Report:

Tractors in Saskatchewan

            The topic that I researched is the History of tractors in Saskatchewan. In the report I'm going to talk about what types of tractors were first used for farming, and how they changed over the years.

            The first tractor was made in the early 1900's. These tractors were powered by steam and weren't very big and powerful. They didn't have sealed in cabs, and they had metal tires instead of rubber ones.

            John Deere is one of the companies that make tractors. There is also International, Ford, Caterpillar, Case, Massey, Ferguson, Minneapolis, and the only Canadian one, Hart/Parr Oliver. Oliver made their first tractor in 1928. The tractor companies have lots of different models of tractors.

            Before there were tractors, farmers had to work the land by hand. They had to use horses to pull their seeders, plows, and cultivators. It would take them hours to get their crops off.

            When tractors first came out, they were used mostly for agriculture. They were used to pull farm equipment like plows, cultivators, mowers, and sprayers. They were also used for pushing snow plows for snow removal.

             From the early 1900's to now, tractors have changed a lot. The earlier tractors were small and not very good for pulling anything because they were powered by steam. In the late 1900's, they put propane engines in tractors. In 1924, they finally came out rubber tires on mostly all of the tractors. In the 1950's, they came out with gasoline engines. Ford changed to gasoline engines in 1952. The 1950's and 1960's brought about four wheel drive. The newer tractors had bigger engines and could pull more. They also had the advantages of the big double tires on the front and on the back. Manufactures began to put radios and air conditioning inside the cabs.

              There are many tractor companies now, with tractors having many different uses. I learnt a lot about tractors and their history by doing this report.

Bibliography

Internet: Article 1       Date: 15/03/05

Site: http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com

Internet:            Date: March.11/05

Site: http://www.yesterdaystractors.com

Book: Tractors