ALL ABOUT TRACTORS

BY PAUL WALLEM

 Historically, agriculture has been an evolutionary industry, not a revolutionary one. That’s another way of saying that change is gradual, not rapid.

That changed with the dramatic development of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in 1993.

Suddenly, precision agriculture emerged. Its first wave involved satellite and aerial imagery, weather prediction, variable-rate fertilizer application, and crop health indicators. The second wave clustered together the machine data for even more precise planting, topographical mapping, and soil data.

Digital agriculture (sometimes called smart farming or e-agriculture) is called the fourth wave of the agricultural revolution, beginning in about 2000. It includes precision agriculture but impacts the entire food chain – before, during, and after production. As AI (artificial intelligence) expands, the capability of a farm tractor grows. For example, a vineyard tractor in California that is spraying chemicals cannot legally operate when wind levels reach a legal maximum. This is to prevent wind drift. Now, modern technology will automatically shut down the tractor

when wind velocity reaches that legal limit.

The many aspects of digital agriculture open endless ways to improve agriculture’s efficiency.

FFA

The current FFA membership is over one million. There are 9,235 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Members are in grades 5-12 and college.

Dixon High School in Dixon, Ill., is an example of the organization’s growth. Their chapter was terminated in 1986 due to a lack of interest. Recently, the school board voted to renew the chapter, and 80 students immediately enrolled.

A key aspect of the FFA motto is “learning to serve.”  The chapter at my home school in Streator, Ill., made community service their priority during the recent holidays, donating 135 meals to StreatorLand Food Pantry during Thanksgiving. Forty-six members did it all, from assembling the boxes to shipping, packing, and delivery. This chapter was one of many doing community service projects during the holiday season.

Hesston Tractors U.S – started and stopped

A few years ago, Heritage Iron Magazine described the short history of Hesston tractors in the U.S. market. This is a summary of that story:

The Italian manufacturer Fiat Trattori purchased 51.2 percent of Hesston Manufacturing Co. in 1977. They then planned to market the current Fiat tractor line in the U.S. using the well-known Hesston name.

In 1980, 1,500 Hesston dealers were given a new line of tractors to sell. Thirteen Fiat models were introduced under the Hesston name, sporting a new Hesston paint scheme, Autumn Prime and Charolais white. The colors then became standard on all other Hesston equipment.

Two of the new lineups were utility models, 42 and 62 HP. Five were medium-size tractors, 50 to 90 HP, available in two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.

Four large horsepower sizes – 100, 102, 138 and 160 – were in the lineup. The 1,500 Hesston dealers also had two orchard models and three ag crawlers to sell.

However, the timing could not have been worse. The 1980 grain embargo started a severe drop in farm income, influenced by high interest rates and declining land values, which reduced farmers’ borrowing power. By 1982, tractor sales had dropped over 25 percent.

Fiat purchased the remaining Hesston stock in 1987 and ended tractor production when AGCO bought the then-private Hesston Corp.

(During 1979-1985, almost 50 percent of the American farm equipment dealerships closed their doors).

Burma Shave

Do you remember watching for Burma Shave signs on the roads? They were first posted in Minnesota in 1926 when Burma Vita Co. sold brushless shaving cream. Over 600 were created until the company was sold to Philip Morris in 1963. Typically, six small signs were posted and spaced so motorists could read them. Here’s one example, warning drivers:

DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD TO GAIN A MINUTE……….YOU NEED YOUR HEAD, YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT

Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate IH on domestic and foreign assignments before resigning to own and operate two IH dealerships. He is the author of THE BREAKUP of IH and SUCCESSES & INDUSTRY FIRSTS of IH. See all his books on www.PaulWallem.com. Email comments to pwallem@aol.com.