To me the American farmer is symbolic of what being American is all about, and that is if you work hard and beleave in what your doing and in yourself, good things will reap of what you sow. I think most farmers from the past and today would tell you that their tractor has become a trusty friend, working side by side in what i would consider to be one of the toughest jobs in the world. With so much of the world depending on America for its food supply, the American farmer is not only responsible for putting food his/her table, but the worlds. I wanted to do a post on a tractor because like most men ive always loved most things mechanical, and im a pretty big ford guy. So it was only natural that my first post on the "American tractor" would be a ford. Henry ford grew up on a farm as a child, so i think he always considered himself to be a farmer even when he started the ford motor company in 1903. Ford tractors seemed alittle smaller than most tractors of the day, a fairly low center of gravity in a compact size. The model on this post is a model 8n ford tractor which was in production from July 1947-1952 until the jubilee model replaced it. To me the models 9n and 8n were the best looking American tractors around, and i think they still are. a brief history of the 8n model.....( source from the web site www.oldfordtractors.com).... The model 8n was an improvement from the previous model 9n in that it now included a higher horse power rating, an increase in the compression ratio, and a new 4 speed transmission among the other improvements made from the 9n model. the color of the 8n was also changed to a very bright red color on the lower half of the tractor, along with a lighter grey color on the top half. This color change resulted in the 8n being affectionately called "the redbelly". the model 8n and most of the ford tractors before it have long been in retirement doing double duty in parades or giving hay rides on the farm. But i have come across stories and pictures in my travels of these wonderful piece of american history, still being put to work on farms across this country today. Helping keep alive the American sprit 1 acre at a time.Do you have fond memorys of growing up on a farm, or using tractors, please tell us your story by posting it. ( story by Richard amish stories ) picture of the 8n tractor by larry wtul of flickr. and ford emblem photo by gparmer from flickr.
