Back in 1923, good horses were the main source of horsepower on farms across North America. But that year would mark a remarkable change in farm power with the introduction of the iconic Farmall, an all-purpose tractor that would help revolutionize the agriculture industry.
In 2023, Case IH has kicked off a year-long celebration to honour the 100-year anniversary of the Farmall tractor. At the National Farm Machinery Show at Louisville, Kentucky, RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin and Case IH tractor marketing manager Joe Miller take a look back at the evolution of the Farmall and some of the major milestones in the tractor’s 100-year history.
“When we go back 100 years to 1923, that first Farmall regular had that tricycle front end, it had the capability to cover high crops and different crop spacings. It really put us in a position at that point in time to replace the horse,” says Miller. “Back in those days, a tricycle front end tractor… was a radical design. So that really transformed mechanized agriculture.”
Major milestones for Farmall include:
- 1923: International Harvester engineer Bert R. Benjamin designs the first Farmall prototype
- 1931: The F series is presented for farmers with more acreage
- 1939: Second-generation Farmall designed by Raymond Loewy
- 1941: Farmall introduces the world’s first diesel row crop tractor
- 1947: The 1 millionth Farmall rolls off the line
- 1958: The most popular tractor in the U.S., the Farmall 560 is introduced
- 1965: Farmall is the first 2WD row crop tractor to exceed 100 horsepower
- 1974: Case IH sells its 5 millionth Farmall – the first tractor to ever reach that number
- 2003: Case IH continues to expand the lineup of products spanning from 31 to 105 horsepower
(Watch RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin and Case IH’s Joe Miller discuss the past and future of Farmall tractors.)
Miller notes that during the year-long celebration, Case IH will be giving away a new Farmall 75C tractor to one lucky winner who shares their passion and story about how Farmall has helped shape their farm over the years or how it’s become part of the family. The contest was launched during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association trade sow in February and the winner will be announced at the National FFA Convention on Nov. 1, 2023.
In the video, Miller also discussed the launch of two new Farmall N Series tractors — the 90N and 120N. Now consisting of five models, the newly styled Farmall N series tractor lineup has engines ranging from 74 to 119 horsepower.
Click here for more National Farm Machinery Show coverage.
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