For thousands of years, farming was driven by the muscle of either animals or humans. With the invention of the steam engine, industrialists brought steam power to farms. The inventions of the reaper and steel plow began a rush to mechanize farming. In the early 20th century, hundreds of companies were experimenting with vehicles to bring power farming to agriculture. By 1929, Deere, Ford and International Harvester were among the few dozen companies that remained, but the tractor form we recognize today had finally emerged and began rapidly replacing muscle as the primary source of power on the farm.

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   • Tractor Wars Preview