
Background and Technological Historyįarmers in 1900, whether engaged in growing wheat, corn, or cotton, raising livestock, producing dairy products, or combining a variety of these or other products, had only two sources of power aside from their own strength: steam engines and draft animals. Tracked units, also called crawler tractors, were common in California, and of course, dominated construction and other non-farm uses for tractors. The drawing shows a wheel-tractor, which comprised more than 95% of machines sold for farm use. Later models would feature an enclosed cab to keep the operator out of the weather, but this model features only simple controls and the metal seat. The machine is little more than an engine on wheels, with a seat for the operator and a hitch for pulling implements centered in the rear. The drawing below, taken from an undated John Deere operating manual, shows a typical general-purpose tractor from the period around 1940. The engine also provides energy for the electrical system, including the ignition system and lights, and for the most recent models, air conditioner, stereo system, and other creature comforts. Power from the engine can be transmitted to the implement being used through a power take-off (PTO) shaft or belt pulley. Direct ignition (diesel) and spark-driven engines are both found on tractors, just as with cars and light trucks. The heart of a farm tractor is a powerful internal combustion engine that drives the wheels to provide forward motion. In the provision of motive power, tractors were a replacement for human effort and that of draft animals, both of which are still used extensively in other parts of the world. Tractors can be used to pull a variety of farm implements for plowing, planting, cultivating, fertilizing, and harvesting crops, and can also be used for hauling materials and personal transportation. The tractor represents an important application of the internal combustion engine, rivaling the automobile and the truck in its economic impact.Ī tractor is basically a machine that provides machine power for performing agricultural tasks. Its development in the first half of the twentieth century fundamentally changed the nature of farm work, significantly altered the structure of rural America, and freed up millions of workers to be absorbed into the rapidly growing manufacturing and service sectors of the country. The farm tractor is one of the most important and easily recognizable technological components of modern agriculture in the United States. A hard snow in winter will require you to hook up the snow plows to get out of the lot.įarming USA 2 is the sequel to the popular Farming USA, but with 4 times the farming size!Ĭontrol over 115 different vehicles and equipment while you expand your farming experience.Economic History of Tractors in the United States

Watch the weather as rain and sun affects the growth and harvest of crops! Too much rain and your fields become muddy. Use the market to control cash-flow as you see real time fluctuations. On your off-time, head over to two logging forests where you can have a totally different experience as you cut down, haul and sell logs!


Purchase the Hog Barn and raise up to 2,000 pigs! Take ownership of a Dairy Farm to raise dairy cows and sell milk. Cattle can be raised by pasture (where you can breed your own cows with bulls) or feedlot (for faster growth). Play cross-platform multiplayer with your friends, lending them a hand on their farm.įeel the landscape as you roam in your tractor with realistic wheel physics! Grow and sell corn, wheat, barley, soybeans and hay. Plow, fertilize, plant and harvest your own crops on 9 different fields across 250 acres.
