For anyone who grew up on a farm, or spent summers at a grandparents’ or uncle’s farm, there is probably a fond memory of a particular tractor brand that sticks with them to this day.
Tapping into those fond memories can be a useful marketing tool for manufacturers. That has led nearly all manufacturers to occasionally resurrect a brand name or design influence from the corporate past, banking on this fond nostalgia to help generate sales of current equipment.
In the mid-1970s, International Harvester Corporation decided to drop the Farmall name from its tractor offerings. By then the differences between its model lines had become blurred, and the tractors carrying the Farmall name had lost their distinctiveness. So, IH executives pulled the plug on the name.
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But two decades ago, executives at today’s Case IH recognized the value in the name and chose to hang the Farmall moniker back on a line of utility tractors.
“In 2003, we brought the Farmall name back,” explains Joe Miller, tractor segment leader at Case IH.
“People asked what the tie is there. The tie is not everyone needs a Magnum or Steiger tractor, but in almost every application someone could benefit from a loader tractor, a utility tractor, a tractor with a mower to take care of the grounds. So, there is a tremendous amount of application that the Farmall segment serves. That’s why I think the Farmall (name) is uniquely fit into that 35- to 140-horsepower segment.”
In fact, the Farmall name is a good fit for what utility tractors are designed for. Original Farmalls were built to be capable of performing the complete range of farm duties back at a time when tractor designs were quite varied, and many models were suited only to specific tasks, hence the descriptive Farmall name.
“It was really meant to describe what the tractor did,” says Miller.
“If you go back 100 years, there wasn’t that more common architecture like when we think of tractors today. So, when the Farmall came out, it was set to really do everything. It could farm in all applications.”
Since 2003, the number of current tractors in the Case IH family with the Farmall name on their flanks has grown substantially. Miller says the heritage name does add value from a marketing perspective.
“I absolutely believe so,” he says. “When you talk to customers (about) the Farmall brand, when you talk to people who farm or are a generation or two off of the farm, they remember in their youth or formative years working with Farmall tractors that would have been on the farm at that time. So, there’s a connection to that brand.
“It’s no different than a few years ago we put the red ‘I’ back in Case IH, which is a strong tie to the International Harvester Company. Customers relate to that.”
Giveaway contest
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Farmall brand, and Case IH is planning to celebrate that milestone. It has launched a website, farmall100.com, that celebrates the brand and allows brand enthusiasts to interact with the company. One of the key events this year is the giveaway contest.
“We’ve started a giveaway program,” says Miller. “There is a 75C (tractor) we’re going to give away. We’ll be collecting registration for the giveaway. We’ll be collecting those through the year, culminating in the giveaway in October. It’s available to Canadian residents as well.”
People can enter the contest through the farmall100.com website.
Production Farmalls rolling off the assembly line this year will also get a unique anniversary decal, marking them as anniversary editions.
The company is still considering a number of potential celebration efforts, and will announce them as the year progresses. It also has a few historical examples of IH tractors that it may display at events this year.
“There are several units we own,” says Miller. “They’re in varying states. Some are in perfect condition, some have been test units, and some that are not in peak condition.
“On display right now at our Racine experience centre, our tractor plant in Racine, Wis., we do have a collection of tractors. We have the one we call Number One (the first Farmall built) sitting there, and we also have the last 5488, the last IH tractor to roll off the line. We have a 1586 that is in great original condition.
“I like to tell everybody you only turn 100 once, so it’s a fun time to celebrate. There’s a strong tie to the heritage here at Case IH and it’s something we’re proud of and we’re going to continue to highlight the Farmall name.”
Despite a nearly 30-year gap in production since the name first appeared, it looks like the Farmall name is once again here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. Case IH plans to continue building and expanding the line.
“We’re really looking forward to the next 100 years, and we have a lot of growth plans for the Farmall business, the small and medium size tractor business, to see it continue to grow,” says Miller.
