Ferguson agricultural tractors: books - history

The Ferguson Tractor Story

The little grey Fergie is Britain's best-loved tractor, the light user-friendly machine that finally replaced the horse on farms. The appeal of the Fergie lay in its lightness and utility, and also in the system of mechanized farming of which it was a part.

This highly illustrated account covers the full history of Harry Ferguson's tractor products from his pioneering work before the 1930s to the merger with Massey in 1957. The author has had access to fresh archive material and has interviewed many of the surviving men who were associated with Ferguson.
Throughout the book, reference is made to the implements which lay at the heart of the Ferguson system.

Ferguson TE-20 Tractor

In 1917, Harry Ferguson developed a method of attaching a wheelless plough to a tractor to reduce the dangers of the machine overturning. By 1925, the plough was in production in the USA and Ferguson set about developing equipment that would effectively integrate the implement and the tractor.
Ferguson teamed up with David Brown to produce the Ferguson-Brown Type A but sales did not meet Harry's expectations.

Following a demonstration of the Ferguson-Brown tractor to Henry Ford, agreement was reached with the Ford Motor Company in the USA to build an improved version of the tractor there. It was launched in 1939 as the Ford-Ferguson 9N.

When Ford terminated this arrangement Ferguson entered an agreement with the Standard Motor Company to bring production of what was now described as the Ferguson TE-20 to Britain. The first were built in 1946 and over the next ten years more than 793,000 examplers were produced in Britain, France and the USA.
With its revolutionary three-point hydraulic linkage, Ferguson had always seen his tractor as part of a complete farming system and by the time the TE-20 was superseded by the FE-35 in 1956, there were more than 100 Ferguson implements designed specifically to couple to the tractor.

This is an enlarged and expanded edition, with many new pictures of the comprehensive history of the TE-20 and the Ferguson System which helped to mechanise and revolutionise farming across the world.
Today, with classic tractors a thriving hobby, few machines are more sought after than the TE-20. The book is also a reliable reference guide to finding, restoring and operating the 'little grey Fergie' some 75 years since the first example was produced.

Ferguson TE20 in Detail

One of the world's best-loved farm tractors, the Ferguson T20 was built in huge numbers across the world. Harry Ferguson was a remarkable inventor and a man of vision and he is best remembered for the small unobtrusive grey tractor that bears his name. Launched in the 1940s, it rendered its competitors obsolete and provided farmers worldwide with a tool that could meet almost all their requirements.

This book charts its development and evolution, including the US- and French-built models, special purpose versions and industrial types. Over 500,000 Ferguson T2s were sold all over the world. It replaced the horse on many post-war farms.

This book, by a renowned expert of the marque, includes many unpublished facts and photographs. It contains an extensive study of the extraordinary range of implements available, with additional information on tractor options and accessories.

Tracteur Ferguson TE-20, TO-20, TO-30, TO-35, FF-30

Ferguson Advertising - With over 250 advertisements from period journals

This book brings together a wide selection of Ferguson advertisements published in journals and magazines in both the UK and the USA, from the days of the Ferguson Brown tractor through the Ford Ferguson, TE20, TO20, TO30, TO35 and Ferguson FE35 to the Ferguson 40, the last of the line prior to the introduction of the Massey-Ferguson MF35. Implements and farm equipment made for Fergusons are also covered.

Author John Farnworth is well known through his previous publications, and here he studies a subject that has a broad appeal to tractor enthusiasts and to the army of collectors of Ferguson memorabilia, while at the same time providing an overview of the life and times of the Ferguson brand. More than 250 advertisements are reproduced in the book.