Find farming history books you'll love

John Deere New Generation Tractors

In August, 1960, thousands of enthusiastic on-lookers gathered to witness the long-awaited introduction of John Deere's new four-cylinder tractors. Presented in archival photographs and ads, as well as contemporary color photography, this volume presents an inside look at how the tractors were designed and conceived, and discusses the managerial strife that made the New Generation (1960-72) tractors possible. Includes coverage of features and options. Standard hardware, as well as rare options, for the 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 and Worldwide series tractors is covered in detail.

John Deere

To farmers the world over, there's no tractor like a John Deere. The history of Deere's development of the farm tractor and its fight to be number one in the business is a fascinating tale - told here in complete detail through extensive research and interviews with the designers, engineers, dealers, and farms that made Deere famous. Author Randy Leffingwell traveled across the country photographing tractors from New England to California, bringing together hundreds of stunning color photos along with rare archival images. The full line of Deere tractors are presented, from early experimental models to the Waterloo Boy, the Model D, the Johnny Poppers, modern four- and six-cylinder models, and everything in between. Packed with colorful stories, anecdotes, and never-before-seen illustrations, John Deere is the ultimate tribute to the legendary American tractors.

Farm and Ranch Business Management

Tilling the Soil: Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Vision in Your Family

In this engaging message, noted entrepreneur Joel Salatin shares his four-generation family story of entrepreneurship, sharing how his innovative father cast a vision for cultivating the Salatin family farm, an effort that has lead, by God's grace, to their farming enterprise becoming world-renowned as a model for pastured poultry. Drawing from his failures and successes, Salatin emphasizes that godly entrepreneurs must uphold a biblical code, as he shares important lessons from his family's journey that will help encourage and equip other families, whatever arena of business they pursue, to cultivate a long-term, entrepreneurial vision.

The Field Guide to John Deere Tractors

When you're "out in the field" scouting for John Deere tractors, don't forget to take along this first-ever full-color pocket guidebook to these popular tractors! This convenient, easy-to-use guide puts a wealth of information right into your hands! You'll find brief histories, model runs, specification details, and eye-catching color photographs of more than 500 models of John Deere tractors, from the two-cylinder series of 1892 to the latest multi-cylinder models.

John Deere Tractor Legacy

Not only is "The John Deere Tractor Legacy" published under license of Deere & Company, it is edited by the world's most respected and best known John Deere historian and expert--Don Macmillan--so readers know they can rely on its information. This comprehensive history of the man, his company, and his legacy includes a biography of John Deere, plus excerpts from the writings of Deere engineers and historians, such as Wayne Broehl, Harold Brock, and Orrin Miller. Images are from the Deere archives, as well as from noted tractor photographer Ralph W. Sanders. Readers will find never-before-published material in "The John Deere Tractor Legacy," including compelling accounts of the development of the Waterloo Boy, the Johnny Popper, and the New Generation tractors. Readers will also discover the importance of the work that Deere did for the U.S. Army in World War II and how it helped the company to become the number-one tractor manufacturer in the world. Coverage of plows, implements, combines, cars, snowmobiles, lawn and garden tractors, and bicycles is also included.

Patrick's Great Grass Adventure With Greg the Grass Farmer

In his first children's book, farmer-author Joel Salatin and his daughter Rachel team up on a whimsical tale about a pigeon, a farmer, and grass. This beautifully illustrated edu-tainment book introduces 4-7 year-olds to Greg the grass farmer through the eyes of Patrick Pigeon. What better way to discover ecology-enhancing grass farming than from an aerial view? Grass as crop, insect haven, and diversity blanket comes to life as Patrick Pigeon watches and reports on Greg the grass farmer's activities. Discovering a real farm from a real farmer through captivating explanation and illustration brings a local grass farm to life.

Hydraulics

Family Friendly Farming A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament

Saving the landscape, rebuilding entrepreneurial rural families, and protecting nutritious food are the themes of this timeless treatise-hence the word "testament." Delving into the soul of the Salatin family's nationally acclaimed Polyface Farm, author Joel Salatin offers <i>Family Friendly Farming</i> as the key to dealing with resource issues, food policy, and social fabric.<br><br>With humor and personal stories, he opens his family and farm convictions for all to see, share, and enjoy. Written from his unabashed "Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist" perspective, his ideas are guaranteed to encourage and challenge virtually every "ism" in the culture. It will captivate anyone passionate about healing the land, healing families, and healing the food supply.<br><br>For several decades young people have been leaving the family farm. The ones left behind are now responsible for society's greatest resources: clean land and clean food. Anyone dedicated to preserving these resources will find in these pages a nongovernmental, self-empowerment approach to environmentalism and food safety.<br><br>The heart of this book is aimed toward parents tired of their Dilbert cubicle at the end of the expressway who want to reconnect with their children through a pastoral lifestyle. It's written for anyone who yearns to grow old working with and being adored by value-sharing grandchildren and honored by passionate, productive adult children. <i>Family Friendly Farming</i> can make any family business more viable and any family more functional.<br><br>The ten-chapter section on how to get the kids to love the farm is an invaluable addition to any collection of child-rearing manuals. Salatin moves from the family team-building section into a practical discussion on how to increase income per acre and create new, white-collar salaries without buying more land, equipment, or buildings. He deals with the unique and thorny issues surrounding any family business by using his own multi-generational family farm experience as his base for insight and wisdom.

Great American Tractors: Big Green : John Deere Gp Tractors

This expansive book combines three of MBI's previous tractor histories into one value-priced volume covering all the great tractors built between 1914 and 1954. 330 illustrations, 243 in color.

John Deere A History of the Tractor

For over 150 years, John Deere & Company has set the bar for tractor design and ingenuity. Not only is it one of the most successful companies in American history, John Deere has revolutionized agriculture throughout the world and its green and gold logo has become a symbol of quality and durability over the decades. <p>Acclaimed author and photographer Randy Leffingwell uses his unique brand of storytelling to chronicle this amazing company and the machines that have carried its distinctive green and yellow livery. With details gathered from exclusive interviews and access to John Deere’s company archives, Leffingwell searched out collectors with restored tractors, or those in superb original condition, to illustrate his text with over 300 beautiful color photographs. Also throughout the book are a number of archival photographs and exclusive never-before-seen drawings and writings from the journals of Theo Brown, head of Deere’s Plow Works experimental division from 1916 to 1952, as well as other key figures in John Deere's history through the last century.</p> <p>For any fan of John Deere tractors or the history of farming in America, this officially-licensed book is a fantastic journey of an icon over 150 years in the making, now available in a quality trade paperback.<br></p>

Man with Farm Seeks Woman with Tractor The Best and Worst Personal Ads of All Time

We've all been there, whether searching the personals for a romantic connection or posting an ad in hopes of luring in a new friend. A great source of entertainment, many people skim through the personals section for a quick laugh, never questioning its origin or its interesting history. Personal ads began popping up sporadically in the eighteenth century and became common by the end of the nineteenth. Whole publications devoted to romantic and marriage-minded classifieds flourished around the turn of the last century. In the last half of the twentieth century, personal ads exploded in myriad publications from coy gay ads of the 1950s to colorful ads in the alternative presses of the 1970s. Today, more and more people are paying for a chance at love. From the best and the worst, the hopeful and the hopeless, the bitter and the sweet, the romantic and the lustful—never before has a collection like this been assembled from so many decades past. By including hundreds of funny and surprising personal ads from historical newspapers as well as modern Web sites, <i>Man with Farm</i> will entertain and inform.