Find farming history books you'll love

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.

Getting Your Hands Dirty: How to Teach Your Children to Love Work

In this practical lecture, world-renowned entrepreneur Joel Salatin shares keen insights into getting your children to love work and to embrace your family s vision for entrepreneurship. Salatin explains that children tend to rise to the expectations set for them, and he encourages parents to integrate them into every aspect of the family business from the financial and business side, to the day-to-day implementation; to give them a personal stake in the process; to praise their successes; and to create a joyful atmosphere of family labor. Salatin offers great advice for parents to eliminate dawdling, cultivate persistence, and stimulate innovation in their children.

Farmall Model M Photo Archive : Photographs from the McCormick-International Harvester Company Collection

Includes rare photographs of the Farmall 3F and the M prototype.'

Pacesetters in Corporate Journalism International Harvester Magazines : Reaching Readers Through Photojournalism

Corporate journalists and editors looking for effective ways to connect with their audiences have a new resource. Pacesetters in Corporate Journalism, International Harvester Magazines--Reaching Readers through Photojournalism gives insight to the editorial philosophy of the International Harvester magazines and first-hand knowledge as to how they operated. Additionally, the book gives interesting behind the scenes information on stories selected from the magazines. The compelling, story-telling lessons learned by the International Harvester magazines are applicable to any media. Few corporate magazines connected with their readers like those produced by International Harvester in the 1950s and 1960s. With content that rivaled mainstream magazines like LIFE magazine, International Harvester World and IH Today took readers into the lives of International Harvester’s employees—from CEOs to factory workers, from behind the scenes at hard-nosed union negotiations to tender moments with employee loved ones. The magazines set standards for visual and corporate journalism. Under the direction of editors Gerald D. Hurley and Angus McDougall, International Harvester World and IH Today soon became pacesetters in corporate journalism. They became known for text that was tightly integrated with candid photography in clean, uncluttered layout. They set standards for visual journalism in their commitment to unbiased reporting.

Machinery Replacement Strategies

Equipment Life Potential; Factors Determining Net Unit Costs; Increasing Capacity Cost-Effectively; Comparing Replacement Alternatives; Tax Planning Strategies; Effect of Tax Bracket on Costs; Financing Machinery Replacements; Term Debt & Replacement Capacity Ratios; When to Trade; Break-Even Point for Ownership; How Many Machines to Own; Timeliness Costs. The software program is designed to work on DOS operating systems & requires 510 Kilobytes of free memory. Instructions for installing & operating the computer program are included in the paper book. Includes software to run your own machinery replacement analysis.

Farm and Ranch Business Management

Developed with the cooperation of the National FFA Farm Business Management Contest Committee, this book remains the definite text on managing a farm or ranch on sound business principles. An important key to the survival of the farm and ranch is good business management. The new breed of farmer and rancher that is emerging must know how to apply management principles to their operation in order to make the most profit. They must be able to compete and win in a highly volatile worldwide commodity marketplace. Being able to do so requires extensive knowledge of all aspects of the business. Until the First Edition of this book, a serious gap existed in the quest for this knowledge. In response, Deere & Company developed Farm and Ranch Business Management. This was and is a basic book that is the first word on the subject. The experts, as a practical guide for the agribusiness manager, wrote it. It explains in plain English the principles and techniques that every farmer and rancher must know.

The John Deere Moldboard Tractor Plow 1914 to 1960, the Two-Cylinder Era

Used to identify different plow models.

The Horse and Tractor Wars Letters and Lessons from an Old Horseman

Confined to a nursing home in Iowa in 1960, a time-worn horseman seeks to educate his grandson about the great transformation in American agriculture when horse power gave way to tractor power (1910-1950). Walt Decker spent nearly four decades as the chief national defender for the continued use of draft horses on the farm, especially Percherons. His grandson Jethro is a student in agricultural engineering at Iowa State University and does not understand the significance of the shift from equine power to tractor power. Grandfather Decker seeks to teach him with seven historical lessons that tell the story of this remarkable transformation as well details about the tractor wars that erupted after Henry Ford introduced his famous Fordson tractor in 1918. The historical lessons are nested in a series of letters from grandfather to grandson in which Walt Decker seeks to bridge the chasm of mistrust that exists between Jethro and himself. This is a work of history and historical fiction. It is enhanced by dozens of illustrations and archival images, along with a bibliography of suggested readings. Walt Decker has been loosely modeled after Wayne Dinsmore (1879-1966), longtime secretary of the Percheron Association of America and then the Horse and Mule Association of America.

