A Brief History of Farm Equipment

The last few centuries have been a time of massive change for farm equipment. Tools that were in use for hundreds if not thousands of years have been largely replaced by machines that do the same work in much less time with far less effort expended. Of course, that’s hardly a new pattern. Many of the tools that our modern balers, tractors, and harvesters have replaced were themselves replacements for more primitive hand tools. If you’re interested in a very abridged account of the history of farm equipment, this article from Enlow Tractor Auction can tell you more.

Early Years

The earliest days of agriculture were not easy. Without modern conveniences and technology, these earliest farmers relied on simple hand tools such as hows, plows, and sickles. While primitive by our standards, these tools allowed a laborer to perform far more work for the same amount of effort. There’s a reason that many of these early hand tools are still used to this day.  

Animal Labor 

The next big technological leap in farm equipment came in the form of animal domestication. Animals like draft horses and oxen could perform more work in a day than a small team of human laborers could perform in a whole week. While most modern farmers use tractors rather than animals, it can’t be overstated how much impact animal domestication had on agriculture. 

New Tools

Farmers encountered new challenges and either developed new tools or adapted existing ones to better suit their needs. This resulted in greater and greater complexity, culminating in the mowers, threshers, reapers, binders, planters, drills, and hay rakes that farmers use today. Mechanization replaced animal labor with machine labor, much like how animal labor had replaced human labor. 

Shop farm equipment at Enlow Tractor Auction. Our dealership in Tulsa, Oklahoma offers convenient access to communities like Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas.