New Book “Tractor Wars – John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester and the Birth of American Agriculture”

Machinery Pete Podcast

Machinery Pete interviews Neil Dahlstrom, Manager of Archives and History for John Deere about his new book, “Tractor Wars – John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester and the Birth of American Agriculture.” Dahlstrom shares fascinating stories from the period 100+ years ago on the race for dominance and relevance in the burgeoning new American market for farm tractors. Pete also provides a recap of a November 6, 2021 farm retirement he filmed for his TV show in Keymar, MD….according to Pete “The Hottest Auction I’ve Seen in my 32 Years.”

• [:35] - Machinery Pete teases this episode’s interview
• [2:10] - McGrew Auction recap
• [7:46] - Interview with Neil Dahlstrom begins
• [10:17] - Early life, growing up near Deere archive building
• [13:04] - About the new book
• [15:03] - History of Ford, International Harvester and Deere Tractors
• [26:18] - Advent of the small tractor
• [36:58] - Tractor market in 1925
• [49:08] - Relating computer advancements to tractors and “what if?s”
• [53:12] - Where to buy the book
• [54:08] - Final words from Machinery Pete

Machinery Pete was founded in 1989 and has grown from its humble beginnings to a full-fledged marketplace for farming equipment. Greg Peterson, founder and host, has also released Machinery Pete content across platforms including YouTube with his long-running Machinery Pete TV show.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to the Machinery Pete Podcast in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.