faces on the drama in a very readable way. I would have liked more about the technical evolution of the machines, but if it's not the main thrust it's not neglected. The text is about the companies and the men that ran them, but the story is set against the rise of the industrial age, which it shows from a unique perspective.
In Tractor Wars, Neil Dahlstrom gives us an inside look at the birth of the farm tractor starting in the late 1800s and culminating with Ford's transition to overseas manufacturing in Ireland at the end of the 1920s. Drawing heavily on biographies, board room records, and newspaper clippings, the book's focus is on corporate strategies, alliances, and competitions. Readers may be surprised to discover how late to the game John Deere was, but not especially surprised that when Henry Ford entered the fray with his Fordson tractor, his techniques of mass production and ruthless pricing gave him immediate dominance in the field(s).
While the focus is on the competition, largely between Harvester (which became International Harvester), Deere, and Ford, what I found most interesting was how the story of the tractor meshed with other events. The rise of an industrialized economy and the outbreak of war in Europe meant the beginning of the exodus from the farm, and the tractor was a large part of the mechanization of agriculture that allowed for much larger yields and reduced labor. Henry Ford, who looms large in this tale, grew up on a farm but had no love for farming and was frustrated by the inefficiencies he saw in farm practice. Not only did he want to make farming a modern business, but he wanted to free the agricultural workforce to work in factories.
Though it came almost 10 years after the tractors covered in Tractor Wars, the International Harvester Farmall Cub holds a special place in my memory.At the turn of the century, horse and mule were the rule in farming, but over the next two decades, the adoption of power machinery lead to bigger farms and paved the way to modern agribusiness. Ford, always the champion of the average buyer produced a smaller tractor than Harvestor, or eventually, Deere. Aimed at the small farm and priced to be affordable to anyone his Fordson tractor would dominate sales for over a decade.
Neil Dahlstrom puts human faces on the drama in a very readable way. I would have liked more about the technical evolution of the machines, but if it's not the main thrust it's not neglected. The text is about the companies and the men that ran them, but the story is set against the rise of the industrial age, which it shows from a unique perspective.
February 22, 2022
This is probably a niche book rather than a general interest book. There is plenty of history and details about the development of the tractor for farming in the 1920s. It was noteworthy that the industry was filled with many manufacturers in the 20s and most eventually disappeared before the Great Depression. Henry Ford’s appearance in this book provides a viewpoint that is a little less myth, a little more “cranky, eccentric old man”, an image supported by many sources. If you like reading about machines, business development, or the period around the 1920s, this book may satisfy your interest.
April 21, 2024
Too much "this happened then this happened," Not enough "here are the big ideas you should latch onto about how modern agriculture was born."
But fun to read globally important history set in the place that I grew up. And apparently tractor competitions (i.e., agricultural exhibitions) were very important in the early 1900s.
But fun to read globally important history set in the place that I grew up. And apparently tractor competitions (i.e., agricultural exhibitions) were very important in the early 1900s.
July 16, 2022
I think the author lost sight of his objectives in the narrative history of tractor farming origins, especially the corporate quest for the tractor to fully replace the horse. I had to read a descriptive note under a photo to get the answer to that question. Did the tractor transform farming? I know the answer is yes, but I don't know why or how. Using Henry Ford as a framing device to bookend the narrative is a mistake because it confuses what the author was trying to accomplish.
Though Henry Ford looms large over the narrative, and has the most recognizable name, most of the book revolves around the dozens of farm equipment manufacturers trying to bring modernized technology to the farmer. I did enjoy reading about the tractor demonstrations at regional exhibitions and how World War 1 affected production of farm equipment. However I found the narrative confusing at times because I am not a farmer nor an engineer; the development of the tractor went a little over my head because I didn't fully understand what needed to be improved or added. There is very little insight to what farmers wanted or needed, or what they thought about the early tractors. The focus is on the executives and their minions of Midwestern corporations debating and experimenting with new technology.
The book ends a little before the stock market crash of 1929. It's an unfulfilling end point, especially knowing a Dust Bowl and Great Depression are around the historical corner. Why the author views that year as the end of the tractor wars is unclear.
Though Henry Ford looms large over the narrative, and has the most recognizable name, most of the book revolves around the dozens of farm equipment manufacturers trying to bring modernized technology to the farmer. I did enjoy reading about the tractor demonstrations at regional exhibitions and how World War 1 affected production of farm equipment. However I found the narrative confusing at times because I am not a farmer nor an engineer; the development of the tractor went a little over my head because I didn't fully understand what needed to be improved or added. There is very little insight to what farmers wanted or needed, or what they thought about the early tractors. The focus is on the executives and their minions of Midwestern corporations debating and experimenting with new technology.
