The 1924 Fordson Tractor Man vs Machine An Original Ford Motor Company Film

[@GaryYff]

This is just like watching my grandpa, my dad and my uncle farming in the early twentieth century. They also went from horses to fordsons in the twenties.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Glad I could kindle up some memories! Thanks for watching!

[@terryeustice5399]

It was amazing what the men could do with just the PTO on the tractor. There was still plenty of hard work in farming with the tractor. But, made things easier. Thanks for the video Ken. 💯💕👍

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Couldn't agree more Terry! Thanks for commenting and for watching!

[@Cougracer67]

Fordsons didn't have a Power Take Off, just a belt pulley. All machinery was run with a flat belt.

[@jaminova_1969]

And to think this was 100 years ago! Thank You to Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company for making this promotional film so engaging!

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Yes, thanks to Ford for producing these educational films. Thanks for watching!

[@winnerscreed6767]

Good ol Fordson tractors, even with them farming was very hard work.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

You got that right! Thanks for watching!

[@neildelaney5199]

What a super film, of course there were a lot more Mr Browns than there were Mr Andersons , around back then, A farmer back here in England used a Fordson Standard Tractor well into the 1980s, although mainly trailer work, it was used every year to make the hay,,Many thanks

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Thanks so much for commenting and for watching!

[@cletusschaub4398]

Still use a ford today

[@Badhabit-cx1ch]

Poor brown,somehow i can relate to that guy. No matter though o.s.h.a found a time machine ,went to andersons farm and bankrupted him in fines.....this one is my favorite post,,many thanks!

[@kensmithgallery4432]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@SpockvsMcCoy]

In the year 1900, approximately 50 percent of all employed Americans worked in agriculture. Practically every operation in farming in 1900 was either done by hand (sometimes with basic tools) or with a horse/mule (team of horses/mules). When introduced, the 1917 Fordson tractor quickly dominated its competition in mechanized agriculture in the same way as the Model T dominated personal transportation. Henry started a price war in 1922 by significantly dropping the price of the Fordson tractor due to competition, thus increasing sales. It became cheaper for a farmer to plow with a single tractor than hire two men to control a team of eight horses to do the same job. Quality issues with the Fordson tractor included hard cold weather starting, engine heat directed towards the driver's seat, and a tendency to flip over backwards due to traction loss. However, the tractor (which was now powered by an internal combustion engine rather than pulled by animals or powered by steam) became one of the greatest breakthroughs in human civilization... because fewer workers could now produce a similar quantity of food.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

I so appreciate all these extra bits of information!

[@jeremydavis2595]

Very cool! Thanks for uploading.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lenscap8925]

And Brown, with a keen eye on value went to the tractor auction and picked up a second hand Advance- Rumely steam tractor and implements...and his grand kids still use it to this day. 😁

[@kensmithgallery4432]

You might be right! Thanks for watching!

[@anne-mariehenry2903]

Really enjoyed watching!!! The good old days 😮

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!

[@gentlegiants1974]

The unmentioned downside was that 5 years later all the farmers who bought on credit lost it all, and the farm. The cycle of buying ever newer equipment has been good business for the corporations. The cost of a team of horses then compared to now relative to tractors of similar capability is about the same. I have 2 teams and can combine them to pull anything those Fordsons could pull. I guess there are tradeoffs. I prefer to work at a human pace, yes I own 3 tractors and implements to go with them, but the teams use a lot less expensive diesel fuel at todays prices. I can grow oats and hay for pretty cheap, and if I need more horses I have 3 mares I could breed. I have the luxury of choice today, I use the horses to do what can be done without auxiliary power and the tractors for the rest. It saves me money not buying fuel just to rake hay, sow, cultivate, disc, roll, haul to the barn, and log, plus I enjoy it more working horses.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

That's a great point! Thanks for watching!

[@Cougracer67]

Why did farmers switch to tractors as soon as they could? First, a tractor did not eat up a good share of the crops! Horses ate a lot of oats, corn and hay! By buying a tractor the farmer had more crops to sell or feed to animals he could sell, thus more income. Second, tractors did not burn any fuel when parked during bad weather or during the winter, while horses had to be fed regardless! Next, tractors did not get tired and could run dawn to dark, even into the night with lights during harvest while horses had to rest overnight after 6-8 hours of work. In addition, tractors were safer (depending on the operator, of course)! Tractors never got spooked and ran away, tractors never kicked you if you startled them or if a horse fly bit them, a broken axle on a tractor was easily repaired but if a horse broke a leg it had to be shot and replaced.

