Farmall was a model name and later a brand name for tractors manufactured by International Harvester (IH), an American truck, tractor, and construction equipment company. The Farmall name was usually presented as McCormick-Deering Farmall and later McCormick Farmall in the evolving brand architecture of IH.
110-605: Farmall was a prominent brand in the 20th-century trend toward the mechanization of agriculture in the US. Its general-purpose machines' origins were in row-crop tractors , a category that they helped establish and in which they long held a large market share . During the decades of Farmall production (1920s to 1980s), most Farmalls were built for row-crop work, but many orchard , fairway, and other variants were also built. Most Farmalls were all-purpose tractors that were affordable for small to medium-sized family farms , and could do enough of
220-440: A brand architecture during the first half of the 20th century, when the concept was still new. IH capitalized on farmers' familiarity with its older brands stretching back to individual entrepreneurs of the earliest days of agricultural mechanization ( Cyrus McCormick , William Deering ), which is why legacy company brands McCormick and Deering were used. The Farmall name itself began as a model name and then evolved to encompass
330-438: A blacksmith/metal smelting business. The panic of 1837 almost caused the family to go into bankruptcy when a partner pulled out. In 1839 McCormick started doing more public demonstrations of the reaper, but local farmers still thought the machine was unreliable. He did sell one in 1840, but none for 1841. Using the endorsement of his father's first customer for a machine built by McPhetrich, Cyrus continually attempted to improve
440-557: A boy was inspired to build an automobile. With internal combustion came the first modern tractors in the early 1900s, becoming more popular after the Fordson tractor (ca. 1917). At first reapers and combine harvesters were pulled by teams of horses or tractors, but in the 1930s self powered combines were developed. Advertising for motorised equipment in farm journals during this era did its best to compete against horse-drawn methods with economic arguments, extolling common themes such as that
550-430: A bright, distinctive color scheme in 1936 helped to further strengthen the branding effort. The Fordson was the first truly mass-produced, light, affordable tractor, and thus the first to tap the market of small to medium family farms on a large scale. Its design was excellent in many respects, including design for manufacturability and the low cost that it allowed. But one task that its design had not been tailored to
660-492: A class of machine that various companies were building and selling in the late 1910s and early 1920s. As the name implies, these were self-propelled cultivators in the simplest sense—little more than a horse implement with a motor added. The IH motor cultivator and another all-purpose tractor, the Moline Plow Company 's Universal, both sold several hundred units in the late 1910s. IH's machine was not particularly successful;
770-417: A decision was made to change the entire tractor (frame, sheet metal, engine, and wheels) to a new color, 'Farmall Red'. It was around this time many tractor manufacturers began using bright, distinctive colors for branding (e.g., Allis-Chalmers orange). A farmer could look out across the fields and see his neighbor's tractor from a great distance and know what make it was; this provided a sort of advertising in
880-594: A devout Presbyterian , as well as advocate of Christian unity. He also valued and demonstrated in his life the Calvinist traits of self-denial, sobriety, thriftiness, efficiency, and morality. He believed feeding the world, made easier by the reaper, was part of his religious mission in life. A lifelong Democrat, before the American Civil War , McCormick had published editorials in his newspapers, The Chicago Times and Herald , calling for reconciliation between
990-450: A factory in Brockport, New York , where he contracted to have the machines mass-produced. He also licensed several others across the country to build the reaper, but their quality often proved poor, which hurt the product's reputation. In 1847, after their father's death, Cyrus and his brother Leander (1819–1900) moved to Chicago, where they established a factory to build their machines. At
1100-674: A field of green wheat while the Hussey machine failed, he won a gold medal and was admitted to the Legion of Honor. His celebration was short-lived after he learned that he had lost a court challenge to Hussey's patent. Another McCormick Company competitor was John Henry Manny of Rockford, Illinois . After the Manny Reaper beat the McCormick version at the Paris Exposition of 1855, McCormick filed
1210-455: A greater role in the family's business as well as philanthropic affairs. In 1879, brother Leander changed the company's name from "Cyrus H. McCormick and Brothers" to "McCormick Harvesting Machine Company". He wanted to acknowledge the contributions of others in the family to the reaper "invention" and company, especially their father. On January 26, 1858, 49-year-old Cyrus McCormick married his secretary Nancy "Nettie" Fowler (1835–1923). She
SECTION 10
#17328447511501320-471: A lawsuit against Manny for patent infringement. McCormick demanded that Manny stop producing reapers, and pay McCormick $ 400,000. The trial, originally scheduled for Chicago in September 1855, featured prominent lawyers on both sides. McCormick hired the former U.S. Attorney General Reverdy Johnson and New York patent attorney Edward Nicholl Dickerson. Manny hired George Harding and Edwin M. Stanton . Because
1430-588: A leading brand of all-purpose tractors. Its bright red color was a distinctive badge. During the 1940s and 1950s, the brand was ubiquitous in North American farming. Various trends in farming after the 1960s—such as the decline of cultivating in favor of herbicidal weed control, and the consolidation of the agricultural sector into larger but fewer farms—ended the era of Farmall manufacturing. However, many Farmalls remain in farming service, and many others are restored and collected by enthusiasts. In these respects,