The book ends a little before the stock market crash of 1929. It's an unfulfilling end point, especially knowing a Dust Bowl and Great Depression are around the historical corner. Why the author views that year as the end of the tractor wars is unclear.
August 22, 2022
I don’t know why I thought a book about tractors would be good or interesting. This was neither. The subtitle promised an exploration of the “birth of modern agriculture,” a legitimately interesting subject that’s hardly even touched in favor of arcana such as minor mechanical adjustments for individual machines and inter-office communication for tractor companies. The author, manager of John Deere’s archives, just spilled everything he could find from them, with no coherent narrative or sense of context. Steer clear of this book.
January 15, 2024
2 stars for his extremely thorough research. But that's all this book is - a recitation, practically day by day, of the business decisions of the major tractor manufacturers. But it's also simultaneously not technical enough to give me (who is not a mechanic engineer) any real sense of how the technology developed, nor does it tell any real human story besides that some people made money and some lost it
January 24, 2022
This is a history of the American Tractor business from 1907 until 1929. It is much more descriptive than are typical company or competitive histories but it covers a little known event - a price war between Ford, John Deere, and International Harvester during the expansion of the tractor business from a low volume set of small experimental firms into a discernible high volume industry with most of the experimental firms having failed and Deere and Harvester responding to the Ford strategy of mass production and price reductions for a nascent industry. This was the same strategy Ford employed with autos and the deployment of the Model T. With tractors, the development is towards recognizing that tractors are different from cars but complicated by the need to develop industry standards as farmers in large numbers moved to power farming with much reduced use of horses.
Both with autos and tractors, the most interesting part of the story is how competitors responded to Ford’s high volume low cost strategy when they had little chance of matching Ford’s volume. The response was a powerful one of standing up to Ford and continuous unprofitable sales to build volume and defeat the others. All of the major players worked through the variations of products, customer needs, manufacturing approaches, and distribution networks. This is the basis for Harvestor and Deere becoming established with the implement and tractor businesses. This also parallels what happened in the auto business - a much more retold story.
The book is actually a bit overly packed with factual details and I would have appreciated more analysis of the nuances for those hot up to speed on early tractor technology. The material is accessible, however, even if the family and career backgrounds of the major players does not help in moving the story along.
These are some of the situations where major firms developed their strategies. Indeed, these dynamics were behind American development up through the oil shocks of the 1970s. While this seems far afield from current tech firms, like the FAANG companies, it is not as far off as one may think and there is a lot to chew on in this case study.
Both with autos and tractors, the most interesting part of the story is how competitors responded to Ford’s high volume low cost strategy when they had little chance of matching Ford’s volume. The response was a powerful one of standing up to Ford and continuous unprofitable sales to build volume and defeat the others. All of the major players worked through the variations of products, customer needs, manufacturing approaches, and distribution networks. This is the basis for Harvestor and Deere becoming established with the implement and tractor businesses. This also parallels what happened in the auto business - a much more retold story.
The book is actually a bit overly packed with factual details and I would have appreciated more analysis of the nuances for those hot up to speed on early tractor technology. The material is accessible, however, even if the family and career backgrounds of the major players does not help in moving the story along.
These are some of the situations where major firms developed their strategies. Indeed, these dynamics were behind American development up through the oil shocks of the 1970s. While this seems far afield from current tech firms, like the FAANG companies, it is not as far off as one may think and there is a lot to chew on in this case study.
March 27, 2022
A good book, providing a business analysis of the early development of the farm tractor. The author, agricultural historian Neil Dahlstrom, explains the competition between Ford Motor Company, International Harvester (IH), and John Deere to gain tractor industry dominance. This story parallels the similar competition in automobiles, but the technical challenges of a farm tractor added a new dimension. These challenges, plus the fragmented nature of the industry made the journey to tractor usage a long one. It wasn’t until 1945 that tractors were more predominant for ALL farm work than their main competitor, the horse. Ford, with a genius singularity, applied the same formula as his Model T, building a single tractor intended for universal application, the Fordson. Despite an early lead in market share, Ford’s inability to appreciate the nature of the market resulted in IH and Deere dominating once their tractors finished long development periods. These firms better understood the need of a customized approach. This book does a great job explaining the introduction of a new product and the importance of understanding the market. It also gives great insight into the American economy and business practices of the early 20th century. A great book for any tractor or motor vehicle enthusiast. Highly recommended as a case study in business and product development.
