ALL ABOUT TRACTORS

BY PAUL WALLEM

 Some Tractor Design progress: 1960-1995 

 1960 - International Harvester announced the Cub Cadet as the first lawn & garden tractor from a major tractor manufacturer

1977 - Versatile150, the first bi-directional tractor with a full-time hydrostatic drive to all 4 wheels with automated steering

1986 - Massey Ferguson introduces the first electronic lift control (ELC) 3-point hitch as standard equipment on their tractors

1987 - Caterpillar introduces “Mobil-Trac” rubber track system on Challenger

1991 - JCB introduces high road speed equal-size tire tractor capable of 35 MPH road speeds

1995 - Fendt announces VARIO CVT (continuously variable transmission) tractor terminology)

Virtual fencing

Granted, this is a tractor column, but this innovation is so interesting I want to tell you about it. The story comes from Farmweek following a recent grazing conference.

Similar to virtual pet fencing, each cow gets a GPS-tracked neckband that runs off a cellular system. The operator creates virtual boundaries from a cell phone. When a cow gets too close to the boundary, the neckband pulses, alerting the animal to stop. If it happens to stray outside the established boundary, the shocks will cease, and the animal can return to the herd.

Calves don’t wander far from their mothers, so they do not need neckbands. The solar-powered neckbands are expected to have a life of seven-eight years. This system can be especially useful for rotational grazing and short-term grazing acreage rental.

International Harvester dividends

Excessive dividends to IH shareholders were in the financial news long before the IH breakup in 1985.

Although the line of equipment had been in existence for much longer, the company known as International Harvester was formed in 1902 through the merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. and Deering Harvester Co.

After reviewing the new company’s first annual reports from 1903 to 1912, evidence suggests that the pattern of excessive dividends began then. The average dividend payout for those 10 years as a percent of net earnings was 51.5 percent.

High dividend payouts continued for many years. During the Great Depression, the profit margin for IH averaged 9.7 percent. For the same period, John Deere averaged 18.5. During the period from 1956 to 1960, when Deere surpassed IH in total farm equipment sales, IH retained a profit margin of 3.8, versus Deere’s profit margin of 7.2. Following that period, IH was never again first in annual sales.

The high dividends were great for shareholders but ultimately fatal in the long term for IH. Funds were not available without borrowing for plant modernization, updated production lines, and a strong level of research and development.

A brand of the past

The main tractor on our dairy farm was an Allis Chalmers WC. It was a popular 23 HP tractor built from 1933 to 1938. It became the largest-selling model Allis ever built. Another popular model during that period was the WD, built from 1933 to 1948, with an additional 5 horsepower (28).

Allis Chalmers had many strong years in its later years. The D-series did well. During the 1980s, divestiture changed the firm and ultimately led to its dissolution. The farm equipment line was sold to K-H-D (Deutz). The tractor line was then sold to AGCO, who closed the brand in 2011.

Allis Chalmers Energy, Inc. continues to this day as an American, Houston-based oil company.

Cat’s 100th birthday

Well before 1900, Benjamin Holt and C.L. Best each pursued their vision of a better way to farm. In 1925, they combined their ideas to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co.

One hundred years later, they pioneered farm crawler tractors and became the world leader in construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel engines, diesel-electric locomotives, and other related products. In 2022, their global headquarters moved to Irving, Texas.

This week’s Burma-Shave from the past - “It’s Best for One who hits the bottle

 To let Another use the Throttle.”

Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate IH on domestic and foreign assignments. He resigned 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 wwwPaulWallem.com. Email your comments to pwallem@aol.com