Introduction

A farmer plows a field with a team of draft horses.

From 1920 to 1930, many York County farmers changed from horses to tractors. In the early 1920s, most Nebraska farmers used horses or mules to pull machines that plowed the soil, planted seeds, and harvested a crop. Picking corn and other harvest tasks were done by hand, but machines were used to shell the corn and thresh grain (mechanically separate the wheat or oat kernels from the straw).

See a comparison between the work that horses can do plowing a field compared to succeeding generations of tractors in this interactive movie feature.

	Herbert Heine remembers when his father switched from horses to a tractor. Watch This Video (Quicktime required)

Sometimes neighboring farmers pooled their funds to buy a big piece of equipment together and spread the cost. Other times, one owner would rent his threshing machine out, moving the machine from farm to farm, charging a fee to thresh the grain. Although steam- and gasoline-powered tractors had been available for several years, few farmers wanted or could afford these big, heavy machines in the early 1920s. A smaller, lighter tractor had been developed by 1926. By 1930, most Nebraska farmers had traded their horses for tractors. By using tractors, farmers could plow, plant, and harvest more acres with fewer workers.

An early steam-powered tractor.

	Harvey Pickrel talks about some difficulties in adapting to the new tractors. Watch This Video (Quicktime required)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that it took 40-50 labor hours to produce 100 bushels of wheat on five acres with a gang plow, seeder, harrow, binder, thresher, wagons, and horses in the 1890s. By 1930, it took 15-20 labor hours to produce 100 bushels of wheat on 5 acres with a three-bottom gang plow, tractor, 10-foot tandem disk, harrow, 12-foot combine, and trucks.

For corn, it took 35-40 labor hours in 1890 to produce 100 bushels on 2.5 acres with a two-bottom gang plow, disk and peg-tooth harrow, and 2-row planter. By the end of the 1920s, it took 15-20 labor hours to produce 100 bushels of corn on 2.5 acres with a 2-bottom gang plow, seven-foot tandem disk, four-section harrow, two-row planters, cultivators, and pickers.

Written by Claudia Reinhardt.