Skip to main content

Agricultural & Biological

Slow Moving Vehicle Emblem
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Vehicles Era: 1960s DateCreated: 1963 Agricultural Engineering Building AE Columbus State: OH Zip: 43210 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/smv-28.aspx Creator: Harkness, Kenneth A.

Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) Emblem Makes Significant Contributions To Agricultural And Highway Safety Worldwide. 1961- 63 Developed By Kenneth A. Harkness, Department Of Agricultural Engineering On The Ohio State University Campus. 1964 Became An ASAE Standard 1968 Specified In National Uniform Vehicle Code 1971 First Asabe Standard Ratified By American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Became Occupation Safety And Health Act (OSHA) Regulation. Ohio Farm And Home Safety Committee Provided Leadership
In Achieving Acceptance Dedicated 1992

YearAdded:
1992
Image Credit: Public Domain Image Caption: Era_date_from:
Slotted Inlet Ventilation
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Storage Era: 1940-1949 DateCreated: 1948 Cornell University Columbus State: OH Zip: 43210 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/slotted-inlet-ventilation-37.aspx Creator: Millier, William F.

A Crucial Step In The Evolution Of Modern Animal Agriculture Was The Development Of Mechanical Ventilation Methods For Animal Housing. Air Inlets Are Pivotal To Good Ventilation. In 1948 William F. Millier, Working At Cornell University Under The Direction Of Professor Clesson Turner, Tested And Published The Concept Of The Slotted Inlet. Professor Turner And Others At Cornell University Subsequently Continued To Develop Slotted Inlet Systems And Systematize Design Methods.

YearAdded:
1988
Image Credit: Image Caption: Era_date_from:
Skid Steer Loader
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Mechanization Era: 1950-1959 DateCreated: 1957 Bonanzaville Historic Museum West Fargo State: ND Zip: 58078 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/skid-steer-loader-43.aspx Creator: Keller, Cyril and Louis

Brothers Cyril and Louis Keller designed and built the first small, lightweight, three-wheel, front-end loader in their machinist-blacksmith shop in Rothsay, Minnesota. A local farmer wanted to mechanize cleaning manure from his obstacle-filled, two-story turkey barn. The machine, first used in 1957, was able to turn completely around within its own length. Melroe Manufacturing Company, Gwinner, ND purchased the rights to the Keller loader and hired the Kellers to continue development of the loader in 1958.

YearAdded:
2004
Image Credit: Courtesy WikiCommons/Tennen-Gas (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: A modern skid steer loader, Toyota Jobsun 4SDK6 model Era_date_from:
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Era: 1880s DateCreated: 1885 John Deere Des Moines Works Ankeny State: IA Zip: 50023 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/shielded-snapping-rolls-for-corn-harvesting-36.aspx Creator:

In 1850, E. W. Quincy of Illinois patented an open-roll ear-snapping mechanism. A series of innovations led to corn heads for combines. Harvesting corn with corn pickers using open rolls on corn pickers after 1925 proved to be dangerous as farmers often needed to clear stalks from the rolls. In 1885, E. M. Aiken, Dawson, ND, patented shielded snapping rolls with flat plates above the rolls. C. K Shedd and E. V. Collins, Ames, IA, patented a more aggressive shielded snapping device in 1941 which was later used on sweet corn pickers.

YearAdded:
1998
Image Credit: Image Caption: Era_date_from:
Self-Leveling Control for Hillside Combine
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Mechanization Era: 1940s DateCreated: 1945 Hanson Industries Spokane Valley State: WA Zip: 99216 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/self-leveling-control-for-hillside-combine-50.aspx Creator: Hanson, Raymond A.

In 1941, near Palouse, Washington, Raymond A. Hanson conceived of a self-leveling mechanism for hillside combines. On the steep hills in the Pacific Northwest, leveling is necessary to save grain because of the gravity grain separation mechanism. Before the Hanson invention, manual leveling required a person to stand on the combine platform and adjust the machine to the lay of the land - a hot, tedious job. The grain-saving attributes of Hanson's invention were probably more important than the labor saving, although both were valuable.