1540-495: A light-beam sensor to identify the taller spears – is expected to be available for commercial use. Mechanization of Maine's blueberry industry has reduced the number of migrant workers required from 5,000 in 2005 to 1,500 in 2015 even though production has increased from 50 to 60 million pounds per year in 2005 to 90 million pounds in 2015. As of 2014, prototype chili pepper harvesters are being tested by New Mexico State University . The New Mexico green chile crop
1650-455: A model line . With the success of the Farmall, other manufacturers soon introduced similar general- to all-purpose tractors with varying success. In their early years, they often included the word "all" in the name of the product. During the first decade of Farmall sales, IH's advertising even had to emphasize the name's correlation to IH, to protect the brand name from genericization . The shift to
1760-497: A more powerful engine, and renamed it F-20. At this time, IH also added another model, the F-12, a smaller, lighter version of the original. It had no portal axle at the rear, deriving its ride height instead from larger-diameter wheels. Thus, beginning in 1932, the Farmall brand had grown from a single model to a model line, which became known as the F-series . In 1938, the F-12 was replaced by
1870-779: A peace plan to include a Board of Arbitration. After the war, McCormick helped found the Mississippi Valley Society, with a mission to promote New Orleans and Mississippi ports for European trade. He also supported efforts to annex the Dominican Republic as a territory of the United States. Beginning in 1872, McCormick served a four-year term on the Illinois Democratic Party's Central Committee. McCormick later proposed an international mechanism to control food production and distribution. McCormick also became
1980-567: A religious newspaper, the Interior , which he renamed the Continent and became a leading Presbyterian periodical. For the last 20 years of his life, McCormick was a benefactor and member of the board of trustees at Washington and Lee University in his native Virginia. His brother Leander also donated funds to build an observatory on Mount Jefferson , operated by the University of Virginia and named
2090-529: A tractor "eats only when it works", that one tractor could replace many horses, and that mechanisation could allow one man to get more work done per day than he ever had before. The horse population in the US began to decline in the 1920s after the conversion of agriculture and transportation to internal combustion. Peak tractor sales in the US were around 1950. In addition to saving labour, this freed up much land previously used for supporting draft animals. The greatest period of growth in agricultural productivity in
2200-399: A utility tractor. By 1973, IH had officially dropped the 'Farmall' name from its new tractor models, ending an era that began with the first Farmall Regular back in 1924. However, the Farmall nameplate continued to appear on new 1974 and 1975 tractors until the factories exhausted their inventory of obsolete name badges. On February 1, 1974, at 9:00 A.M., the 5,000,000th IH tractor came off
2310-592: A wider front axle. During the Letter series era, these alternate models were sold under the McCormick-Deering brand; later models were badged with the International brand. Some examples include: The International 544 and 656 Row-Crop tractors were a bit of an anomaly until International dropped the Farmall brand, in that they combined some of the customary features of a Farmall (such as an adjustable wheel width) with
SECTION 20
#17328447511502420-404: A wider variety of capabilities, engines, and equipment options. The smallest of the line, the 'A', utilized the company's Culti-Vision offset engine/front end design, along with a wide front wheel track and dropped axles. The 'B' was the same as the 'A' with the exceptions that it used a narrow, tricycle type front end, and the engine/driveline were placed along the centerline of the tractor. On
2530-423: Is a model BM (British M) with a gasoline engine. This model was built from 1949 until 1954. Detailed tables of model names, years, engine displacements , horsepower ratings, production quantities, serial number ranges, and other statistics are available in reference books on the subject. The Farmall Cub , A, B, 100, 130, and 140 models had the seat offset from the engine, allowing the operator to look directly at
2640-484: Is applied shortsightedly rather than holistically . Jethro Tull 's seed drill ( c. 1701) was a mechanical seed spacing and depth placing device that increased crop yields and saved seed. It was an important factor in the British Agricultural Revolution . Since the beginning of agriculture threshing was done by hand with a flail , requiring a great deal of labour. The threshing machine , which
2750-500: Is at 45%; however the rate has slowed due to high raisin demand and prices making the conversion away from hand labour less urgent. A new strain of grape developed by the USDA that drys on the vine and is easily harvested mechanically is expected to reduce the demand for labour. Strawberries are a high cost-high value crop with the economics supporting mechanization. In 2005, picking and hauling costs were estimated at $ 594 per ton or 51% of
2860-551: Is currently hand-picked entirely by field workers as chili pods tend to bruise easily. The first commercial application commenced in 2015. The equipment is expected to increase yield per acre and help to offset a sharp decline in acreage planted due to the lack of available labour and drought conditions. As of 2010, approximately 10% of the processing orange acreage in Florida is harvested mechanically, mainly with citrus canopy shaker machines. Mechanization has progressed slowly due to
2970-503: Is increasingly complementing, or even superseding, motorized machines to make diagnosis and decision-making automatic. Mechanisation was one of the large factors responsible for urbanisation and industrial economies. Besides improving production efficiency, mechanisation encourages large scale production and sometimes can improve the quality of farm produce. On the other hand, it can cause environmental degradation (such as pollution , deforestation , and soil erosion ), especially if it
