Paper 9: Trends in Tractor Developments

Abstract

This paper examines the size of the western world agricultural tractor market past, present, and future. Technical developments in the past have been largely to increase the efficiency of the tractor but other factors are gradually becoming more significant, such as reliability, serviceability, safety, ergonomics, and pollution. The tractor is a universal tool which permits the application of power to the soil when used with many varied implements, but specialized self-propelled equipment has made inroads into the tasks previously done by tractors. A study of the market in the U.S.A., however, does not indicate that the tractor market has been greatly affected by these machines which perform their specialized tasks more efficiently than tractors. Finally, it is suggested that a close examination of the present technology in various fields will provide the answers to future tractor design.