While Henry Ford was undoubtedly the leader of the era in the automobile business, he was also the son of a farmer and understood the potential of applying some automotive technology to the farming sector. His desire to manufacture a tractor was strong, but efforts to start tractor production were roadblocked by a board of directors that was well satisfied with the sales and profits from the Model T cars and weary of taking a chance on what was an unestablished industry.

One of Henry's first experimental tractors is on display in the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Mi. This tractor was finished in 1907 under the direction of chief engineer Joseph Galamb. It's interesting to note that the name "tractor" was never used for this machine, as the term was not common at that time. It was instead referred to as an "automobile plow," and used many parts from Ford cars in order to cut development and production costs. It would be a decade later before production would start on the first viable commercial tractor model, the Fordson Model F.

Despite opposition to his plans, Ford continued work on the tractor.  But as development proceeded, and it became clear that the Ford Motor Company directors were not at all willing to produce a tractor, Henry decided to form an independent company for his tractor business. In 1917 Henry Ford & Son (Fordson) was incorporated, with Henry Ford firmly in control of it's destiny.

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 gave the fledgling tractor industry a substantial boost.  Food was desperately needed to feed the soldiers, but a lot of the manpower that would normally be employed in crop production had been converted to soldiers. Mechanization and farm tractors were an answer to the problem. Tractors offered the power and efficiency to produce more food with fewer farmers. Ford had not invented the tractor,  just as he had not invented the car, but he designed and produced a tractor that was affordable to the masses and revolutionized the farming industry. The days of plows pulled by horses were numbered. Henry Ford & Son built the machine that would change the world of farming forever.

Fordson Model F 20 H.P., four cylinder engine delivered 10 H.P. on the drawbar 3 speed spur gear transmission Produced from 1917-1928 at Dearborn in America Produced from 1919-1922 at Cork, Ireland

In 1917 the Model F began rolling out of a plant in Dearborn, Michigan in limited quantities, and production was scaled up rapidly to meet the urgent need for tractors. Ford Limited for automobiles had been establish in England in 1911 so Ford already had a presence there and the British were also in need of tractors.  To fill that need, Fordson production was also begun in Cork, Ireland in 1917.  At the retail price of  $750, the Fordson enjoyed a large price advantage over its competitors and did very well. 

The Fordson was smaller than most of the tractors produced by other companies of the time. Other tractor manufacturers seemed to be operating under the belief that bigger is better. But the smaller Fordson design coupled with Henry's assembly line technology made his tractor easier to produce and more affordable. A key factor was that the engine, transmission, and axle housings were all bolted together to form the basic structure of the tractor eliminating the need for a conventional frame.  And as a result, there were fewer parts to manufacture and assemble and the tractor could be sold at a lower price.  Just as Ford had brought an affordable car to the world through assembly line mass production, the tractor was now also within the financial reach of many more farmers.  755,278 Fordson F's were produced in the 12 years it was manufactured.  And dozens of companies made add ons and conversions for Fordson tractors.

The Fordson F changed the way American farmers got their work done, but it had a reputation for poor reliability and starting problems.  Some farmers of the era claimed it could cost $1000 a year to keep one running.  And they were noted for tipping over backwards when pulling a heavy load, sometimes injuring and even killing the driver.

However, towards the second half of the 1920's, the agricultural market entered a slow down due to declining farm prices. So the decision was made to suspend production of Fordson farm tractors in early 1928. This move was partially reversed when strong demand for tractors by the Soviet Union and an urgent need for spare parts prompted Ford to reopen the Cork production facility. And Ford had now designed a new model that was to be built there, the Model N. The major change being an increase in horsepower which was achieved by increasing the cylinder bore diameter by 1/8 of an inch. All production of Ford tractors was now in Europe.