[@geraldwilson1023]

A pretty healthy bankbook, about 12 thousand for Mr. Anderson. Then he buys a stake bed truck for $515.00, and 2 tractors and a plow. For a total of about $1500.00.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

That is a great point of view. Thanks for watching!

[@vernonslone8627]

Shows how people fought progress and change that made things better....Now you have farms with tractors that drive themselves by GPS....Nothing changes... Still that way today with EV;s....

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Thanks for watching!

[@Cougracer67]

The Fordson's heyday was brief! When other tractor companies saw the popularity of a small tractor like the Fordson they quickly improved on the idea with tractors like the Farmall Regular and the John Deere General Purpose. According to my Dad (a Minnesota farmer born in 1913) Fordsons were quickly replaced. At antique tractor shows he would tell me to compare drawbars between Fordsons and other tractors. Most old tractor drawbars had worn out, ovaled hitch pin holes from a lot of use, but most Fordsons had very little wear. Their worm drive rear axles howled and ran very hot. The driver's seat was right over the axle. By 1928 Ford had moved the Tractor factory to Ireland and converted the US factory to building Model A cars.

[@Cougracer67]

Forgot to add about the fenders on later Fordsons. They were there to prevent the tractor from tipping over backward. If the plow hit a large rock, the short Fordson would instantly rear up and fall backward, usually killing or maiming the operator. Notice that the fenders flared to the rear at the bottom. This was to catch the tractor when the front end came up and take weight off the rear wheels, giving the operator time to hit the clutch pedal.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

That is some great information! Thanks for sharing this!

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Again, thanks for the additional information! Thanks for watching!

[@stevewelker8519]

While the Fordson’s time May have been brief in the USA, (about 10 yrs from late 1917 to early 1928) almost 750,000 were built during this time. A record that still stands today for production of a tractor model. The design was revolutionary in 1917, as other tractors looked nothing like this at that time. Production moved to Ireland 1928 and then England in 1932 and were made in the same basic layout with some improvements until 1945. Almost 3 decades and close to a million tractors. Not necessarily brief overall. Also if you ever actually plowed with a Fordson, the plow striking a rock will NOT flip the tractor. In fact it pulls the front end down due to the hitch being below the rear axle centerline. Most Fordsons flipped when the plow was unhitched after the rear wheels dug holes and the inexperienced farmer tried to get it unstuck. The legacy of the Fordson is that tractors today over 100 yrs later are still built in the general style. No one makes a narrow front end tractor like a Farmall regular or John Deere A. Ford and his engineers had the design of a tractor pretty spot on! BTW, I own 10+ Fordsons across many years and actually use them for what they were intended. They are far better than a horse which they were intended to replace. Are they the best old tractor, NO. But they were the perfect combination of low cost, parts and dealer availability, good layout, lots of power, and simplicity of maintenance that made them THE tractor of the 1920s and put power on the American Farms.

[@timothykeith1367]

My grandfather had a Fordson and a 10-20

[@kensmithgallery4432]

That's awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@SpockvsMcCoy]

Farmer Anderson is living in 1924. Farmer Brown is living in 1904.

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Yep! Thanks for watching!

[@festerhairball6588]

Very entertaining video! Did you see the cost of the truck at 27:51? $515 which is $9,256 in 2024 dollars (per inflation calculator)

[@kensmithgallery4432]

That's pretty interesting! Thanks for watching!

[@2_dog_Restoration]

I noticed that every piece of farm machinery was converted horse draw machinery. Ford didn't sell much machinery. So If the farm convert his horse drawn machinery to use with the Fordson. Then he had more money to buy that second Fordson!!

[@kensmithgallery4432]

That's a pretty good possibility! Thanks for watching!

[@pierredecine1936]

Cool Film - Pathetic Music !

[@kensmithgallery4432]

Thanks for watching!