Used Farm Equipment

Farm equipment is used on many different sizes of agricultural property, from the small community farmer to larger national and international farming operations. Purchasing used farm equipment can help save operating costs and increase profits. Sometimes equipment is available locally, but specialized used parts may only be available through mail order and online sales venues.

1. Use of farm equipment dates back hundreds of yearsAg Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
2. Thomas Jefferson designed and tested a specialized plow in 1794Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
3. Interchangeable parts plow patented by Joseph Wood in 1819Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
4. John Deere began manufacture of steel plows in 1837Ag Classroom: A History of American AgricultureAg Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
5. First grain elevator appeared in Buffalo, New York in 1842Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
6. Commercial fertilizers introduced in 1849Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
7. Barbed wire patented in 1874, ending era of open rangelandAg Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
8. First gasoline powered tractor produced in 1892 by John FroelichAg Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
9. First agricultural revolution defined as change from hand power to horses (c. 1862-1875)Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
10. Second agricultural revolution defined as change from horses to tractors (c. 1945-1970)Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture
11. Tractors used on farms exceed horses for the first time in 1954Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture

The introduction of various types of farm equipment over the past few centuries has improved the productivity and yield of the modern farm tremendously. Before the implementation of any modern methods, it could take up to 300 man-hours to produce and harvest five acres (approximately 100 bushels) of wheat. By the 1890s many farm implements were in use along with the working power of the horse. These methods reduced the man-hours needed to produce 100 bushels of wheat to 50. After World War II and following many advancements in technology, the same 100 bushels of wheat could be produced on only three acres of land by five man-hours of labor. Today, with the most modern farming methods and equipment, a farmer can produce 100 bushels of wheat on three acres with three man-hours total. It is estimated that the average farmer produces enough food for 100 people a year.Ag Classroom: A History of American Agriculture