WHITE became the brand to watch in farming with a bold new name and style in the mid-1970’s. In issues 33, 34 and 35 of Oliver Heritage the Wide, Wide World of White has traced the development of the sister brands of Minneapolis-Moline, Cockshutt and Oliver as they formed White Farm Equipment. Starting with issue 37 of Oliver Heritage we will follow the White Farm Equipment story beyond Oliver into the late 1970’s, through the turbulent 1980’s, and into the 21st Century. White Farm Equipment began the second chapter in its farm equipment story in the years of 1974 and 1975.

We interrupt your normally scheduled article series of the Wide, Wide World of White to bring Oliver Heritage readers breaking news from the 21st Century on the legacy of the Oliver line that is taking place today at the AGCO Corporation. The Wide, Wide World of White will return to its regular schedule with the interesting story of White Motor Corporation and its involvement in the agriculture industry through Oliver and its sister brands as the company formed the WHITE Boss line of tractors, combines and implements in 1975. The 1975 WHITE story will be postponed until issue number 37 of Oliver Heritage. And now for the news................

The 8N Ford was introduced to the public July 9, 1947. It incorporated a hydraulically controlled 3-Point hitch with position control. The retail price at introduction was $1,095 fob Detroit, Michigan. This tractor was highly successful with over half a million models built through production and captured 19 percent of the US wheel tractor market. This had the attention of Oliver so they set out to build a utility model of their own to get a piece of that pie.

James Oliver made giant strides in 1868 when he received the first patent for his chilling process. Throughout his life, he continued to make improvements but none of them were huge steps in design. But when the Raydex points were introduced in 1939, it changed the way the world plowed.

Buying a tractor on Ebay is something I never thought I would do but in February of 2007 a listing appeared offering a 28-50 Hart-Parr. According to the serial number of 71620 it was a 1930 model, the last year they were built. The serial number tags read “Mfg. by the Oliver Farm Equipment Company, Charles City, Iowa.” The photo on the listing showed a tree growing up between the frame and the fuel tank and the engine was stuck. After a few emails to the seller I decided to bid on the tractor located in southeast Kansas. When the hammer fell I was the new owner of a 28-50.

The White Farm Equipment story began in November 1960 with the acquisition of Oliver Heritage readers’ favorite brand - Oliver. In issues #33 and #34 of Oliver Heritage we began tracing the corporate strategy of White Motors to market and produce three popular brands of farm equipment under the Oliver/Minneapolis-Moline/Cockshutt names. The keystone of the White Farm Equipment brands was the Oliver Farm Equipment Company and its vast line of tractors and machinery.

Farming in California is much different from anything we know about in the east of the Midwest. One of the biggest differences is the fact that in certain parts of California, everything needed to be irrigated if you expected to harvest a crop. Ditch irrigation was the most common way to get water to the right place in the fields. This required a completely level field for best and consistent results. After the leveling process was completed, irrigation ditches were laid out and dug.

Oliver had been widely known as an agricultural company even though industrial models were part of their lineup. Their industrial line began to pick up strength in the late 1940’s and early 50’s. Part of their strength came from a company located far from the Midwestern factories of Oliver. This company would join forces with Oliver and help them market equipment that is very collectible today. Like Oliver, the company is no longer around to savor the success of their product line.

Oliver began providing tractor for other company’s in the early 1930’s. These tractors would have the Cockshutt name on them and sold by Cockshutt dealers. This would be the only farm equipment manufacturer that Oliver would provide tractors for until 1959 after being approached by Massey Ferguson.