Horsepower on the Farm

Horsepower on the Farm takes us back to a specific four-decade period—from the 1910s to the 1940s—when farmers had to decide between continuing to rely on draft horses to provide power on the farm or replacing them with tractors. For many, the debate centered on one question: "Shall I sell one team on a four-horse farm and buy a tractor?" While on its face it is a simple question, it required farmers to weigh their individual options, calculating the cost and efficiency of using tractors versus continuing with their current team or teams of horses.

This question would be debated for decades. Traditional farmers remained firm in their belief that draft horses more than paid for their upkeep. Those early adopters of tractors thought otherwise, believing farm mechanization would win out over draft horses. Most would come to see tractors and draft horses working side by side in their fields during the transition.

It would be a slow but steady transition from draft horses powering the farm to tractors handling heavy agricultural work. The combination of unique historical photographs with detailed captions documents the use of draft horses in agriculture, the development of implements pulled by animals and machines, and the introduction of the first tractors to Indiana and other midwestern farms.