September 12, 2022
While my main concern going into this book was that it would only provide superficial detail, that's not the problem here; there is no shortage of detail. The real problem is that there is a lack of an organizing theme, over and above a one-damn-thing after another accounting of events. Which is another way of saying that Dahlstrom didn't appear to have a thesis he wanted to test, or some kind of organizing theory, and it shows in regards to how the work just attenuates out. Considering how much Henry Ford is a player in this book, more attention probably should have been spent on the issues that made the "Fordson" tractor a flash in the pan, such as high-maintenance costs, safety issues, and Henry Ford's congenital lack of market adaptability.
I'm grudgingly giving this book three stars, on the basis of solid information, despite the lack of narrative drive.
I'm grudgingly giving this book three stars, on the basis of solid information, despite the lack of narrative drive.
February 22, 2023
Interesting. This is not a book about examining how the business side of this worked or what was good or bad about the choices companies made. This is not a book that will teach you about tractors. This is a book for the tractor enthusiast. The person that knows about all of the makes and models.
This book loosely follows a the events from 1895 to 1925 in order. I experienced whiplash often from being at one point in time and in the next paragraph being in another and not knowing it had shifted until paragraphs later when a year was given. The few photos were a nice add and allowed me to do a little less web surfing to understand what the author was talking about.
I'm glad I read it, since I live in a farming community. It explained a lot of things about brand loyalty and why things are set up the way they are with implement dealership locations and many other things.
This book loosely follows a the events from 1895 to 1925 in order. I experienced whiplash often from being at one point in time and in the next paragraph being in another and not knowing it had shifted until paragraphs later when a year was given. The few photos were a nice add and allowed me to do a little less web surfing to understand what the author was talking about.
I'm glad I read it, since I live in a farming community. It explained a lot of things about brand loyalty and why things are set up the way they are with implement dealership locations and many other things.
March 20, 2022
Who would have thought the history of tractors would turn out to be so interesting? Now, I must admit to skipping some of the more technical/mechanical sections, but overall I found this a pretty fascinating read, turning my attention to something I had simply never even thought about before – the development of tractors for farming and the rivalry between the various companies that made them and wanted dominance in the market. Pretty cut-throat business, building tractors - apparently. Overall this is a book perhaps more for the enthusiast than the general reader but there’s something to be gained by just about any reader here, and I came away from my reading feeling better informed and maybe, just maybe, willing to look at tractors with a bit more attention.
July 25, 2023
The author takes you through his research and makes you interested in tractors and other farm equipment. He shows you the history behind each item that was made and the men behind them and then the fight of the mighty Ford against Dreer, and Internationa Harvester. Of course like the auto industry Ford, when could buy smaller companies if the products that they were producing were of quality and he would buy the tools that made the equipment as well. At times he would do this just to put people out of business. While reading there were times when I thought why did not they join forces to compete against Ford I think it was not in their nature to do so. This was an excellent book, that took me by surprise.
April 4, 2022
A fairly straight forward review of the tractor industry from 1900-1935.
I wish it spent more time going into the details of Ford's folding. I feel like there must've been more source material to work with and that the author got tired of digging and stopped.
Dahlstrom made an interesting review of functional marketing methods of the time(though it isn't a book about marketing). Which is a reasonable approach for something like a tractor.
Is clear they needed an FCC to prevent fraud/deception in marketing. FCC didn't exist during the time period of the book. Nebraska took regulating the sales of con-man tractors into their own hands with trade associations.
I wish it spent more time going into the details of Ford's folding. I feel like there must've been more source material to work with and that the author got tired of digging and stopped.
Dahlstrom made an interesting review of functional marketing methods of the time(though it isn't a book about marketing). Which is a reasonable approach for something like a tractor.
Is clear they needed an FCC to prevent fraud/deception in marketing. FCC didn't exist during the time period of the book. Nebraska took regulating the sales of con-man tractors into their own hands with trade associations.
April 29, 2022
I actually rather enjoyed this. It is a bit dry, a bit niche but it's a part of history, more so than I even realised.
The development of the tractor ran parallel with the development of the motorcar and while the history of the latter is probably much better known, the former might have contributed more to society.
There is lots of fairly dull history of the several companies in the race, changes in management, moves to different factories etc. etc. But also enough more interesting factoids about the period and the way tractors got introduced and changed farming forever.