3080-605: Is limited to a range of operations including harvesting and weeding and is rarely used for fruit and vegetable production across the globe. Extensive adoption started in the United States of America, where tractors replaced about 24 million draught animals between 1910 and 1960 and become the main source of farm power. United Kingdom first started using tractors in the 1930s, but agricultural transformation in Japan and some European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Spain and former Yugoslavia) did not take place until about 1955. Thereafter,
3190-451: Is part of the structural transformation of societies through which increased agricultural labour productivity gradually releases agricultural workers, giving them the opportunity to take new jobs in other sectors, including industry and services. On the other hand, automation that is forcibly promoted, such as through government subsidies, could cause rising unemployment and falling or stagnant wages. The Food and Agriculture Organization of
3300-415: Is the only region where adoption of motorized mechanization has not progressed over the past decades. A study in 11 countries proves this low level of mechanization in the region, finding that only 18 percent of the sampled households have access to tractor-powered appliances. The remaining ones make use of either simple hand-held tools (48 percent) or animal-powered equipment (33 percent). Since at least
3410-516: The Ford Model T or Fordson tractor , could meet that requirement. The Farmall was thus similar to a Fordson in its capabilities and affordability, but with better cultivating ability. Descriptions of tractors as "general-purpose" and "all-purpose" had been used loosely and interchangeably in the teens and early twenties; but a true all -purpose tractor would be one that not only brought power to plowing , harrowing , and belt work but also obviated
Farmall - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-785: The McCormick Observatory . During the last four years of his life, McCormick became an invalid, after a stroke paralyzed his legs; he was unable to walk during his final two years. He died at home in Chicago on May 13, 1884. He was buried in Graceland Cemetery . He was survived by his widow, Nettie, who continued his Christian and charitable activities, within the United States and abroad, between 1890 and her death in 1923, donating $ 8 million (over $ 160 million in modern equivalents) to hospitals, disaster and relief agencies, churches, youth activities and educational institutions, and becoming
3630-547: The McCormick family continued involvement with the corporation until Brooks McCormick , who died in 2006. Numerous prizes and medals were awarded McCormick for his reaper, which reduced human labor on farms while increasing productivity. Thus, it contributed to the industrialization of agriculture as well as migration of labor to cities in numerous wheat-growing countries (36 by McCormick's death). The French government named McCormick an Officier de la Légion d'honneur in 1851, and he
3740-495: The U.S. Patent Office noted that a similar machine had already been patented by Obed Hussey a few months earlier. McCormick claimed he had invented his machine in 1831, but the renewal was denied. William Manning of Plainfield, New Jersey had also received a patent for his reaper in May 1831, but at the time, Manning was evidently not defending his patent. McCormick's brother William (1815–1865) moved to Chicago in 1849, and joined
3850-599: The hydrostatic transmission would become a defining feature of the 70 Hydro and 100 Hydro models. Mechanised agriculture Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, powered machinery has replaced many farm task formerly carried out by manual labour or by working animals such as oxen , horses and mules . The entire history of agriculture contains many examples of
3960-537: The various John Deere L/LA/LI models , one of the "mechanization-resistant" markets it hoped to penetrate was the small, poor, one-mule family farms of the rural American Deep South . But the Cub also sold to owners of larger farms who required a second tractor. Production of the Cub commenced at the newly acquired Farmall Works-Louisville plant (formerly the wartime Curtiss-Wright Aircraft factory in Louisville, Kentucky ) which
4070-447: The 1830s. His efforts built on more than two decades of work by his father Robert McCormick Jr. , with the aid of Jo Anderson, an enslaved African-American man held by the family. He also successfully developed a modern company , with manufacturing , marketing , and a sales force to market his products. Cyrus Hall McCormick was born on February 15, 1809, in Raphine, Virginia . He was
4180-460: The 460 and 560 tractors starting in 1958. Large competitors such as Deere and Caterpillar lagged at least two years behind IH in offering direct-start diesel products. The Torque Amplifier (TA) was first introduced on the "improved" Super M of 1954, called the Super M-TA. An auxiliary planetary gearset provided a double-reduction (low) gear ratio for each transmission gear (comparable in function to
4290-477: The C in 1948, which combined the attributes of both models into one tractor, while moving the operator position on top of the tractor in a more traditional layout like the H and M. Though the "Super series" received improvements, these tractors largely followed the design of their predecessors, and like them, were built to last. In 1954, the numbered or so-called Hundred series tractors appeared. The Hundred series models used numbers instead of letters to identify
4400-543: The California Agrarian Action Project, during the summer of 1976 in California, many harvest machines had been equipped with a photo-electric scanner that sorted out green tomatoes among the ripe red ones using infrared lights and colour sensors. It worked in lieu of 5,000 hand harvesters causing displacement of innumerable farm labourers as well as wage cuts and shorter work periods. Migrant workers were hit
4510-473: The F-14, almost identical to the F-12 except for an updated steering column and a higher-revving engine (whose higher rev limit , 1650 rpm instead of 1400, made it more powerful at peak output). All Farmall tractors were painted a deep blue-grey until mid-1936 (around July through September). The color has often been mistaken for battleship grey , but it was actually bluer. The wheels were most often red. In mid-1936,