Homestead Tsunami Good for Country, Critters, and Kids

<b>From his 66-year farm, food, and family experience, Joel Salatin explains why thousands of Americans are selling their urban homes, cashing out retirement funds, and heading to the country. The exodus is both a goodbye to one life and an embrace of another.</b><br><br>When society breaks down, people head away from the city. For food security, health, and satisfaction, homesteads offer a haven of hope and help when much seems hopeless and helpless.<br><br>While fear motivates people to change, only faith sustains. This book offers multiple reasons for modern homestead living. Some are:<br>• Secure, stable, safe food.<br>• Healthy, happy children.<br>• Superior immune function.<br>• Community and connections.<br>• Meaningful work.<br>• Creation stewardship immersion.<br><br>In his 16th book, Salatin offers the homestead why to those contemplating the jump, those trying to dissuade their friends from jumping, and those who regret having jumped. Despite its sweat and disappointments, homesteading offers incalculable benefits that feed the soul, soil, and spirit.<br><br><i>Homestead Tsunami</i> digs deep into the ethos of today’s best pension plan: living and learning proximate to people who know how to build things, repair, things and grow things. A better life awaits.

International Harvester Tractors

A historical chronicle of International Harvester tractors, from the very first tractor through the IH agriculture division's merger with Case in 1985. Hundreds of nostalgic photographs of Farmalls and other IH tractors, including the rare and unusual models. IH was the largest farm equipment manufacturer through the 1960s (a highly collectible era today) and is still the second most popular line of tractors today. This paperback re-issue of one of our best sellers is a complete single volume history of IH tractors and is loaded with photos from best-selling author and photographer Randy Leffingwell.

Tractors Fmo10104ncx

Why do you need this book? The answer is simple: operating a tractor (not just driving it) is not simple anymore. You probably learned how to drive a tractor at quite a young age. But the machines themselves keep getting more and more complex, so even operating them is no longer simple.

International Harvester, Mccormick, Navistar Milestones in the Company that Helped Build America

The passion for invention is a deeply ingrained part of American culture. In the decades after our independence, the new nation burst with names every schoolchild should learn: Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Samuel Morse-and above all, Cyrus McCormick. Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the first mechanical reaper, liberated the American farmer, and changed the course of history. Until 1831, when he marketed the first truly practical machine, grain was still harvested as it had been in the time of the Pharaohs. McCormick also pioneered modern sales and marketing techniques, and as the twentieth century dawned, his McCormick Harvesting Machine Company became International Harvester, an industrial powerhouse ranked with U.S. Steel and Standard Oil. Celebrating this year its 175th anniversary, McCormick's company, now Navistar International, has been a vital force in the American landscape, its tractors and trucks crucial to its industrial development. Milestones is the first fully illustrated history of the rich heritage of Navistar International, from its founding by Cyrus McCormick to its vitality today. This lavishly illustrated, oversized volume is packed with original photography, nostalgic advertising, fascinating detail and history, and American pride.

John Deere Snowmobiles Development, Production, Competition and Evolution, 1971-1983

<p> Long respected as a manufacturer of sturdy agricultural machinery, the John Deere Company began in the 1960s to build a line of consumer products in a dedicated factory in Horicon, Wisconsin. Starting with a lawn and garden tractor in 1963, Deere soon entered the fast-growing snowmobile market, introducing two models in 1971. The next 13 years would see a succession of models as Deere vied against tough competitors in a weather-dependent market.</p><p> This detailed history, written by two key participants in the snowmobile program, describes the development of John Deere snowmobiles from start to finish: the design and engineering decisions that shaped each important model; reception of the snowmobiles by consumers; the factory race teams; the introduction of front-engine and water-cooled models; the process of selecting engines and negotiating with suppliers, including when problems developed; and the snowmobiles' impact on product engineering. The text provides an inside view of Deere's Consumer Products Division at a time of rapid growth, and of the people and processes that made it all happen.</p>

The Deerings of International Harvester

This is the story of the Deering family which became one of the richest families in the US during the first half of the Twentieth Century. It is the story of William Deering who risked his already substantial fortune by investing in a small company in Illinois which was manufacturing a reaper for the farming industry in America. Deering's business ability and his willingness to take on risk resulted in his being the sole owner of the Deering Harvesting Company. His company was second only to the largest farm equipment manufacturer, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. The Deering family and the McCormick families, both located in the Chicago area, were major rivals and fierce competitors. In 1902 the J. P. Morgan organization was successful in merging the two, giant farm equipment manufactures into one company to be known as International Harvester. International Harvester became the fourth largest corporation in the US by 1909, and the Deering family owned approximately one-third of that company. You will see how the Deering family blended into management of this giant corporation, their accomplishments both within the company and most importantly their philanthropic and other endeavors. The story will be told of the huge mansions the Deerings built, the changing relationships between the McCormicks and the Deerings and the major philanthropic and charitable efforts they have and continue to support. When one learns the story of these two families, one also learns the story of the huge corporation named International Harvester. "The McCormicks of International Harvester" written by Ray Burhop, tells the story of the McCormick family. This book can be considered the companion to that book as it completes the story of the two families which were the catalyst and driving force in the creation of International Harvester Corporation.

Power Trains 5ED

In this book "power trains" is a broad term with the prime interest in transmissions used to transmit power on farm and industrial machines, especially those made by John Deere Co.

John Deere Tractors A History of the John Deere Farm Tractor