"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.

This bulletin provides principles, practices and procedures for testing machines and also determines aspects of a machine's performance that can be evaluated. It is directed towards those involved in the evaluation of machinery, and primarily towards users on small farms. Evaluation of farm equipment may be appropriate at any stage in its development, from first prototype to batch and series production.

This book contains a comprehensive guide to the use and maintenance of traditional farm machinery. Profusely-illustrated and containing a wealth of practical information and handy tips, “The Operation, Care, And Repair of Farm Machinery” will be of considerable utility to anyone engaged in the maintenance of vintage farm machinery Not to be missed by collectors. Contents include: “Tractors”, “Plows”, “Disk Harrows”, “Harrows, Pulverizers, and Field Cultivators”, “Planting”, “Grain Drills”, “Row-Crop Planters”, “Listers”, “Potato Planters”, “Cultivating”, “Mowers”, “Hay-Handling Equipment”, “Combine Harvesters”, “Corn Pickers”, “Beer Harvesters”, “Hammer Mills”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on agricultural tools and machinery.

This comprehensive and classic text, originally published in the early 1900's, was written to assist farmers and mechanics instructors, and was the first book on the subject to deal exclusively with the operation, care, and repair of farm machines. Divided into six distinctive sections ranging from the preparation of the seed bed to harvesting, The Operation, Care, and Repair of Farm Machinery offers detailed information and instructions on how to use and care for dozens of different machines, including: Plows Harrows Tillers Spreaders Cultivators Sowers Diggers Harvesters Pickers Presses Mowers Binders Planters Pulverizers Loaders Drills Listers Rotary hoes

A link between machine functionality, operations, performance and decision making in the management of power sources and field operations were presented in this book. Depreciation and functional deviation of a machine from its original state at manufacture could put the life of a machine in danger of breakdown or obsolescence, which is counted a loss to any such organization or the entrepreneur. To avoid such losses, an understanding of machine systems functionality and a well organized maintenance programme designed to maintain, prevent or restore machine to near original state is required. Vocational training and entrepreneurship education in Nigeria's tertiary institutions has made possible a do-it-yourself skill acquisition in machine fault tracking, maintenance and repairs. A bimodal training programme packaged and presented in this book is all that is required for managerial decision making, maintenance and qualitative service delivery.

The need for current and better quality training materials was cited by both certification program instructors and coordinators. In recognition of these shortcomings, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded a major project with Penn State University, The Ohio State University, and the National Safety Council to develop a National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program (NSTMOP). The result is the NSTMOP Student Manual. This manual, including the task sheets, is the primary curriculum resource developed and designed to be used in a variety of instructional settings. The task sheets are divided into 6 sections: introduction; safety basics; agricultural hazards; the tractor; connecting and using implements with the tractor; and material handling (skid steers, ATV, and utility vehicles). There are a total of 77 task sheets, 48 are identified as core topics. Also included are a skills and driving test layout map and evaluation forms.

This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.