Farmall - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-464: The Farmall era continues. As predicted in the 1980s and 1990s, the growing public understanding of environmental protection , and of sustainability in general, have brought a corollary resurgence of interest in organic farming and local food production . This cultural development has brought a limited but notable revival of cultivating and of the use of equipment such as Farmalls. Being an amalgamation , IH, like General Motors , gradually evolved
4730-524: The Fast Hitch in the 1960s after the three-point hitch was standardized and adopted by all manufacturers. There are kits available from a variety of sources that will either convert a Fast Hitch to a three-point, or add a three-point hitch to tractors that originally only had a fixed drawbar. International Harvester was one of the earliest manufacturers to provide a stepless transmission in a row crop tractor. Introduced first as an option on 656 and 544 tractors,
4840-557: The IH Model 350, which offered engines using a variety of commonly available fuels: gasoline, diesel, or LP-gas. The diesel engine version had a direct-start feature, and could be started and run using only diesel fuel. In 1957, IH again gave the tractor lineup an overhaul. Although the basic design was still not changed to any significant degree, new white paint was added to the front grille and sides, new engines were introduced, and new number designations were added. Along with these additions,
4950-493: The Model H proved most popular with customers. The 'MD' Farmall offered a diesel engine, which actually started on gasoline, then was switched over to diesel when thoroughly warmed up. Sales took off, and letter-series production did not end until 1954. Overall, the Farmall 'letter' series, well built and affordable, became not only a defining product line in IH history, but an iconic symbol of
5060-484: The Moline Universal was more successful, but its parent company nevertheless faced dire financial straits. Both models were soon discontinued. Many farmers were content (and could afford) to keep one or two horses or mules around to do miscellaneous light work (such as cultivating). Around 1920, as IH's motor cultivator died, a team of IH engineers had evolved the motor cultivator into an all-purpose tractor, replacing
5170-610: The TAs on the "Standard", "Utility", and "Industrial" tractor lines as well. The Fast Hitch was IH's answer to the three-point hitch developed years earlier by Harry Ferguson , and featured on Ford-Ferguson tractors . The Fast Hitch was first offered as an option on the Super C. Fast Hitch was then an option on the 100, 200, 300, and 400 and some later models. However, even the Fast Hitch had three incompatible variants (100—single prong; 200—two small prongs; 300/400—two large prongs). IH discontinued
5280-530: The Torque Amplifier was added to the Model 300 and all larger models. This provided on-the-go shifting to suit varied needs; the operator was offered ten forward gears and two reverse, instead of the usual five and one. Another addition to these tractors was the independent ("live") power take-off (PTO), which meant that the farmer could run the PTO even when the clutch was disengaged (clutch pedal pushed down). Although
5390-645: The US Civil War. Later innovations included raking and binding machines. By 1890 two men and two horses could cut, rake and bind 20 acres of wheat per day. In the 1880s the reaper and threshing machine were combined into the combine harvester . These machines required large teams of horses or mules to pull. Steam power was applied to threshing machines in the late 19th century. There were steam engines that moved around on wheels under their own power for supplying temporary power to stationary threshing machines. These were called road engines, and Henry Ford seeing one as
5500-405: The US processed tomato crop is produced in California. Although fresh market tomatoes have substantial hand harvesting costs (in 2007, the costs of hand picking and hauling were $ 86 per ton which is 19% of total grower cost), packing and selling costs were more of a concern (at 44% of total grower cost) making it likely that cost saving efforts would be applied there. According to a 1977 report by
5610-472: The US was from the 1940s to the 1970s, during which time agriculture was benefiting from internal combustion powered tractors and combine harvesters , chemical fertilisers and the green revolution. Although U.S. farmers of corn, wheat, soy, and other commodity crops had replaced most of their workers with harvesting machines and combines by the 1950s enabling them to efficiently cut and gather grains, growers of produce continued to rely on human pickers to avoid
SECTION 50
#17328447511505720-670: The United Nations (FAO) advises against governments implementing distortive subsidies for automation because doing so risks increasing unemployment. FAO also advises against restricting automation on the assumption that this will save jobs and incomes, because it risks making agriculture less competitive and productive. Instead, the recommendation is to concentrate on creating an enabling environment to adopt automation – particularly by small-scale agricultural producers, women and youth – while making social protection available to least skilled workers, who are more likely to lose their jobs during
5830-501: The adoption of motorized mechanization took place very quickly, completely superseding animal traction. Using tractors as farm power enabled, and even triggered, innovations in other agricultural machinery and equipment that greatly eased the toil associated with agriculture and allowed farmers to carry out tasks more quickly. At a later stage, motorized machinery also increased in many Asian and Latin American countries. Sub-Saharan Africa
5940-551: The assembly line at the Farmall Works plant in Rock Island, Illinois. IH was the first tractor manufacturer to officially accomplish this production threshold In 2004 Case IH reintroduced the Farmall brand, initially as a line of small utility tractors with less than 55 horsepower (41 kW), intended for small-acreage farms. The brand includes a return to letter designations according to size. Generally tractors were marketed by