Fordson Model N 27.3 H.P., four cylinder engine delivered 13.6 H.P. on the drawbar Featured pressurized water pump All other specifications similar to Fordson F Produced from 1929-1932 at Cork, Ireland, until transferred to Dagenham, England Produced from 1933-1945 at Dagenham, England

It was during this period, from 1928-1939 that Fordsons lost their dominance of the American tractor market. The high cost of importing from Europe, (by then Ford had a tractor plant in Dagenham, England also), and the development of newer models by domestic competitors caused the Fordson U.S. market share to slip to barely five percent.  An attempt to improve sales with the launch of the Fordson All-Around, a rowcrop version of the N with a 3-wheel style arrangement was modestly successful in the British market, but met with almost no success in North America, where it was marketed as the Fordson Row Crop.

Fordson All-Around (a.k.a. Fordson Row Crop in U.S.) Modest revision of the Fordson N with tricycle style wheel arrangement Produced beginning in 1937 at Dagenham

The situation was unacceptable to Henry, who decided to retake the tractor industry for the Ford Motor Company. In the latter part of the 1930's, he started development work on a new model tractor that would replace the Fordson and could be economically mass produced for the American market. Early prototypes looked promising, but as development got underway, Harry Ferguson came to visit Henry Ford and brought with him a Ferguson-Brown tractor, which he was producing in England with David Brown. The performance of the tractor impressed Ford and the two came to a handshake agreement by which Ford would produce tractors using Ferguson's patents and Ferguson, in turn, would also market these machines as Fergusons. Ford engineers, using the Ferguson-Brown tractor as their model, and with the assistance of Harry Ferguson, developed the Ford 9N. The Fordson name and models would still be sold in Europe, but the Ford N-series would grow to dominance in America.

The 9N was a revolution in design when compared to the Fordson it replaced and a big success. Use of the Ferguson System for implement attachment and control was a great improvement over the straight drawbar of the old Fordsons or any other tractor being produced. The three point hitch allowed for the easy attachment and removal of implements and the system of draft control allowed for some regulation of how hard the 3 point hitch implement was pulling and a limited amount of depth control. The tractor was also quieter, more comfortable, more reliable and safer than the Fordsons, which all added to its popularity. And with the efficiency of mass production, the new Ford farm tractors were sold for $585 in 1939.  With a price like that and a very competitive product, Ford was soon back on top of the sales charts.

Ford 9N (a.k.a. Ford-Ferguson 9N) 23 H.P., 119.7 cubic inch displacement, 4 cylinder engine Featured standard rubber tires, electrical system w/starter, battery, generator, power takeoff, large capacity cartridge-type oil filter, and oil bath air cleaner with a cam driven distributor with integral coil as opposed to magneto ignition. It had a 3-speed transmission Produced from 1939-1943 at Dearborn, Michigan (until replaced by 2N due to war shortages)

The tractor would have been an even greater success were it not for the U.S. entry into the second world war in 1941.  Raw materials for production of tractors (and everything else)  became difficult to acquire due to war machinery material demands. So in 1942 Ford was forced to cease production of the 9N in favor of the 2N, a 9N that used materials that were not as scarce. Basically the same as the 9N, but with steel wheels and a magneto replacing the battery and generator.  Rubber and copper were particularly scarce commodities.

Ford 2N (a.k.a. Ford-Ferguson 2N) Featured steel wheels Generator and battery of 9N replaced by magneto All other specifications similar to Ford 9N Produced from 1942-1947 at Dearborn, Michigan Virtually all of the 2N's you will see today have rubber tires And a lot of them are painted with the later 8N paint scheme as are 9N's.

Meanwhile, in England, the Fordson still reigned as king of the tractor landscape, and much to the annoyance of Harry Ferguson, no plans were made to introduce farm tractors based on his system in that country. The Second World War had delayed most efforts at producing a new model, but work had began on designing a model to be produced after the war was over. And this new model had many of the design features of the original 1917 tractor that had launched Fordson into the tractor industry. Whereas the Ford 9N in the U.S. represented a major revision, the new tractor developed for the English market would be a less dramatic change and still be badged a Fordson. This upgrade resulted in the E27N Fordson Major which was enough of an improvement to continue the Ford hold on the British market. The primary differences in the new model was the availability of an optional diesel version, a sturdier structure, and the elimination of the inefficient worm wheel final drive. Land Utility, Row-Crop, Industrial, and Standard Agricultural versions of the new Fordson were available.

