Iowa History 101: The Tractor Wars in Iowa

Join the State Historical Society of Iowa for an online learning series that focuses on the past lives of Iowans to help commemorate the 175th anniversary of Iowa. In this week's webinar, titled "The Tractor Wars in Iowa," Neil Dahlstrom, author of the book Tractor Wars, spoke about Iowa’s role in the birth of the farm tractor. In only ten years, from the farm tractor introduction in the early 20th century, more than 160 competitors emerged, working to outbuild and outsell each other while convincing farmers that power farming was a profitable replacement for horses.

[dahsuerk]

I watched the program hoping they would mention the Nebraska Tractor Testing Laboratory. Started at the University of Nebraska in 1919 all tractors sold in Nebraska had to be tested to determine if they had the power they were supposed to have. Even though it was met for the state of Nebraska, all tractor water the approval from the University of Nebraska to show farmers it was what it was advertised as. jcb