When older farmers were asked what the greatest change or advance in farming occurred during their lifetime, they invariably replied that it was when electricity came to the farm. Chief advantage would be the mechanical milking machines, instead of the old tug-tug, pail and stool method.
The farm wife welcomed electricity powering all the household appliances: electric ovens, washing machines, electric irons, electric lights, mixers, and toasters. The whole family could now listen to radio and not buy expensive batteries. That would be in the early 1940s for most farmers in the lower half of Wisconsin. What about progress for the farmer, a man outstanding in his field? We’ll go with five top ones.
Gasoline tractor
The 1924 International Farmall general purpose gasoline tractor would be number One. Yes, there were tractors out there before 1924-big, slow, clunky, steam engines that needed tons of water plus fuel, such as wood and coal. The internal combustion engine came along in the 1890s. In 1892, John Froelich, in Clayton County, Iowa, paved the way for modern farming. He produced the first successful gasoline tractor that could go forward and backward. That’s one speed forward at about two miles-per-hour, and one even slower speed in reverse.
Grain binder
We’ll go with the grain binder as the number Two most important farm implement inventions. Prior to the binder, grain was cut with a scythe, hand-raked together, and tied into a bundle. It was slow laborious work, going back to Biblical times. There was a long series of incremental improvements stretching over decades, but credit Cyrus McCormick with the first successful reaper way back in the 1830s. But near perfection occurred right around the early 1890s. John Appleby, from Mazomanie, Wisconsin, invented the twine knotter. The McCormick Deering grain binder was a marvelous machine.
Threshing machine
The threshing machine occupies the number Three spot of inventions that changed agriculture. Oats, wheat, and rye kernels need to be separated from the stalk. Old method: cut the crop, bring it to a barn, spread it on a floor, and hand beat it with a flail or have it trampled by animals. That would knock off the kernels from the straw stalk, and the stalks would be raked off. The stuff on the floor was tossed into the air. The wind would blow the chaff and lighter material from the heavier grain, which would fall to the threshing floor.
A Scotsman, Andrew Meikle, is credited with inventing the first thresher in 1786. By the 1920s, steady improvements and innovations culminated in a reliable and efficient machine. The heart of the modern thresher is a cylinder, with sharp serrated bars rotating at about 500 rpm, the bars beat against a concave. The concave is curved to match the curve of the cylinder. The bars beat against the entire plant, knocking off the kernels, which fall through grated openings in the concave. The remaining straw and chaff are thrust toward the rear.
3-point hitch
The 3-point hitch comes in at number Four on my list of top farm implement inventions. Thank Harry Ferguson, from Ireland, with the 3-point hitch which came out in 1933. A farm machine, such as a plow, corn planter, or cultivator could be attached to the tractor with three movable arms, The two lower hitch lifting arms are hydraulically lifted and lowered. The upper center arm is movable but is usually not powered. Each arm has an attachment device to connect implements to the hitch.
Rubber tires
Number Five on the list is rubber tires on tractors and most all farm implements. Steel-lugged wheels did not provide a comfortable ride and limited the speed of the tractor. On some tractors the vibration was terrible, and the tractor was prone to digging itself into a hole in muddy or sandy soils.
In 1932, Harvey Firestone took an Allis-Chalmers U and fitted it with large low-pressure tires. Big success and by 1940, most tractors came with rubber tires, with an increase in gas savings and riding comfort.
Sources: Farm Collector magazine, American Tractor Museum,
Send questions and comments to: lscheckel@charter.net