6050-460: The bruising of the product in order to maintain the blemish-free appearance demanded by customers. The continuous supply of undocumented workers from Latin America that harvest the crops for low wages further suppressed the need for mechanisation. As the number of undocumented workers has continued to decline since reaching its peak in 2007 due to increased border patrols and an improving Mexican economy,
6160-406: The company to take care of financial affairs. The McCormick reaper sold well, partially as a result of savvy and innovative business practices. Their products came onto the market just as the development of railroads offered wide distribution to distant markets. McCormick developed marketing and sales techniques, developing a wide network of salesmen trained to demonstrate operation of the machines in
6270-447: The company. As tractor production was a mainstay of the company, IH realized they would have to modernize and re-engineer their tractor line, lowering costs where possible in order to remain competitive. The massive boilerplate frame and iron housings of the old IH tractors were slowly phased out for lighter, less-expensive components. The streamlined exterior of the earlier tractors was replaced by straighter, more angular lines, updating
6380-429: The customers. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 ( license statement/permission ). Text taken from In Brief to The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 – Leveraging automation in agriculture for transforming agrifood systems , FAO, FAO. Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884)
6490-411: The day; additionally, because of the second group, the Farmall could also, like previous tractors, perform all the other duties a farmer would have previously achieved using a team of horses . A tractor could yield lower overall operating costs than horses as long as it was priced right and reliable (and its fuel supply as well). The Farmall, mass-produced with the same low-cost-and-high-value ethos as
6600-563: The design proved to be unsuccessful. However, the new tractor did its many jobs well and hence sold well, and by 1926, IH was ready for large-scale production at its new Farmall Works plant in Rock Island, Illinois . Although the Farmall never reached the per-year production numbers of the Fordson during the 1920s, it was the tractor that prevented the Fordson from completely owning the market on small, lightweight, mass-produced, affordable tractors for
6710-473: The design. He finally sold seven reapers in 1842, 29 in 1843, and 50 in 1844. They were all built manually in the family farm shop. He received a second patent for reaper improvements on January 31, 1845. As word spread about the reaper, McCormick noticed orders arriving from farther west, where farms tended to be larger and the land flatter. While he was in Washington, D.C. to get his 1845 patent, he heard about
SECTION 60
#17328447511506820-494: The early nineteenth century there have been concerns over the possible negative socioeconomic impacts of labour-saving technological change, particularly job displacement resulting in unemployment. However, fears that automation increases labour productivity to the extent that it causes massive unemployment are not supported by historical realities. Instead, innovation and incorporation of labour-saving technologies tends to take long, and automation of one task often spurs increases in
6930-443: The eldest of eight children born to inventor Robert McCormick Jr. (1780–1846) and Mary Ann "Polly" Hall (1780–1853). As Cyrus's father saw the potential of the design for a mechanical reaper, he applied for a patent to claim it as his own invention. He worked for 28 years on a horse-drawn mechanical reaper to harvest grain, but was never able to produce a reliable version. Building on his father's years of development, Cyrus took up
7040-532: The engine on gasoline, then manually switched it to diesel fuel after warming up the entire engine. This two-in-one engine design, also known as a "gas-diesel", was unique to IHC agricultural products from 1935 to 1958 and IHC construction/industrial products from 1935 to the early 1960s. Other companies used different yet elaborate means to crank and warm their diesels, such as a pony motor, compressed air, hot bulb, or black powder, among other things. The Farmall Super MD, Super M-TA Diesel, 400 Diesel, and 450 Diesel used
7150-426: The equipment and within 10 years, 85% of the state's 4,000 cannery tomato farmers were out of the business. This led to a concentrated tomato industry in California that "now packed 85% of the nation’s tomato products". The monoculture fields fostered rapid pest growth, requiring the use of "more than four million pounds of pesticides each year" which greatly affected the health of the soil, the farm workers, and possibly
7260-410: The factory. For large orders, any color scheme could be accommodated at the factory. Although IHC's very first diesel-engine tractor was a "Standard" model WD-40 built from 1935 to 1940, the very first "Farmall" diesel tractor was the model MD released in 1941. Like many agricultural and construction/industrial diesel engines of the time, the early IHC diesels were not direct-start; the operator started
7370-464: The favorite row-crop tractor of America, outselling all other competitors (such as John Deere 's). In 1931 came the first variation of the original Farmall. The F-30 was bigger, heavier, and more powerful. The original Farmall became known by the retronym Regular . (It may never have been an official name for branding, but it was common among farmers.) In 1932, IH updated the Farmall Regular with
7480-659: The field, as well as to get parts quickly and repair machines in the field if necessary during crucial times in the farm year. A company advertisement was a take-off of the Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way mural by Emanuel Leutze ; it added to the title: "with McCormick Reapers in the Van." In 1851, McCormick traveled to London to display a reaper at the Crystal Palace Exhibition . After his machine successfully harvested
7590-563: The first chairman of the Moody Bible Institute . McCormick and later his widow, Nettie Day McCormick, also donated significant sums to Tusculum College , a Presbyterian institution in Tennessee, as well as to establish churches and Sunday Schools in the South after the war, even though that region was slow to adopt his farm machinery and improved practices. Also, in 1872, McCormick purchased
