Down on the Farm - Art Gallery of Alberta

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramAgricultural MechanizationA plough is a farming tool used for the cultivationof soil in preparation for sowing seeds orplanting. Joseph Foljambe’s Rotherham plough of1730, while not the first iron plough, was the first ironplough to have any commercial success in Europe.The primary purpose of ploughing is to turn over theupper layer of the soil, bringing fresh nutrients to thesurface while at the same time burying weeds andprevious crops. It also aerates the soil, allowing itto hold moisture. Ploughs were originally pulled byoxen and later by horse or mules. In industrialisedcountries the first mechanical means of pulling aplow used steam power and later internal combustionpowered tractors.A farmer works the land with horses and plough.Steam powered plow engineTractors are used today commonly foragricultural purposes. They are largepowered vehicles that drive at slow speedsbut produce a lot of power. There arevarious agricultural implements that can betowed behind the tractor to do various jobson the farm. The most commmon use of theterm “tractor” is for the vehicles used on farmsthat are used for pulling or pushing agriculturalmachinery or trailers, for plowing, tilling, disking,harrowing, planting and similar tasks. A varietyof specialty farm tractors have been developedfor particular uses. These include “row crop”tractors with adjustable tread width to allow thetractor to pass down rows of corn, tomatoes orother crops without crushing the plants.“Wheatland” or “standard” tractors with non-adjustable fixed wheels and a lower centre of gravityare used for plowing and other heavy field work. “Utility” tractors are typically smaller with a lowcentre of gravity and short turning radius and used for general purpose around the farmstead.The earliest tractors, developed around 1850, were made of steam engines that drove amechanical belt. These steam-powered agricultural engines were used until the early 1900’swhen more reliable tractors were developed. The first gasoline powered tractor was built in 1892by John Froelich in Iowa, USA. Only two were sold, and this did not occur until 1911. Henry Fordwas the first to mass produce tractors when he introduced the Fordson in 1917. The Fordsonwas a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine tractor. While unpopular at first, thesegasoline powered machines began to catch on when they became smaller and more affordable.Ford Tractors began the widespread popularity of tractors and by the 1920’s tractors with agasoline powered internal combustion engine had become the norm. They were built in theU.S., Ireland, England and Russia and by 1923 Fordson had 77% of the U.S. market.AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479youraga.ca