The Midwestern United States has been home to many community and local “threshing shows” for a good number of years. However, interest in collecting and restoring vintage farm tractors did not begin to flourish until the 1980s. Individuals interested in vintage farm tractors began to form clubs and began holding annual demos for the general public. This, in turn, sparked even more interest and a more devoted following of vintage farm tractors and vintage farm equipment.
Each collector, of course, had their own special make or model of farm tractor that they were particularly interested in and they centered their collections around these makes. For example, a collector might be a devotee of Farmall tractors and only collect and restore vintage Farmall tractors. Another person may be interested only in Massey-Harris tractors or John Deere tractors. National organizations dedicated to the different makes of farm tractors began to evolve, that is, an organization dedicated only to John Deere collectors and an organization dedicated exclusively to collectors of vintage Ford tractors.
And, in turn, the first magazines and newsletters were devoted to a particular brand of the leading farm tractor builders. Consequently, Wild Harvest magazine was devoted to Massey-Harris tractors and farm equipment, Green and Two Cylinder magazines were devoted to John Deere tractors, and Red Power was devoted to International Harvester farm equipment. Neglected in vintage farm tractor magazines were equipment produced by the various smaller farm equipment companies. Also, no regular, formal clubs were created for lovers of farm tractors built by the smaller manufacturers.
No matter what make or model of tractor you are interested in, there are plenty of other people out there who are interested in the same thing and what better way to recapture a piece of your youth than to collect the farm tractor from your childhood.