YearAdded:
2008
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/Scoty6776 (CC BY 3.0) Image Caption: A 2011 AGCO Gleaner S77 Tritura combine demonstrates its hillside self-leveling technology Era_date_from:
Scoates Hall, TAM
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Education Era: DateCreated: Scoates Hall College Station State: TX Zip: 77840 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/scoates-hall-9.aspx Creator: Scoates, Daniels

Scoates Hall 1932 A Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering Named for Daniels Scoates Designer of this Building Professor and Head Department of Agricultural Engineering 1919 to 1939 Eleventh President of ASAE Teacher, Writer, Engineer Counselor to Youth, His Example Still Inspires. Dedicated by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 1978

YearAdded:
1978
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/Ronw526 (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Scoates Hall, part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. Era_date_from:
Rumely OilPull Tractor
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Era: 1910-1919 DateCreated: 1910 La Porte Hospital La Porte State: IN Zip: 46350 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/rumley-oilpull-42.aspx Creator:

The Rumely Companies, which operated in La Porte, Indiana, from 1853 to 1931, produced a variety of equipment including threshers and steam engines, which helped to change the nature of American and world agriculture. The revolutionary OilPull Tractor, which was introduced in 1910, used a unique carburetion system developed by John Secor, the Company's Chief Engineer. The OilPull tractor efficiently converted a low cost petroleum product to mechanical power, greatly reducing the need for animal and steam power on American farms. Dr.

YearAdded:
2003
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/BulldozerD11 (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Era_date_from:
Rubber Tractor Tires
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Vehicles Era: 1920-1929 DateCreated: 1926 Orange County Historical Society Orange State: VA Zip: 22960 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/rubber-tractor-tires-34.aspx Creator: Pounds, Hoyle, Allis-Chalmers Company, Roorda, Hessel

Early tractors were massive and expensive. Their steel lug wheels gave poor traction and a rough ride. Lugs were prohibited on many roads. 1926 Hoyle Pounds modified a Fordson tractor with zero pressure truck tires on special rims to improve performance on sandy soils in Winter Garden, FL.

A successful business resulted. In 1929 Hessel Roorda equipped Farmall tractors with low pressure rubber tires to pick corn in muddy fields near Rock Valley, IA. Farmers found they performed well in all conditions.

YearAdded:
1995
Image Credit: Image Caption: A modern rubber tractor tire Era_date_from:
Roll Over Protection Structure (ROPS)
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Vehicles Era: 1950-1959 DateCreated: 1956 John Deere Product Engineering Center Cedar Falls State: IA Zip: 50613 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/rops-21.aspx Creator:

The First Agricultural Tractor Roll-Over Protection Structure (Rops) In The USA Resulted From Research By Lloyd H. Lamouria, Ralph R. Parks And Coby Lorensen At The Agricultural Engineering Department Of The University Of California At Davis. It Was Designed And Successfully Tested In The Summer Of 1956. It Was Exhibited And Reported At The Annual Meeting Of The Pacific Coast Section Of The American Society Of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) In December 1956. Warren I. Hanson, Safety Coordinator, N.

YearAdded:
1986
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/BulldozerD11 (CC BY 3.0) Image Caption: Ford Tractor with fitted ROPS bar Era_date_from:
Rain Bird Impact Drive Sprinkler Head
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Era: 1930-1939 DateCreated: 1933 Rain Bird corporate office Azusa State: CA Zip: 91702 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/rain-bird-sprinkler-head-24.aspx Creator: Englehardt, Orton

The Rain Bird horizontal action impact drive sprinkler head was invented in 1933 by Orton Englehardt, a citrus grower and native of Glendora. The design offered slow rotation and uniform watering, benefits long sought by local irrigators. Clement M. LaFetra, a friend of Englehardt, urged early patent application. A patent was awarded on December 18, 1933. Englehardt, with no entrepreneurial aspirations, assigned all rights to LaFetra and his wife Mary Elizabeth. Production began in the LaFetra family barn on October 13, 1935.

YearAdded:
1990
Image Credit: Image Caption: Era_date_from:
Subscribe to Agricultural & Biological
Hume-Love Cutterbar and Reel

Near This Location In The 1930's James E. Love And Horace D. Hume Of Garfield, Washington, Invented The Flexible Floating Cutterbar And The Tined Pickup Reel To Harvest Low-Growing, Fragile Crops. These Devices Were Developed For The Local Crops Of Dry Peas And Lentils And Were Then…

Read More
Internal Combustion Tractor

In 1892, John H. Froehlich, Froehlich, IA, Mounted A Gasoline Fueled Internal Combustion Engine On A Traction Geared Frame And Used It To Power A Threshing Machine. A Change In Power Source Had Begun On North American Farms. In 1892, The Case Co., Racine, Wi, Built An Experimental Gas…

Read More

In 1926, Ives Hall, the original Agricultural Engineering Building at The Ohio State University, Columbus, was designated as ASAE's first engineering landmark in honor of department founder and 18th president of ASAE Fredrick Walter Ives. Frederick W. Ives 1884 - 1924.

