FARM24 - Tractor brand loyalty runs deep in Huron County
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Since Paleolithic Egyptians first began utilizing irrigation to draw water into their arid fields from the nearby Nile River, the agricultural industry has been one of near constant technological advancement. And while the industry has seen some truly sparkling breakthroughs over the millennia, there has perhaps been no single invention that changed the course of human history quite as dramatically and irrevocably as the tractor.
Ever since the 1890s, when a man named John Froelich created the first gas-powered traction engine in Froelich, Iowa, tractors have been facilitating the effort of farmers all over to produce more food for more people in less time and with less effort. Needing fewer people to farm has meant that many other aspects of society have flourished from the influx of employable individuals who would have otherwise been needed for the effort of manual farm labour. It also meant that enough affordable food could be produced to feed entire cities.
Before the big tractor boom brought mechanization to fields, the brunt of the agricultural effort was born by men and beasts of burden. Here in Huron County, we have a living reminder of the old ways, as a hearty Amish and Mennonite population continues to do most of its farming without modern machinery. Fields are worked by teams of horses pulling plows, and the harvest is brought in using collective manpower.
Now, tractors are everywhere. From the iconic red of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra to the historic orange of an Australian Chamberlain, the sight of colourful farm equipment trundling back and forth as they work the soil is ubiquitous. A sky blue Landini crisscrossing the countryside is a sure sign of Scotland, whereas a dark green Fendt on a distant hill just might mean you’re in Germany.
But with great power comes great responsibility. Overuse and misuse of the tractor has, historically, led to disaster. For example, in the 1930s, over-tilling of the earth with tractors was a huge contributor to the advent of The Dust Bowl, which in turn exacerbated the conditions that created The Great Depression. The farm equipment industry of today has worked to learn from past mistakes - tractor manufacturers are driven to always improve performance while lessening environmental impact.
After decades of research and development, the 1950s saw the dawn of the golden age of the tractor. It was an era that elevated the tractor to new heights - from a simple piece of revolutionary farm equipment to a beloved part of the rural identity. Companies like Massey Ferguson, John Deere, and International Harvester were presenting new pinnacles of agricultural advancement every year, and, as the tractor became the eternal emblem of farming, families and friends suddenly found themselves fighting over which brand was the best. As anybody who has ever attended the annual reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association can confirm, these machines were built to last, so it’s no wonder that some farmers develop a real sense of loyalty to their brand of choice.
In terms of candy-coloured crop contraptions, there is none more easily recognizable than the bright green of a John Deere. The colour known simply as “John Deere Green” is not only an official shade of Pantone, John Deere has also won a trademark case that confirmed that their farm equipment’s classic combination of green with yellow accents is, indeed, iconic enough to be protected under copyright law.
The John Deere company got its start when innovative blacksmith John Deere moved from Vermont to Illinois in search of new business opportunities. By 1837, Deere had become a village repairman and a maker of hand tools like pitchforks and shovels. He then created a self-scouring steel plow, a pioneering piece that he crafted from a Scottish steel saw blade. This tool really streamlined the sowing process, speeding up the surge of settlers moving across the Great Plains. In 1923, Deere debuted the Model D in the distinctive green and yellow that is still in use today. John Deere was one of the first manufacturers to start to pre-produce plows instead of making them to order, which is the main method by which farm equipment is sold today.
One such seller of John Deere machines is Garrett Van Dieten, who has been working at Huron Tractor in Blyth for the past seven years. “In a previous life I worked for the Hensall Co-op, but here at Huron Tractor, it’s a little bit more flexible. And it’s John Deere, right? I’ve been drinking from the John Deere water for quite a while now - since I was a kid. If you’d asked me in high school what my dream job would be - I’m sitting in it right now.” Van Dieten is not afraid to admit that he tends to take his work home with him. “I farm with my family on the side. We all run John Deere farm equipment - it’s just part of who we are. We all bleed green!”
