Tractor Gathering Celebrates 100-Year IH Anniversary

Tractor Gathering Celebrates 100-Year IH Anniversary AG WORLD 26-3-24 It has been 100 years since competitors Cyrus McCormick, Charles Deering, and three smaller reaper manufacturers joined forces to create the International Harvester Company. A group of Nebraska IH collectors decided to celebrate the anniversary by getting 100 Farmall M's together at their annual spring plowing day in early April. Despite a valiant effort and publicity in some national farm tractor collectors magazines, Howard Raymond of the Heart of the Platte Collectors Association says they came up several tractors short of the mark. There were more than 100 IH tractors but only 40 to 50 were M's. "We had M's from central Kansas and Colorado, and one man brought his tractor more than 500 miles from Missouri in order to have it here," he says. And while they didn't make the goal, Raymond says no one was too disappointed. "There were plenty of Farmalls around that day." Another group of Nebraska collectors plans to try again later this year. Their goal, says organizer Larry Muller, is to have 100 Farmalls - not just M's - all plowing at once. The date and place for the plow day has yet to be set. It's usually in July following wheat harvest but due to moisture problems with the wheat crop, they may end up rescheduling for after row crop harvest later in the year. Says Muller, "We'd like to be able to have 100 Farmalls all together and get an aerial photo of them. We think it's a great way to pay tribute to the founders of the International Harvester Company." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Howard Raymond, Heart of the Platte Collectors Association, 45058 S Hwy 83, Box 33, Wellfleet, Neb. 69170 (ph 308 963-4465); or Larry Muller, 107 Washington Street, Hartwell, Neb. 68945 (ph 308 563-3231).

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