Books by Kim Cole

Explore our curated list of farming and tractor history books.

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When Tractors Replaced Neighbors - One Farm's Story of the 1920s
When Tractors Replaced Neighbors - One Farm's Story of the 1920s

<p><b>You might think you know what life was like on an American farm in the early 1900s. But do you really?</b> <p>For generations, farming depended on shared labor. Threshing rings, borrowed teams, and hired hands made survival possible. In the early 1920s, that system began to crack. Gasoline tractors from Avery, Hart-Parr, International Harvester, Case, and Fordson promised independence and control. They also brought debt, breakdowns, and choices that could not be taken back. <p><i>When Tractors Replaced Neighbors</i> follows one Midwestern farmer as he risks everything on a machine meant to replace both horses and people. As the work changes, so do the relationships that once held the farm community together. The story traces the most disruptive change in agricultural history through the daily decisions of one farm family and the neighbors forced to adapt alongside them. <p>Based on real events, real machines, and careful historical research, this is a grounded story about work, risk, and the moment farming stopped being shared labor and became something done alone.</p>

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