ALL ABOUT TRACTORS BY PAUL WALLEM The Rockford, Ill., YMCA Retired Men’s Club asked me to speak about agriculture. This is a highly educated, active, and healthy group with no connections to agriculture – just curiosity. None had an understanding of precision farming or any of the modern developments. As consumers, they wondered about rising food costs. As taxpayers, they wondered about farm support programs. Their questions were sincere, not skeptical. Their misunderstanding of corporate farms indicates that the national public media doesn’t understand it either. Press coverage of modern farming leaves much to be desired. I urge you to take any opportunity to speak to non-farm groups. They too have a lot at stake as consumers and taxpayers. They will support you better if they understand your problems. Case IH history timeline (courtesy Harvester Highlights): 1985 - Legacies of J.I. Case and Cyrus McCormick unite to become one brand: Case IH, becoming the second-largest farm equipment manufacturer. 1986 - Steiger Tractor becomes part of Case IH. In 1988, the first red Case IH Steiger was produced. Green Steigers continued to be produced until 1989. Case now labels its largest, most powerful tractor models as “Steigers.” 1996 - Case IH introduces Steiger Quadtrac. 2014 - The Case IH Steiger tractor is voted “Machine of the Year XXL 2014” at Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany. 2017 - Case IH, through its family of brands, celebrates 175 years in the agriculture equipment business. The new world of digital agriculture Former U.S. Farm Bureau Chief Charles Schulman was quoted as saying, “To plow a straight furrow, you must look ahead.” Retired University of Illinois President Bob Easter suggests a newer version: “To plow a straight furrow, you must turn on the GPS.” Trator rides – a rainbow of colors Some recent tractor models are autonomous, but not if they are on a tractor ride. These events are usually organized by tractor clubs, and members bring their favorite older tractor. Many have owned them for a long time. Some date back to grandparents. Seldom are there cabs or air conditioners. The goal is social, with a planned schedule. Northern Illinois Vintage Tractor Equipment Association (NIVTEA) stages three rides annually. Every ride is different, with specific locations in mind. This August, the starting place was the Boone County Fairgrounds. Twenty tractors traveled to Todd Aves dairy farm, then on to the Travis dairy operation to watch the new robotic system milking 115 cows. The ride ended at Wild Cherries for lunch. It’s probably safe to predict that older open-station tractors will continue to be the choice for tractor rides for years to come. Questions about CNH from readers CNH Industrial N.V. is an Italian-American multinational corporation with global headquarters in Basildon, United Kingdom. The four separate entities are Case IH, New Holland Agricultural, New Holland Construction and Case Construction. In 2024, employment was 35,850. Steyr is an Austrian manufacturer of tractors and is also part of CNH. Today’s advice You do not need a parachute to go skydiving. You do need a parachute to go skydiving twice. Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate IH in 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 at paulwallem.com. Send comments to pwallem@aol.com |
