Henry Ford’s mechanical interests went far beyond automobiles. Ford also built the American aircraft, the Ford Trimotor, and also initiated production of modern tractors. In fact, Ford remained a major player in the tractor sector until 1990, when it agreed to sell a controlling stake in its agricultural division to Fiat – although the Ford name continued to appear on tractors until 1999.
It all started with the 1907 Ford “car plow,” backed by a 24-horsepower four-cylinder engine, leftover parts from Ford Model B and Model K cars, and the rear wheels from a grain binder. But the impressive success of the Model T meant that Ford did not have time to focus on a production tractor until 1917, when Henry and his son Edsel collaborated on the Fordson Model F tractor. At that time, tractors were assembled by hand with custom parts and relied on steam power, making them expensive to purchase, difficult to repair, and difficult to maintain. But of course the Fordson tractor took the same mass-market approach, with interchangeable parts, as Henry’s famous cars.
Instead of steam, the original Fordson Model F tractors ran on kerosene (but could be modified to use gasoline). They quickly gained a following in Europe, as many farmers there had left to fight in World War I, and those who remained needed an affordable way to handle the workload.
Tracing the early history of Ford tractors
Despite this early success, Ford found itself in and out of the tractor market over the next few decades. Fordson tractors had moved from their original production site at the Henry Ford & Son plant in Dearborn, Michigan to Ford’s River Rouge, then the largest factory in the world, in 1921, and the brand built 75% of all U.S.-made tractors during the 1920s. But as the competition caught up and Ford prepared to launch the Model A car, the tractors went out of production in 1928 – at least in the United States. Fordson tractors would be built in Ireland and then England until the 1950s.
Ford was soon ready to introduce its next-generation tractor to the United States, and the Ford-Ferguson 9N became another game-changer. The Ferguson part of that equation was Harry Ferguson, an Irish engineer who invented an integral hydraulic three-point rear hitch that could lift heavy rear attachments – such as mowers and cultivators – off the ground using engine power rather than human effort. That was in 1936, and soon he and Henry Ford agreed to make the Ferguson hitch standard on a new line of Ford tractors launched in the US in 1939.
The 9N’s success was undoubtedly aided by a $585 price tag; at the time, typical Ford-Ferguson rivals cost about 33% more. Production of N-series tractors continued until 1952 and totaled almost 800,000 sales.
Blue Oval tractors from the Ford 6000 to a subsidiary of Fiat
After going their separate ways during the Fordson years, Ford’s American and British agricultural divisions were united in 1961 as the Ford Tractor Division. The same year saw the premiere of the groundbreaking Ford 6000, marking the beginning of the automaker’s new push towards tractor dominance. But what happened next may not surprise modern Ford watchers, who saw the company endure a record year of recalls in 2025: All original Ford 6000 tractors were eventually recalled due to issues such as powertrain issues and hydraulics issues.
Ford eventually got the 6000 sorted out, leading to a major product offensive that culminated with the Ford 9000 series. After debuting in 1969 with Ford’s first turbocharged tractor engine, a 401 cubic-inch six-cylinder diesel engine producing 131 horsepower and mated to an eight-speed manual or 16-speed powershift automatic, a Ford 9000 at the company’s Highland Park, Michigan plant became the 4 millionth tractor produced.
Ford’s modern tractor era continued through the 1970s and early 1980s, setting the stage for the final phase of its tractor business. In 1985, Ford bought Sperry’s farm equipment business from New Holland, with a history dating back to 1895. But just a few years later, in 1990, Ford agreed to essentially sell its tractor business to Fiat as part of a change in corporate direction to focus on the automotive sector.
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