Farmall turns 100

The much-loved Farmall tractor, which went through several naming changes, a world war and a revival by Case IH in 2003, is turning a century old in 2023.

Major historical milestones for the Farmall include:

1923: International Harvester engineer Bert R. Benjamin designs the first Farmall prototype

1931: The F series is presented for farmers with more acreage

1939: Second-generation Farmall designed by Raymond Loewy

1941: Farmall introduces the world’s first diesel row crop tractor

1947: The 1,000,000th Farmall rolls off the line

1958: The most popular tractor in the US, the Farmall 560, is introduced

1965: Farmall is the first 2WD row crop tractor to exceed 100hp

1974: Case IH sells its 5,000,000th Farmall – the first tractor to ever reach that number

2003: Case IH continues to expand the line-up of products spanning from 31 to 105hp

The legacy of Farmall continues today with more than 30 models to choose from, and this iconic tractor series will continue to evolve alongside the customers who made this milestone possible.

“The Farmall is a much-loved tractor right around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, where it fulfills a range of tasks in so many different farming operations,” said Seamus McCarthy, Case IH Australia/New Zealand Product Manager for Mid Horsepower & Compact Tractors.

“Whether it’s a utility tractor for a broadacre operation, or the principal tractor for a small horticulture business, it’s importance and relevance across so many decades is really unmatched for any other tractor model.”

Its history and significance also makes it a highly collectible piece of farm machinery, with hundreds of Farmall collectors across Australia and New Zealand.

This year’s celebrations is a chance for the brand, Farmall owners, and collectors of the iconic tractor to celebrate the long history of the machine, and honour its place in the advancement of agriculture around the world.

Tom Horwood, based in Inverell, NSW, runs Rural Wrecking Co Pty Ltd, a tractor buying, dismantling and spare parts specialty business, but in what spare time he has, he’s also a passionate Farmall collector, and has been for the past 40 years.

Tom said his passion began as a teenager when he started a mechanic apprenticeship with Inverell Harvester, the local International dealer, with his work bringing him into contact with a lot of International tractors, including the Farmall. His interest in the International brand was ignited, and in his twenties he started his tractor collection.

“I worked on a lot of Farmalls during those years and just developed a real fascination for them. They have such a rich history, so when I started to collect tractors, they were high on my list. Collecting them just gets into your blood and I won’t be stopping any time soon,” he said.

Tom now has a collection of tractors – of all brands – that numbers in the hundreds at the family farm at Inverell, from where he runs his business. He has many old Farmalls, 40 of them in working order, with his oldest a Farmall Regular from the late 1920s.

His collection will feature as part of a centenary event Case IH is holding in Inverell later this year to celebrate the Farmall’s special milestone.