7700-509: The fruit free and gently places it in a basket. The robot moves on rails between the rows of strawberries which are generally contained within elevated greenhouses. The machine costs 5 million yen. A new strawberry harvester made by Agrobot that will harvest strawberries on raised, hydroponic beds using 60 robotic arms is expected to be released in 2016. Mechanical harvesting of tomatoes started in 1965 and as of 2010, nearly all processing tomatoes are mechanically harvested. As of 2010, 95% of
7810-424: The ground under the tractor. This feature was called Culti-Vision because it was created to give the operator an excellent view of the cultivator teeth as they cultivated the vegetable row. ( Cultivating in this context refers to breaking up the soil next to the vegetable row, which kills weeds by uprooting them and/or burying their leaves). The Farmall A, B, and C used a sliding-gear four-speed transmission, while
7920-401: The hardest. To withstand the rigour of the machines, new crop varieties were bred to match the automated pickers. UC Davis Professor G.C. Hanna propagated a thick-skinned tomato called VF-145. But even still, millions were damaged with impact cracks and university breeders produced a tougher and juiceless "square round" tomato. Small farms were of insufficient size to obtain financing to purchase
8030-493: The horse in every job including cultivating. By 1923, they settled on a configuration, and their informal name for the project, the "Farmall", was selected as the product's official name. As IH management was concerned that the new high-riding, tricycle design—a rather spindly -looking thing to eyes of the early 1920s—might turn off customers, the Farmall was initially released only in Texas, in order to minimize potential embarrassment if
8140-418: The horse team entirely. This latter step is what changed the financial picture to heavily favor the mechanization of agriculture. The Farmall was so successful at total horse replacement that it became a strong-selling product. With the success of the Farmall line, other manufacturers soon introduced similar general- to all-purpose tractors with varying success. In later decades, the Farmall line continued to be
8250-483: The industry is increasing the use of mechanisation. Proponents argue that mechanisation will boost productivity and help to maintain low food prices while farm worker advocates assert that it will eliminate jobs and will give an advantage to large growers who are able to afford the required equipment. Motorized mechanization has substantially expanded at global level, although it has been unevenly and inadequately adopted particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Mechanization
8360-479: The intensely competitive tractor market. The F-series tractors lasted until 1939. In late 1939, the famous Letter series of Farmall tractors was introduced. The model name letters were A , B , C (which replaced the B in 1948), H , M , and MD(M diesel). IH commissioned an industrial designer , Raymond Loewy , to give the new Farmall general-purpose tractors a sleek new streamlined look. Designed for small-to-medium size American farms, IH's new machines offered
8470-461: The larger models, the 'tricycle' type, narrow-spaced front wheel design was retained, as it provided quick steering and a considerable improvement in maneuverability over competing tractors such as the Ford 9N . IH took care to produce a model for almost every farm and every need. The Farmall A, B, BN and the later C offered compact size; the H and M series provided extra plowing capability and power, while
8580-426: The larger, more powerful Farmall H and M were fitted with a five-speed transmission. The extra gears of the Farmall tractors helped maximize the engine's power band and road speed, giving a sales advantage over the competition. The A, B, and C all used essentially the same engine but the C ran at a higher RPM and so yielded higher horsepower. IH Farmall Red became the standard Farmall tractor color after 1936, and
8690-662: The leading benefactress of Presbyterian Church activities in that era. Official leadership of the company passed to his eldest son Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr. , but his grandson Cyrus McCormick III ran the company. Four years later, the company's labor practices (paying workers $ 9 per week) led to the Haymarket riots . Ultimately Cyrus Jr. teamed with J.P. Morgan to create the International Harvester Corporation in 1902. After Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr., Harold Fowler McCormick ran International Harvester. Various members of
8800-548: The look and requiring less-complicated equipment to manufacture. The new machines also became vastly more complex, though easier to operate. Bowing to inevitable sales pressure and bitter price competition from other manufacturers, IH tractors, while still well-made, could no longer be relied upon to last indefinitely. Many Farmall tractor models have one or more mechanically similar models under another IH brand designed for other uses, such as industrial, utility, orchard, or wheatland use. These models have lower ground clearance and
8910-473: The model H, the 560 did the same from the model M), failed rapidly under the stress of the more powerful 60 series tractor engines. IH's competitors took advantage of the recall, and IH lost customers in the ensuing months. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, IH introduced new tractors and new methods of marketing, but conservative management, an unwieldy corporate organization, and a policy of in-house promotions tended to stifle new ideas and technical innovation at
9020-416: The model. The new models were given slightly different looks and a few new features, but were still essentially the famed Letter series tractors. The Farmall Cub continued unchanged, but in 1955 a new 'low-boy' version was added, featuring a shortened 62.5-inch wheelbase and a frame eight inches lower than the regular Cub tractor, which improved the machine's center of gravity. 1956 saw the introduction of
9130-570: The national sections. His views, however, were unpopular in his adopted home town. Although his invention helped feed Union troops, McCormick believed the Confederacy would not be defeated and he and his wife traveled extensively in Europe during the war. McCormick unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Democrat for Illinois's 2nd congressional district with a peace-now platform in 1864, and was soundly defeated by Republican John Wentworth . He also proposed