I found myself googling a lot of the early machines and was fascinated by the beauty of some.
The development of the tractor ran parallel with the development of the motorcar and while the history of the latter is probably much better known, the former might have contributed more to society.
There is lots of fairly dull history of the several companies in the race, changes in management, moves to different factories etc. etc. But also enough more interesting factoids about the period and the way tractors got introduced and changed farming forever.
I found myself googling a lot of the early machines and was fascinated by the beauty of some.
February 6, 2022
An interesting history of the first decades of the 20th Century, when the development of the automobile led to the development of the farm tractor. The problem is the writer is a historian and loves his subject but isn't really a writer. There's way too much detail about models from smaller competitors when more was needed about the business and political environments. In addition, it ends a few years too soon. The tractor wars aren't really settled and it doesn't describe how Deer and International Harvester really became the two names we hear from these days.
February 14, 2022
I appreciated the knowledge and research that has gone into this wonderful book.
I love the rural life and the concept of ‘living on the land’ so found great interest in the evolution of farming with and without mechanical help. The tractor has allowed so much more to be achieved with farmland and I would suggest any rural person should take the time to enjoy this book. A unique story to be treasured!
I commend Neil Dahlstrom for his research and understanding of the rural lifestyle!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I love the rural life and the concept of ‘living on the land’ so found great interest in the evolution of farming with and without mechanical help. The tractor has allowed so much more to be achieved with farmland and I would suggest any rural person should take the time to enjoy this book. A unique story to be treasured!
I commend Neil Dahlstrom for his research and understanding of the rural lifestyle!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
December 7, 2024
While the author wrote a lot of facts, he didn't expand on the interesting ideas, people, and stories that were there. The author even says in the author notes at the end there were certain questions he set out to answer, but he only sometimes answered those questions in the book and when he did have answers they were hard to find because it was hard to find anything interesting in the writing style of "this happened, then this happened, then this happened" There's a story here, but it needs to be written better.
May 8, 2022
I love the history of the Gilded Age and this falls within that scope and right through the early decades of the 1900s. Dahlstrom's gifted writing presents this agricultural and manufacturing history in a way that keeps the reader engaged. I love our farmers including my own family that used one of those early tractors during the Great Depression for heavy work while a team of horses served as a secondary power for farm work.
October 16, 2022
An interesting history of the development of the tractor and the companies in the US that were the leaders. I wish it had covered more of the evolving of agriculture with the introduction of the tractor. The dropping out of Ford in the market was covered very little. It would have been interesting as their return in the tractor war later in time.
A good look at the corporations that competed for the "best" tractor but not a good overall story of the changes in agriculture.
A good look at the corporations that competed for the "best" tractor but not a good overall story of the changes in agriculture.
March 9, 2022
Did not finish. This book's description far outdistanced the actual writing. I quit after 75 pages. The writing was like putting a timeline into complete sentences. There was not much information about the principals who were in the "race" to create the tractor, nor their competition. No excitement, nothing to hold the reader's attention. Give it up.
March 15, 2023
Wow, what a great time to be an inventor, an entrepreneur, or just a gambler. Lots of name dropping, wheeling and dealing with guys with big egos and big dreams. Anyone from the Midwest might run across the name of their home town and a experimental machine that didn't make it big. It's all makes for interesting history.
September 26, 2025
Started pretty well but then turned into an overly detailed and statistic-heavy beating. I was familiar with the Fordson and Allis Chalmers tractors from my dad and granddad. They kept them running for years by themselves. I guess it had to do with which implement dealers were available in SE Kansas.
I couldn’t even recommend this book to Ag Engineers.
I couldn’t even recommend this book to Ag Engineers.
June 19, 2022
Overall a decent book but I found it difficult to remain engaged. Both sides of my family have long histories of farming in Kansas and my interest in the business of implements is great. But this book was hard to read - slow at times, engaging at others. Just didn't flow well.
August 14, 2022
want more
Great book on the tool that changed worldwide agricultural output. Would have liked to know more on present state, wished the author would have added that. I wanted to know who the players are today and how they evolved.
Great book on the tool that changed worldwide agricultural output. Would have liked to know more on present state, wished the author would have added that. I wanted to know who the players are today and how they evolved.
December 5, 2022
Actually 3.5 to 4. Pretty interesting read. If you love tractors, it's great knowing how it started. The draw back to this book is that it tends to jump around from one year to the next and uts pretty technical. But it's well written and full of information.
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