E27N Fordson Major 28.5 H.P., 1100 rpm 4 cylinder mixed fuel engine delivered 19 H.P. at the drawbar 45 H.P. Perkins P6 diesel engine also available Pulley and power takeoff optional Available in Land Utility, Row-Crop, Industrial, and Standard Agricultural versions Produced from 1945-1951 at Dagenham, England

Back in the States Henry's son Edsel died in 1943, prompting Henry Ford to come back as President of Ford. But due to his age, he was unable to keep up with running the company and in September of 1945 passed leadership to his grandson, Henry Ford II.   Henry Ford passed away in April 1947, at the age of 83. The man who had brought the automobile into the homes of average Americans, tractors to the average farmers, and who had pioneered the assembly line and the technology of mass production was gone. but his memory will be with us forever.

With Henry Ford's death, the handshake agreement between Ford and Ferguson collapsed. Henry Ford II disliked the lack of marketing control over the tractor business (since all marketing and distribution was handled by Ferguson in the original agreement) and soon announced that Ford would be establishing their own distribution and marketing company to distribute an improved version of the 9N. The decision to cut Ferguson out would be a very costly one, as he was now in a position to directly compete with Ford. But that would be a few years off, and Ford would be on top at least for awhile with the 8N, an improved version of the 9N/2N, and one of their best selling tractors ever with a total production run of 524,000 units.

Ford 8N 27 drawbar H.P. - 4 cylinder engine 4-speed transmission Position Control in addition to automatic depth control Improved brake system with both pedals on right side Improved steering New Hydraulic Touch Control Changes in hydraulic control system to attempt to avoid violating active Ferguson patents Produced from 1947-1952 at Dearborn, Michigan

The 8N was a refinement of the 9N/2N line and although a lot of the changes were not readily visible, improvements in the product were significant.  One of the most important upgrades was a four speed transmission that made the tractor more productive and flexible. The 3 point hitch Position Control System was also a big step forward in that it allowed implements to remain at the same height relative to the tractor, as opposed to the draft control on the original Ferguson system that allowed the depth to vary. But the Ford 8N still used a lot of the Ferguson System that was in the 9N/2N line, and this unauthorized use of the Ferguson patents was one of the main contentions in the Ferguson lawsuit. The lawsuit Ferguson filed after the termination of the handshake agreement, claimed damages for loss of sales because of the ending of the marketing agreement and because of the infringement of his patents, and went on to be one of the most lengthy and costly suits of its kind. The Ford 8N would have had a longer and still more successful run were it not for fierce competition from Ferguson's TO-30 and the lawsuit, which eventually forced Ford to have to design a totally new hydraulic control system to avoid using Ferguson's patents. In spite of that more than 500,000 8N's were produced and it is estimated that at least half are still in operation today.

 The new hydraulic system and other improvements including an overhead valve engine were incorporated in the new Ford NAA, often called the Jubilee. The Golden Jubilee logo was used to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ford Motor Company at the time of the NAA launch in 1953.

Ford NAA (a.k.a. Golden Jubilee) 31 H.P. 134 cubic inch, overhead valve 4 cylinder engine Changes to hydraulic control to conform to settlement of Ferguson lawsuit Optional live PTO All other specifications similar to Ford 8N Produced from 1953-1954 at Dearborn

But now the E27N was beginning to show its age back in England and Ferguson was on the rise with his TE line of tractors. The dominance that Ford had once enjoyed in the British market was gone. To combat declining sales, Ford Dagenham developed a new engine and tractor to be the successor to the Fordson Major. The engine was available in kerosine, gasoline and diesel versions. With many other  improvements, the Fordson New Major was introduced in 1952 and took the lead in the British market in diesel tractor sales. Diesel was popular in Europe because of the greater fuel efficiency of diesel engines, a key advantage in a market with high fuel prices.

