![]() See a comparison between the work that horses can do plowing a field compared to succeeding generations of tractors in this interactive movie feature.įarmers found a way. Farmers often had to convince the implement dealer or the government that he or she could produce more than the neighbor with the new machine. But, because of production quotas, machines were hard to find. Most farmers had enough money to buy new equipment for the first time in a decade. The only way to do that was to buy new machines or keep the old ones running. On the one hand, the average farmer was expected to produce more with much less manpower. What all this meant to the individual farmer was he or she was in a difficult and contradictory period of time. The story of the "Harvest Brigade" is a fascinating one. They proposed that the War Production Board allow them to produce 500 machines over their regular quota IF the buyers agreed to harvest 2,000 acres of wheat each. Massey had just brought out the first self-propelled combine that they said was more efficient in harvesting wheat. That idea didn't fly.īut, in 1944, the Massey-Harris company used a call for an increase in wheat production to increase their market share in farm equipment. So, they argued, Ford should be allowed to build thousands of their tractors, replacing older, heavier tractors that could then be turned into scrap iron to build ships. Early on, the Ford-Ferguson tractor company tried to convince the government that their tractors were lighter and more powerful than their competitors. The war also did not stop the various companies from competing for the agricultural equipment market. During this decade, tractors got smaller and more powerful, self-propelled combines were introduced, hydraulic systems made it possible to control larger implements, the Vise Grip pliers were invented and tractors replaced horses on farms forever. In fact, it may have spurred new technologies. Later they built the casings that housed the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan.īut war production didn't stop innovation in agricultural machinery. Allis-Chalmers produced steam turbines and propeller shafts for ships.Case produced wings for B-26 bombers, aftercoolers for Rolls-Royce aircraft engines and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells.They also manufactured aircraft parts, ammunition and mobile laundry units. John Deere built transmissions for the M3 medium tank. ![]() The Canadian division produced wings for Mosquito bombers, Stuart tanks and naval gun mounts. division of Massey-Harris built the M24 and M5 tanks, aircraft wings and truck bodies. became heavily involved in war production. ![]() In other words, make fewer new tractors but help farmers repair their old ones.Īll of the agricultural machine companies in the U.S. Just before Pearl Harbor, they issued a "limitation order." It said that production of civilian farm equipment would be held at 80 percent of 1940's production level, but that the companies should increase production of repair and maintenance parts dramatically. To deal with the situation, the government set up the Office of Production Management to decide which plants would shift some of their capacity from producing civilian goods to war material. They were expected to produce for war as well as the farm. Farmers needed equipment to replace the farm hands who had been drafted.Īgricultural equipment manufacturers were caught in the middle. They had to feed troops and the people living in allied nations who were under attack. On the other hand, they needed farmers in the U.S. On the one hand, the government needed almost every manufacturing plant, including ag machinery plants, to start producing material for the war rifles, ships, tanks, airplanes and ammunition. government was faced with a big problem how to provide both tanks and tractors.
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