Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
From 1929 through 1959, the tractor industry changed focus. Rather than pioneering the idea of bringing power farming to agriculture, companies started working toward making mechanized farming part of everyday life in rural America. Tractor makers fought for market supremacy as each company improved on the basic design.
The major manufacturers, International Harvester, Ford and John Deere, battled through the economic downturn of the Great Depression in the 1930s only to retool to support the war effort during World War II. By the time the 1950s rolled around, the leaders of all of the major tractor manufacturers were looking at how their designs fit into the equation of power and affordability.
Watch the next installment of Iowa PBS’s Tractor Wars series, Tractor Wars II.
We want to give a special thanks to J & L Videos who provided the Allis-Chalmers footage for this program.
From 1929 through 1959, the tractor industry changed focus. Rather than pioneering the idea of bringing power farming to agriculture, companies started working toward making mechanized farming part of everyday life in rural America. Tractor makers fought for market supremacy as each company improved on the basic design.
The major manufacturers, International Harvester, Ford and John Deere, battled through the economic downturn of the Great Depression in the 1930s only to retool to support the war effort during World War II. By the time the 1950s rolled around, the leaders of all of the major tractor manufacturers were looking at how their designs fit into the equation of power and affordability.
Watch the next installment of Iowa PBS’s Tractor Wars series, Tractor Wars II.
We want to give a special thanks to J & L Videos who provided the Allis-Chalmers footage for this program.