Ives Hall was on…

Read More
John Deere Moldboard Plow

On this site in 1837 John Deere built the first successful self-scouring steel plow, thereby making a significant contribution to the development of American agriculture. Dedicated by American Society of Agricultural Engineers 1976

Laser Beam Automatic Grade-Control System

The first laser grade control was developed by agricultural engineers James Fouss and Norman Fausey of USDA's Agricultural Research Service at The Ohio State University in the mid-1960's. That system controlled the precise depth and grade of subsurface drains by regulating trenching and…

Read More
Luebben Round Baler

Luebben Hay Baler - Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering. In 1892, Hugh Luebben from Sutton, Nebraska, with sons Melchior and Ummo built a mobile machine to produce round hay bales between two sets of rotating flat belts. They began manufacturing the baler in 1909 in Beatrice…

Read More
Massey-Harris #20 Combine

Designated A Historic Landmark Of Agricultural Engineering The Massey-Harris No. 20 was the First Commercially- Successful Self-Propelled Combine Used to Harvest Small Grains Under a Wide Variety of Conditions, World-Wide. Engineered By Thomas Carroll, Chief Engineer, Aided by Robert…

Read More
Moore Hascall Combine

A Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering in 1834 Near the Village of Climax, Michigan, Hiram Moore and John Hascall Built and Put Into Practical Use the First Successful Grain Combined Harvester - Thresher Which was Patented June 28, 1836. This Achievement was a Significant…

Read More
Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

The First Official Nebraska Tractor Test was Started in this Building March 31, 1920. These Pioneer Tests Became Worldwide Standards and are Recognized by The American Society of Agricultural Engineers as an Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering. 1980

New Holland Baler

This machine is the world's first successful automatic pickup, self-tying hay baler. Its invention was a significant contribution to the development of American Agriculture. The baler was invented and hand-built in 1937 at Farmersville, Pa., a few miles from here. After testing and…

Read More
Noble Blade Cultivator

In the 1930's thousands of acres of land were rendered unproductive through wind erosion because of drought, tillage, and dust mulch farming practices. Charles S. Noble, of Nobleford, Alberta, invented a cultivator that sheared stubble and weeds below the ground surface, leaving residue on…

Read More
Once-Over Mechanical Harvesting of Cucumbers

The concept of once-over mechanical, as opposed to multiple-pick hand or experimental multiple-pick machine harvesting, represented a major break-through in the practice of producing vine fruit such as pickling cucumbers.  In the 1950s the cost of hand harvesting was as high as 50% of the…

Read More
Parshall Flume

Since the beginning of irrigated agriculture, it has been important to measure flows of irrigation water. Accuracy of early water measurement methods often suffered because of trash or sediment in the water, or unusual flow conditions. Ralph L. Parshall saw this problem when he began…

Read More
Pickup Forage Harvester

William J. Conroy Of Aylmer, Quebec, Received Patent No. 465,127 On The First Field Hay Chopper On 15 December, 1891. Its Sickle Cut The Crop, Which Was Elevated Directly Into A Cylindrical Curved-Bar Cutterhead. It Was Not Commercially Successful, But It Recognized The Need.

Read More
Pit Silo

Designated a Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering at Oakland Manor In 1876 Francis Morris Built Brick Silos in His Barn and Introduced the Practice of Making Corn Silage in the United States. His Further Experiments Developed the Use of Earthen Trenches and Thereby Significantly…

Read More
Pole Frame Buildings

Pole Frame Building Historic Landmark Of Agricultural Engineering - In the mid 1940's, "B G" Perkins of Doane Agricultural Service introduced a new pole-frame construction along the Missouri-Illinois border. This idea revolutionized the way barns were built. With pole-frame construction,…

Read More
Rain Bird Impact Drive Sprinkler Head

The Rain Bird horizontal action impact drive sprinkler head was invented in 1933 by Orton Englehardt, a citrus grower and native of Glendora. The design offered slow rotation and uniform watering, benefits long sought by local irrigators. Clement M. LaFetra, a friend of Englehardt, urged…

Read More
Roll Over Protection Structure (ROPS)

The First Agricultural Tractor Roll-Over Protection Structure (Rops) In The USA Resulted From Research By Lloyd H. Lamouria, Ralph R. Parks And Coby Lorensen At The Agricultural Engineering Department Of The University Of California At Davis. It Was Designed And Successfully Tested In The…

Read More
Rubber Tractor Tires

Early tractors were massive and expensive. Their steel lug wheels gave poor traction and a rough ride. Lugs were prohibited on many roads. 1926 Hoyle Pounds modified a Fordson tractor with zero pressure truck tires on special rims to improve performance on sandy soils in Winter…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support this 70-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.