9240-406: The nearby village of Steeles Tavern, Virginia in 1831. He claimed to have developed a final version of the reaper in 18 months. The young McCormick was granted a patent on the reaper on June 21, 1834, two years after having been granted a patent for a self-sharpening plow. None was sold, however, because the machine could not handle varying conditions. The McCormick family also worked together in
9350-447: The need for workers to perform other jobs. The direct impact of automation on employment will be determined by the factors leading to its adoption. If rising wages and labour scarcities drive the adoption of automation then it is not likely to create unemployment. Automation can also stimulate agricultural employment. For example, it can enable farms to increase their production following growing food demand. Agricultural automation
9460-464: The new introduction was short-lived. The following June, IH recalled the 460, 560, and 660 tractors after reports of mechanical breakdown in the field. IH, who wanted to be the first big-power tractor manufacturer, had inexplicably failed to substantially enlarge or re-engineer critical drive components on the new six-cylinder tractors. The tractors' final drives, which were essentially made up of unaltered Letter Series components, (the 460 carried over from
9570-521: The new tractors did improve sales, IH's innate conservatism and reluctance to update their tractor line in response to changing times was becoming apparent. At the Hinsdale, Illinois Testing Farm in July 1958, IH entertained over 12,000 dealers from over 25 countries. IH showed off their new 60 series of tractors: including the first of their kind, large six-cylinder 460 and 560 models. But the excitement caused by
9680-584: The number of 16" width plows they could pull in average soil to indicate their power. Here is a list of plow ratings (see footnotes) for all Farmall tractors produced for North America : Notes: There were also some Farmall models unique to the European market: DF-25 (comparable to the H), DGD4 (comparable to the Super H), BMD (British MD) and B-450 (British 450). These models all utilized direct-start diesel engines. Also there
9790-719: The principal benefactor and a trustee of what had been the Theological Seminary of the Northwest, which moved to Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood in 1859, a year in which he endowed four professorships. The institution was renamed McCormick Theological Seminary in 1886, after his death, although it moved to Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in 1975 and began sharing facilities with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago . In 1869, McCormick donated $ 10,000 to help Dwight L. Moody start YMCA , and his son Cyrus Jr. would become
9900-451: The project aided by Jo Anderson, an enslaved African-American man held on the McCormick plantation. A few machines based on a design of Patrick Bell of Scotland (which had not been patented) were available in the United States in these years. The Bell machine was pushed by horses. The McCormick design was pulled by horses and cut the grain to one side of the team. Cyrus McCormick held one of his first demonstrations of mechanical reaping at
10010-498: The prototypical American small-farm tractor. Many machines (especially the two largest models, the H and M) are still in operation on farms today. In 1947, the smallest tractor in the Farmall line was introduced, the Cub . With a 60 cu. in. four-cylinder engine and a 69-inch wheelbase, the Cub was aimed at small farms such as truck farms, horse farms, and other small acreages that had previously continued to rely on horse-drawn equipment. Like
10120-460: The same IHC gasoline-start engine design as the MD, but with larger displacement (more cubic inches). The first Farmall tractor with a direct-start diesel was the model 350, which appeared in 1956. The 350 could also be ordered with a gasoline or LP-gas engine. The 350's direct-start diesel engine was built by Continental Motors . IH subsequently developed their own line of new direct-start diesel engines for
10230-436: The small or medium family farm. Its narrow-front tricycle design, high ground clearance to clear crop plants while cultivating (helped by a portal axle [drop gearset]), power take-off (a feature on which IH was an early leader ), and standard mounting points for cultivators and other implements on the tractor's frame (a Farmall first) gave it some competitive advantages over the Fordson, especially for row crops, and it became
10340-403: The tasks needed on the farm that the need for hired hands was reduced and for working horses or mules eliminated. The original Farmall is widely viewed as the first tractor to combine a set of traits that would define the row-crop tractor category, although competition in the category came quickly. Although it was not the first tractor to have any one of these traits, it was early in bringing
10450-509: The time, other cities in the midwestern United States , such as Cleveland, Ohio ; St. Louis, Missouri ; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin were more established and prosperous. Chicago had no paved streets at the time, but the city had the best water transportation from the east over the Great Lakes for his raw materials, as well as railroad connections to the farther west where his customers would be. When McCormick tried to renew his patent in 1848,
10560-407: The total grower cost. However, the delicate nature of fruit make it an unlikely candidate for mechanization in the near future. A strawberry harvester developed by Shibuya Seiki and unveiled in Japan in 2013 is able to pick a strawberry every eight seconds. The robot identifies which strawberries are ready to pick by using three separate cameras and then once identified as ready, a mechanized arm snips
10670-417: The transition. It is done by the seed drill. The plantation of seeds depends upon the season. Asparagus are presently harvested by hand with labor costs at 71% of production costs and 44% of selling costs. Asparagus is a difficult crop to harvest since each spear matures at a different speed making it difficult to achieve a uniform harvest. A prototype asparagus harvesting machine – using
