How Did Tractor Manufacturer Lose 75-Percent Market Share?

LUBBOCK, TX – Over 100 years ago, against the backdrop of a world war and economic depression, three companies were battling for dominance on the farm and their efforts would lead to the revolutionization of farming in the United States.

Neil Dahlstrom, the author of “Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern Agriculture”, explains how the mass exodus of four million people leaving rural America for the cities had farmers at the turn of the twentieth century not only shorthanded but in an impossible position to feed and clothe the country.

Few may realize that Henry Ford actually had a 75 percent share of the tractor market in 1926, but due to increased competition and shrinking profits from the automobile sector, he had to abandon the farm and focus on the car.

Dahlstrom, who also serves as Manager of Archives and History at John Deere, says the new book can be found anywhere you buy books.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)