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Under the leadership of Cyrus McCormick and Charles Deering, the International Harvester Company was born from a merger between the McCormick Harvesting Machinery Company, Deering Harvester, and a few other companies in August 1902. In the coming decades, International Harvester began to compete with the Ford Motor Company in the tractor market.

In the 1910s and early ’20s, Bert Benjamin—one of International Harvester’s designers—began sizing up the competition and evaluating the weaknesses of Ford’s Fordson tractor. For one, the Fordson was too low to the ground, which prevented farmers from using it with corn and cotton after the crops were planted. Ford’s tractor was also difficult to maneuver...

With these flaws in mind, Benjamin designed International Harvester’s Farmall tractor, which was authorized for production in February 1924. The Farmall was a small, general-purpose tractor—the first of its kind to be successful.

Unlike Ford’s models, it had a high axle clearance. In an innovative twist, the Farmall had a tricycle-like design—two big wheels in the back and two small wheels right next to each other in the front. The Farmall also had automatic brakes on both back wheels, which could be operated separately. This feature, combined with the tricycle design, made the Farmall extremely maneuverable.

The Farmall also had a four-cylinder engine, with nine to 18 horsepower at 12000 rpm; the transmission had three speeds forward and one speed backward. The Farmall’s relatively small size made it effective for farmers with smaller farms. And from a stylistic standpoint, the Farmall was the first tractor to be produced in red, leading the transition away from what collectors today call the gray “unstyled tractors” of previous years.

To promote its product, International Harvester held competitions between the Farmall and the Fordson, which Farmall almost always won. In 1928, Ford threw in the towel and left International Harvester to dominate the tractor business.

Over the next several years, International Harvester released more models in its Farmall line. The original Farmall became the Farmall Regular, and the F-30 and F-20 were released in 1932. From 1932 to 1939, International Harvester manufactured 148,960 F-20s, a record at the time. These lines were followed by the letter series (A, B, C, H, and M, designed by Raymond Loewy) and then the hundred series.

Even as the Farmall line expanded, International Harvester produced accessories that were cross-compatible with all the Farmall models. One particularly handy accessory that helped the line gain and maintain popularity was the Quick Attach, a rapid-mounting system that allowed the farmer to quickly and easily adapt his tractor for a variety of purposes, like mowing a golf course.

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Recent News: Farmall Tractors

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Council hears junk vehicle report
Tri County News, February 7th

The city will be advertising for the sale of two older Farmall tractors. Bids are scheduled to be opened at the March 7 meeting. Ferguson informed the board of a recent meeting of the Heron Lake Development Corporation. They have been approached by a...Read more

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Patch.com, February 5th

So, we all climbed on board my dad's Farmall tractor, two kids hanging onto the wheel shields (Certainly wouldn't have met current child restraint standards!) and my Mom planting her feet on the draw bar. My mother also brought along a box that...Read more

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Louisville Courier-Journal, February 4th

Dear Lemme — Two or three months ago, I ordered a train set with a farm scene and tractors from the Bradford Exchange in Niles, Ill. I paid in full. I never received the order and had hoped to have received it for my grandson for Christmas...Read more

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Farm and Dairy, January 31st

It was a difficult search, he said, because so many of the model H tractors were too badly worn and it was hard to find one with decent sheet metal. The search for that Farmall H would turn out to be just the beginning. Hodgkins found one he liked,...Read more

Tractors for smaller farms
Farmers Guardian, January 31st

While Case IH continues to evolve its large tractors and combines, the company has also developed the Farmall tractor range to cater for the many users wanting something smaller. The latest U model tops out the Farmall range and adds to the A and C...Read more

Nebraska farmer shares tractor memories with basement full of toy tractors ...
The Republic, January 29th

He and his older brother, Jim, used wood and baling wire to build replicas of the 1952 Farmall Super M tractor his father owned. "I was 10 years old when I built that tractor," he said. "My older brother and I built our toys." The wood that eventually...Read more

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MAKING its UK debut at the show was Case IH's smallest and most basic tractor. The Farmall 55A rounds off the bottom-end of the Farmall series and is powered by a 55hp four-cylinder, turbocharged 2.2 litre engine. The cab-less machine features an eight...Read more

A legacy grows at Sullivan Farm
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Michael La Via cleans a 1948 Farmall tractor during preparations for the New Milford Youth Agency's festival at Sullivan Farm. Photo: Jason Rearick / The News-Times | Buy This Photo Ben Bayers, 16, left, Anthony Crespan, 17, center, and David Hunt, 24,...Read more

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