farmall Celebrates 100 Years

The Love of Farmall Tractors Builds Lasting Friendship

by Maddie Frost

Love for red tractors, collecting antique tractors, agriculture and more has bonded farmers across the United States. This love is intensified through the iconic Farmall model, which was introduced in 1923 as the all-purpose tractor designed to revolutionize the agricultural industry. Case IH is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Farmall tractor in 2023, and to remember the legacy, take a trip down memory lane.

International Harvester engineer Bert R. Benjamin had a vision for a tractor that could do it all and replace horses. His vision led to a revolutionary design that changed farming forever. The first Farmall prototype was handbuilt in 1923. The following year, the first Farmall tractor was built and sold for $950. By 1930, 200 Farmall tractors are rolling off the Rock Island, Illinois, production line every day.

In the 1930s, the iconic NO. 50 Motor Red and International Harvester branding began. This red color made its mark with Farmall tractors and continues to make its mark in agricultural history. In 1939, International Harvester, now operated as Case IH, introduced the secondgeneration Farmall tractor with the famous letter series, which includes small size tractors A and B, middlesized tractor H and large-sized tractor M. Before the last Farmall H tractor rolled off the line, more than 390,000 tractors were produced, making it one of the most popular row-crop tractor models in history.

In 1947, the Super Series made their appearance with the Super A, followed by the Super C in 1951, Super M in 1952 and the Super H in 1953. This series of tractors featured a quickconnect two-point hydraulic hitch system with implements to match. By 1954, the number system for Farmall is introduced, where Super A and Super

C tractors became 100 and 200 series tractors.

The Farmall 560 tractor is one of the most popular models sold after its release in the United States, while the Farmall 1206 tractor is the first row crop tractor with over 100 horsepower, making it arguably the world's most powerful and toughest all-purpose tractor of this era.

The Farmall 706 and 806 tractors make their debut in 1963. The 706 boasts a new transmission that has a four-speed main box and a twospeed range box, an optional torque amplifier (TA) that can move between gears without a clutch, power steering and a hydraulically actuated PTO. With all these upgrades, the 706 is an instant Farmall favorite.

The year 1974 was a big milestone for Farmall when the company produced their 5 millionth tractor, the Farmall 1066 Turbo, in Rock Island. Case IH is the first tractor manufacturer to officially produce past this threshold.

Production then slowed down drastically, but in 2003, Farmall picked up right where they left off and the Farmall tractor was brought back to life. A series of compact tractors were created to assist smaller farms and residential acreage. In 2012, the Farmall A, B and C series tractors were brought back to life. These tractors were equipped with modern technology to assist the needs of a new generation of farmers.

Now in 2023, Case IH is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Farmall tractor. More than 30 models, ranging from the compact series to the 100A series; the Farmall tractor is still designed to be versatile, powerful and productive.

Farmall’s rich history stretches far and wide, deeply rooted in their red color and various models. Those qualities brought these friends together, Sonny and Paul Stapleton from Weston, Georgia; Randy Bodine from Auburn, Alabama; and Hamilton Halford from Perry, Georgia. These friends, all from the Southeast, created a bond over antique tractor collecting. They met through what they referred to as a “disease.”

“That disease being a passion for tractor collecting, because once you start, you can’t stop,” Bodine says. “The only cure for the disease is to go buy another tractor.”

Sonny Stapleton, a retired farmer, is the perfect example of a Farmall collector. Stapleton has collected his tractors since the late '80s. The rest of the friend group then followed with their collection of tractors. Stapleton, Bodine and Halford all agree it isn’t about when they started collecting, rather when they first became involved with tractors.

Bodine, a seventh-generation farmer, recalls how his great grandfather made the transition from mule to tractor. His father then followed and Bodine was next in line. Bodine remembers his time on tractors from a very young age of seven. He spent time with his father planting crops and was inspired by his love for Farmall tractors.

The Bodine brothers started collecting tractors before they even realized they could be known as collectors. Bodine recalls visiting a tractor show 30 years ago and meeting some older men who had two or three tractors in the show and were known as collectors.

“Following the meeting we started talking about the collectors we met that only had a handful of tractors so based on the number of tractors we had at the time, we could also be collectors,” Bodine says. “Our collection has only grown through the years which now includes multiple antique tractors.”

Sonny Stapleton’s story is very similar. His love for tractors started at a very young age with a Farmall Regular tractor his father owned. Over the years Stapleton’s father purchased a Farmall A, which was a small-sized tractor, and a Farmall M, which was a large-sized tractor.

“I was crazy about tractors; all I wanted was to drive daddy’s tractors,” Sonny Stapleton says.

Halford’s love for Farmall tractors started early in his family tree, since his great-grandfather worked for Case IH in Chicago. In 2005, he even purchased a Farmall M, which was his first Farmall purchase. Although his love for tractors favored the green color, the love was still all the same for Farmall.

A passion for agriculture, tractors and the Farmall brand ran in the blood of these men and bonded their friendship. Their passion for preserving antique tractors has taken them across the United States.

Bodine has had the opportunity to drive one of the tractors from his collection across the five-mile Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.

Hamilton has been able to showcase his collection at events such as the Florida Flywheelers show, located in Fort Meade, Florida.

Through the years, Sonny and Paul Stapleton have displayed their antique tractors and peanut harvesting equipment at a demonstration in the early 2000s at their farm.

These men met due to preserving integral parts of agricultural history through their collection of antique tractors. No matter how far they travel or how long they are gone, their heart will always lie in their collections at home, and in the friendships they have made along the way.

For more information on the yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of Farmall and the contest details of a Farmall tractor, visit Farmall100.com.