They are one of the most famous names in agricultural machinery. And with their distinctive green and yellow livery, John Deere tractors are a distinctive presence on farms and smallholdings across the world.
They are well-loved for their reliability and impressive performance – and with their long and distinguished history, it is no surprise. But how much do you know about John Deere tractors? To fill you in, here is Emmark UK’s brief history of John Deere.
Before tractor making: meet John Deere, blacksmith
The story of John Deere begins, of course, with the man of the same name. The original John Deere was an American entrepreneur and inventor who was born in Vermont in 1804.
His early days were spent in blacksmithing. It was a good, practical grounding for a man who was to become a pioneer in agricultural machinery.
In 1837, he headed to Illinois, in the American Mid West. There, he set up a new blacksmith’s shop and began working with local prairie farmers.
From them, he heard how they struggled with traditional ploughs that weren’t up to the job of breaking up the tough, sticky soil in the area. John Deere recognised straight away that he could improve on their wooden and cast iron ploughs, and experimented with a number of new steel designs.
His new ploughs were a huge success and by the mid 1840s he was producing them in large numbers. In the 1850s and 60s, the business grew into a family firm, with his son Charles Deere taking over the firm in 1858.
Deere & Co., agricultural machinery manufacturers
The late 1850s were a time of great financial instability in the US, but Deere & Company rode out the hard times through diversification.
So, as well as their revolutionary ploughs, the company also developed the Hawkeye Riding Cultivator, a ride-on implement for turning the soil.
This invention was notable because it featured the kind of innovation that John Deere has since become known for. In this case, it was a safety system for avoiding damage to the cultivator’s shovels.
The late 1860s and 70s were a time of real growth for the business. They began to establish a distributor network and also, in 1876, they registered the leaping deer as their official trademark. Today, it is one of the most famous and oldest marques in the industry.
Heading towards the end of the 19th century, the company diversifies further into corn planters, continues innovating new plough designs and even starts running an electric power plant. Finally, in 1886, John Deere dies.
The first tractors
Despite this, the company continues to grow, with Charles Deere staying at the helm until his own death in 1907. At this point, company sales now reached $61 million – not bad for a business started in a blacksmith’s shop!
In the early 1900s, the company produces everything from ploughs to planters and grain drills. But in 1918 they finally become a tractor manufacturer.
After they take over the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company they sell huge numbers of their new All-Wheel Drive Waterloo Boy Tractor. Sales grew over the next few years, despite a competitive market in the 1920s.
Building a loyal following
If there is one thing that is absolutely clear about John Deere, it is that they have developed an incredibly loyal following. Of course, much of this comes down to the quality and reliability of their products.
But it also has a lot to do with their close relationship with the farming community, and the trust and good faith they’ve built up over the years.
A classic example of how this has happened occurred during the Great Depression. Clearly, this was a devastating time for many farmers, who struggled to survive and stay in business.
So, to help out, John Deere extended the terms on machinery and tractors that they had already sold – resulting in a whopping 86% fall in sales between 1930 and 1932. Sales took a hit, but the farming community remembered the flexibility and generosity of the company when times were tough.
Financial difficulties continued throughout the 30s, but with the end of the Depression the company hit $100 million in sales in its 100th year.
The boom years
During the Second World War, John Deere supplied tractors to the military, including an adapted version of their Model “M” Tractor.
And with the big rebuild and more general economic recovery during the post-war years, these were times of real growth for the company. The 1950s saw innovations such as the No.8 Cotton Picker and the Model 45 Combine, which all helped America’s farmers to become more and more productive.
But this was also the time that John Deere began to be an international presence too, with a new factory opening in Mexico and the purchase of a Spanish manufacturer. Moving into the late 1950s, the company diversifies further, opening up an industrial equipment division.
Continuing innovation to today
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company’s relentless drive for innovation continued. They diversified into the domestic market with lawn and garden tractors – one of their most visible divisions today. They also introduced important safety features, such as the unique rollover bar to protect drivers.
From snowmobiles to lawnmowers, tree harvesters to cotton pickers, the company proved that its creativity doesn’t just begin and end with tractors.
In the 1990s, we also see the company developing many more agricultural innovations that help farmers around the world to become more productive. These include new ways of collecting and analysing crop data, on the job, from their latest range of combines.
In 2013, the company celebrated 175 years of innovation. And in the following year, the prestigious Smithsonian Museum named John Deere’s original plough design as one of the objects that changed the course of the USA’s history. A remarkable achievement for a company with such humble beginnings.
Here at Emmark UK, we have a wide range of quality parts to suit your John Deere agricultural equipment.
We’re always happy to talk through your needs – so give us a call on 0113 2552344, or email us at [email protected].