10780-690: The trial was set to take place in Illinois, Harding hired the local Illinois lawyer Abraham Lincoln . The trial was moved to Cincinnati, Ohio , however. Manny won the case, with an opinion by the State Supreme Court Judge John McLean . Lincoln did not contribute to the defense. Stanton had objected to Lincoln's presence, referring to him as "that damned long armed ape." After being elected president five years later, Lincoln selected Stanton to be his Secretary of War where he became one of Lincoln's key advisers. In 1856, McCormick's factory
10890-510: The two-speed rear axle on a commercial truck) that allowed for a quick downshift via hand lever, without using the clutch, to gain torque at the drive wheels. The popular TA attachment was seen upon most of the new 300 and 400 Farmalls that first appeared in 1955, and on the 350 and 450 produced 1956–1958, and on later models through the 1960s. Although the TA was appreciated on the Farmalls, IH also offered
11000-571: The uncertainty of future economic benefits due to competition from Brazil and the transitory damage to orange trees when they are harvested. There has been an ongoing transition to mechanical harvesting of cling peaches (mostly used in canning) where the cost of labor is 70 percent of a grower's direct costs. In 2016, 12 percent of the cling peach tonnage from Yuba County and Sutter County in California will be mechanically harvested. Fresh peaches destined for direct customer sales must still be hand-picked. As of 2007, mechanized harvesting of raisins
11110-715: The use of tools, such as the hoe and the plough . The ongoing integration of machines since the Industrial Revolution has allowed farming to become much less labour-intensive . Agricultural mechanization is part of this technological evolution of agricultural automation. It can be summarized as a progressive move from manual tools to animal traction, to motorized mechanization, to digital equipment and finally, to robotics with artificial intelligence (AI). These advances can raise productivity and allow for more careful crop, livestock, aquaculture and forestry management; provide better working conditions; improve incomes; reduce
11220-560: The winning combination to market. The traits included (a) 'tricycle' configuration (a single front wheel or narrowly spaced pair), high ground clearance , quickly adjustable axle track , excellent visibility all around and under the machine, and light weight; (b) sufficient power for plowing and harrowing, and a belt pulley for belt work; and (c) all at low cost, with a familiar brand and an extensive distribution and service network. The first group of traits allowed for more nimble maneuvering and accurate cultivation than most other tractors of
11330-459: The workload of farming; and generate new rural entrepreneurial opportunities. Current mechanised agriculture includes the use of tractors , trucks , combine harvesters , countless types of farm implements , aeroplanes and helicopters (for aerial application ), and other vehicles. Precision agriculture even uses computers in conjunction with satellite imagery and satellite navigation (GPS guidance) to increase yields. New digital equipment
11440-400: Was cultivating the rows of young row-crop plants to kill the weeds. IH recognized motorized cultivating as an unmet need in the marketplace. It was also under intense competitive pressure to build a "Fordson beater" soon, lest the Fordson go on to dominate the entire marketplace of agricultural equipment , imperfections or no. IH's first effort to solve this problem was a motor cultivator,
11550-706: Was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, he and many members of the McCormick family became prominent residents of Chicago. McCormick has been simplistically credited as the single inventor of the mechanical reaper . He was, however, one of several designing engineers who produced successful models in
11660-687: Was an orphan from New York who had graduated from the Troy Female Seminary and moved to Chicago. They had met two years earlier and shared views about business, religion and Democratic party politics. They had seven children: Mary and Stanley both had schizophrenia . Stanley McCormick's life inspired the 1998 novel Riven Rock by T. Coraghessan Boyle . Cyrus McCormick was an uncle of Robert Sanderson McCormick (son-in-law of Joseph Medill ); granduncle of Joseph Medill McCormick and Robert Rutherford McCormick ; and great-granduncle of William McCormick Blair Jr. McCormick had always been
11770-479: Was expanded, remodeled and re-equipped. Selling for $ 545.00 in 1947, the Cub proved extremely popular, and the original design continued in production without significant alteration until 1979. The Letter series tractors were updated to the Super series beginning in 1947 with the Super A, 1951 for the Super C, 1952 for the Super M and 1953 for the Super H, the B model having been dropped from production and replaced with
11880-399: Was invented in 1794 but not widely used for several more decades, simplified the operation and allowed the use of animal power. Before the invention of the grain cradle (ca. 1790) an able bodied labourer could reap about one quarter acre of wheat in a day using a sickle. It was estimated that each of Cyrus McCormick's horse-pulled reapers (ca. 1830s) freed up five men for military service in
11990-645: Was producing more than 4000 reapers each year, mostly sold in the Midwest and West. In 1861, however, Hussey's patent was extended but McCormick's was not. McCormick's outspoken opposition to Lincoln and the anti-slavery Republican party may not have helped his cause. McCormick decided to seek help from the U.S. Congress to protect his patent. In 1871, the factory burned down in the Great Chicago Fire , but McCormick heeded his wife's advice to rebuild, and it reopened in 1873 even as McCormick's health declined, so she took
12100-484: Was used through the 1970s. The only factory color variations known are Highway Yellow (generally used for municipalities ), Demonstrator White , used for dealer demo models during the 1950s, and Demonstrator Gold —actually a red-and-gold color scheme used only during the International Demonstrator program in 1970. Farmalls in other shades are known to exist; these were most likely custom ordered from
#149850