Fordson New Major Featured a revolutionary new engine in gasoline-kerosene, gasoline, and diesel versions Diesel version most popular of the various engine types Compression ranged from 4:1 kerosene to 16:1 diesel for same basic block Produced from 1952-1958 at Dagenham

Henry Ford had a deeply held belief that one automobile, if made right, would be good enough for just about everyone. While this made mass production much easier and helped reduce costs, the Ford Motor Company would learn the hard way that one size does not fit all. The Model T was a great machine for its time, but could not be all things to all people. This is why the Ford car division had to break with Ford's philosophy of one basic model and match their competitors with a wide range of models targeted at a wide range of markets. But up until this time the old Ford philosophy had survived in the tractor division. In America, Ford sold one model of tractor targeted at the "average" farmer.  And in England the same strategy was followed. New models were introduced, but Ford offered only one model for sale any one time.

This practice of a simplified product line came to an end along with the NAA in 1954. That was the year Ford produced their last one model tractor and the 600 and 800 series with variations were launched. The 600 series was based on the NAA design and aimed at the small farm equipment market, while the 800 was more powerful and focused towards larger farming applications.

The 600 series used the proven 134 cubic inch engine from the NAA. The 640 was essentially the same tractor as the NAA, the 650 featured a new five speed transmission, and the 660 had a five speed transmission and a live PTO (power take off), a feature that had been optional on the NAA. The 800 series featured an improved 172 cubic inch version of the NAA engine, and came standard with the new five speed transmission. The 850 had an independent (engaged with a separate control) PTO, as opposed to the live (controlled by depressing the tractor clutch pedal farther) PTO of the 860.

Ford 600 Series Featured same engine as Ford NAA 640 nearly identical to NAA 650 featured five speed transmission 660 featured five speed transmission, live PTO (power takeoff) Ford 800 Series Featured an improved, 172 cubic inch engine New five speed transmission as standard 850 had dependent PTO 860 featured newer, live PTO Produced from 1954-1957 at Dearborn

Ford was now interested in pursuing more segments of the tractor market and this meant also having tricycle style tractors. If their competitors offered something, they would match it. Still working with the NAA as the basic design, Ford launched the 700 and 900 series with features similar to the 600 and 800, but with a three wheel design.

Ford 700 / 900 Series Features and configurations parallel to 600 / 800 Series Featured a three wheel tricycle design Produced from 1954-1957 at Dearborn

In 1957 Ford decided to spruce up the appearance and identification of their product line. The biggest change being the addition of a cross section of bars across the grille. All existing models were kept the same in terms of specifications, but the 1 suffix was added in place of the 0 at the end of each model. Also, the differences between the engine size of the 600 and 800 Series, now the 601 and 801 Series, was augmented by the addition of Workmaster, designating the smaller 134 cubic inch engine, and Powermaster, which had the larger 172 cubic inch design. Liquid petroleum gas was now also an option on all Ford tractors.

Ford 601 / 701 / 801 / 901 Series Features and configurations similar to 600 / 700 / 800 / 900 Series Minor changes to appearance, new grille look Produced from 1957-1962 at Dearborn

As development in America was marching forward with the 600-900 series and the new 601-901 line, England was moving ahead with revisions of their own. The Fordson New Major had been successful, but the tractor was large, and the lack of a small tractor for those with lesser needs was hurting Ford's position in Europe. To address this weakness in the product line, Ford developed the Dexta in 1957, which featured a Perkins three cylinder diesel engine.

Fordson Dexta Featured three cylinder Perkins diesel engine Targeted at the small farm equipment market Produced from 1957-1961 at Dagenham

The next year, the New Major was replaced with the Power Major. The Power Major, as the name suggests, had a more powerful version of the engine that had revolutionized the diesel tractor industry in Europe.

Fordson Power Major Featured a more powerful engine Diesel, gas, and distillate versions available Produced from 1958-1961 at Dagenham

Ford then rolled out upgraded versions of each of these tractors. The Super Major replaced the Power Major in 1961, and the Super Dexta replaced the Dexta in 1962. These two models would be the last of the Dagenham tractors, as production was shifted to nearby Basildon, England in 1964. They would also be the last separate British designs, as soon the Tractor Division would become unified world wide.