Case IH is a red-blooded company born out of the wild world of steam-powered threshing. Case’s history began when, in 1842, Jerome Case founded Racine Threshing Machine Works on the strength of his innovative new threshing machine. In 1869, Case expanded into the steam engine business and, by 1886, Case was the world's largest manufacturer of steam engines. Back in the age of steam, Case machines were generally black, with green machinery. Case was also the first company to build a diesel-powered tractor, in 1892, which was denoted by a grey body. Case made the official transition over to Flambeau Red in 1939.
The IH in Case IH stands for International Harvester, another giant of the farm equipment world. International Harvester produced vehicles of all kinds in just as many colours, but their most iconic tractors came in Harvester Red. After Case and International Harvester were merged by parent company Tennaco in 1985, a deep shade of red was the natural choice for the new company’s tractor colour. Always an industry leader, in 1995 Case IH was the first agricultural equipment company to introduce global positioning system technology. In 1999, Case IH actually merged with New Holland to form CNH Global.
As Service Manager of the Agriculture Department of Delta Power Equipment, Scott Dow sees his fair share of Case IH equipment, and he thinks customers really appreciate dependability. “Well, I’m in charge of the service department, so you know we’ve got great service. And we’re fully stocked with readily available parts, and we offer after-hours servicing... it’s about good support when you need it.”
The bright blue paint of a New Holland tractor is hard to miss, and the story of New Holland is one that illustrates how a well-made machine can attract global attention. New Holland Machine Company was first founded in New Holland, Pennsylvania, by Abe Zimmerman, a man who sought to bolster the local farming community by making agricultural products in his barn in 1895. The New Holland brand has since grown through decades of corporate mergers, takeovers and acquisitions, as farm equipment companies from all around the world were brought together. In 1947, New Holland was taken over by the Sperry Rand Corporation out of New York. In 1964, Sperry New Holland bought a major interest in Belgian tractor manufacturer Claeys, and in 1986, New Holland was purchased by the agricultural branch of American industry leader Ford, where the brand picked up its sprightly shade of blue. which was subsequently purchased in 1991 by Italy’s Fiat Trattoria. Now based in Turin, Italy, the “New Blue” machine has seen a lot more of the world than Pennsylvania, while remaining just as reliable as ever.
For Jeff McGavin of McGavin Farm Equipment LTD, it’s not just Mondays that are blue - he sells New Holland farm equipment every day of the week. His family has been in the agricultural machine business for a few generations, but the McGavin clan haven’t always been blue bloods - in his grandfather’s day, they sold Cockshutt tractors, which were red with yellow detailing. McGavin believes that tractor loyalty is more nuanced than just a love of cold, hard machines. “I do think a lot of it is brand preference - people like the way a certain machine runs. But a lot of it has to do with the dealership, and the people that they want to deal with. Tractors are getting very, very technical, and they’ve got a lot of extra stuff on them that you just can’t fix yourself, so you rely on your dealer pretty heavily.”
Kubota is a Japanese farm equipment brand that was established as a foundry in 1890 by Gonshiro Kubota who started out making high-quality cast-iron pipes. In 1922, the first kerosene engine intended for agricultural use was introduced in Japan. Kubota sold its first tractor in North America in 1969, and its bright orange, powerful, compact tractors immediately impressed farmers across the west. Since then, this innovative import has continued to evolve and thrive around the world.
Terry Caldwell is the owner of Hyde Brothers Farm Equipment, and that makes him an orange man, by trade. “Like anything that comes out of Japan, a Kubota is made to a higher expectation of standards than most other companies. They do it right, and they treat their dealers well.” Despite his casual declaration of Kubota superiority, Caldwell believes people can overcome their fear of change and ingrained habits to create a more Technicolor future. “It’s not about tractors, it’s about personalities... there’s a lot of people out there that see all kinds of colours.”
The next big thing in farming is right now becoming a reality - the driverless tractor. Just as the first gas-powered tractors changed our world forever, so too will these emergent, unmanned machines. While John Deere, New Holland, Case IH and Kubota have all already begun to market their own driverless farm machines, perhaps the impending autonomous tractor boom will bring about some brand new companies, and, with them, some brand new colours with which to fall in love.