Fordson Super Major (a.k.a. Ford 5000 in America) Improved version of the Power Major Produced from 1961-1964 at Dagenham

Fordson Super Dexta (a.k.a. Ford 2000 Diesel in America) Improved version of the Dexta Produced from 1962-1964 at Dagenham

Also in 1962, Ford introduced the 2000 series to replace the 601, the 4000 line to replace the 801 series, and the 6000 as the top of the line, with a powerful six cylinder engine. The 6000 had a lot of issues, however, and Ford was forced to replace all of them due to mechanical problems. Making moves towards unification, the English Super Dexta was imported and sold in America as the Ford 2000 Diesel, and the Super Major was imported as the Ford 5000. In 1964, a plant was opened in Antwerp,  Belgium to provide more European production capacity. The world tractor line that Henry Ford had always favored was now a reality, with the same tractors being sold around the globe. The Ford Tractor Division was no longer separated into Ford and Fordson.

Ford 2000 Replacement for Ford  601 4 cylinder series produced from 1962 - 1965 Upgraded 3 cylinder series produced from 1965 - 1975

In 1965, the entire range from the 2000 to the 4000 was revamped, with a new three cylinder diesel engine. The 5000 was equipped with a four cylinder diesel, and the 6000 was renamed the Commander 6000 and significantly redesigned to fix the earlier problems. This tractor series continued expanding until it ranged from 2000 to 9000 in1975.

Commander 6000 Replacement for Ford 6000 Produced from late 1961-1967 in Highland Park, Mi.

Ford 9000 110 HP Turbocharged Ford Diesel Produced from 1970-1972 in Highland Park, Mi.

Ford TW series Replacements for Fords larger tractors Produced from 1979 -1990

A FW series ranging from 150 to 300 HP was also sold by Ford, but was built by Stieger and had Cummins rather than Ford engines.

Ford FW series Built by Steiger for Ford Produced from 1977 -1982

After 1982 when CaseIH purchased Steiger, Ford's large tractors were produced by Versatile. Versatile was founded in 1946, but only started producing tractors in 1966 and they were aquired by Ford 1987.

Ford Versatile 976 Built by Versatile in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Produced from 1988-1993

In 1986 Ford purchased New Holland from Sperry New Holland aquiring a very successful well established product line that included combines, haying equipment and skid steer loaders

New Holland Gas Engine

New Holland Rock Crusher

                               

New  Holland Wood Saw

New Holland Feed and Cob Mill

Early hand tie baler Required two extra men to operate. One to feed hay to plunger and another to tie.   Being pulled by a Fordson F

1946 New Holland Hay Baler Model 68 First successful self tie baler  Produced in New Holland, Pa. Started production in 1941

1947 New Holland Haybine Mower Conditioner Produced in New Holland, Pa. Started production in 1947

Clayson  M103 Combine 1958 - 1967

Clayson  1520 Combine

In 1974 Sperry New Holland introduced the first twin rotor combine and that technology is still used in much of todays grain harvesting equipment.
By this time they were the fith largest manufacturer of farm equipment in the US and quite profitable, making them attractive for aquisition.

Ford and New Holland 5610 4 Cyl Ford Diesel with 72 HP

New Holland had marketed a model 5610 tractor with it's nameplate  in 1982 (before the merger) , but under the name it was totally a Ford 5610.  But by 1990 New Holland was selling seven different tractor models that were also sold by Ford with only the name different.

In 1991 due to a weak tractor market and the need to focus more resources on its primary business of manufacturing cars and trucks, Ford sold its entire tractor division to Fiat with the agreement that they must stop using the Ford name by 2000.  Ford needed the cash for new product lines and for developing technology that would comply with environmental regulations.  In 1999, Fiat removed every bit of Ford identification from the blue tractors and renamed all of them "New Holland" announcing the end of the Ford/Fordson tractor era.

Fiat 702  - 1918 A large 30 HP tractor weighing 6000 lbs. and costing 5 times what the Fordson F did.. Manufactured in Italy

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