Ford/Ferguson

Few stories in farm machinery are as dramatic—or as influential—as the Ford/Ferguson saga. It starts with Henry Ford’s mass-produced Fordson, pivots on Harry Ferguson’s three-point hitch and a famous handshake, and ends with a lawsuit, a split, and two product lines that reshaped global agriculture.

Fordson: mass production meets the farm (1917–1930s)

Henry Ford believed the tractor could liberate small farms just as the Model T liberated travel. In October 1917, Fordson production began; by 1920 the 100,000th Fordson was on the line, making it the first truly mass-produced, affordable tractor for ordinary growers. Production later moved to Ford’s Rouge complex (1921) as volumes grew.

Ferguson’s breakthrough: the three-point hitch

Across the Atlantic, Irish engineer Harry Ferguson spent the 1920s–30s perfecting a way to make tractor and implement act as one machine: a three-point linkage with hydraulic draft control. Early proof came on the 1933 “Black” tractor and then the Ferguson-Brown Model A (built with David Brown from 1936), the first production tractor with hydraulic lift for mounted tools. The geometry transferred plow forces into weight on the drive wheels, enabling lighter, safer, more efficient tractors—ideas that would become the industry standard.

The handshake and the 9N (1938–1942)

In 1938, Ferguson demonstrated his system to Henry Ford. The two men struck a handshake agreement: Ford would build tractors using the Ferguson System; Ferguson would provide the hitch, implements, and distribution. The result was the Ford-Ferguson 9N (1939), the first American tractor to combine a three-point hitch and PTO in a mass-market package. It was a revelation for row-crop farms, and it sold by the tens of thousands. Wartime material limits produced a lightly revised 2N (1942).

Ferguson goes global: TE-20 and TO-20 (1946–1951)

To meet postwar demand—and hedge against reliance on Ford—Ferguson set up parallel production. The TE-20 (“Tractor, England”) rolled out of the Banner Lane factory at Coventry in 1946; more than 500,000 “little grey Fergies” were built through 1956. In the U.S., the similar TO-20 (“Tractor, Overseas”) followed from 1948. Compact, frugal, and paired with a complete family of matched implements, the TE/TO line mechanized countless small farms and orchards.

The split: 8N and a courtroom battle (1947–1952)

After Henry Ford’s death, Henry Ford II ended the handshake arrangement. Ford launched the 8N in 1947—a substantially updated N-series with a 4-speed gearbox and improved hydraulics—while continuing to use a version of the three-point system. Ferguson sued for patent infringement; in 1952, the case settled for $9.25 million. The 8N, meanwhile, became one of North America’s most beloved tractors.

Two paths forward (1953 and after)

  • Ford marked its 50th anniversary with the NAA “Golden Jubilee” (1953), a clean-sheet successor featuring live hydraulics and a new overhead-valve engine, then moved into numbered 600/700/800 series models.

  • Ferguson merged with Massey-Harris in 1953, creating Massey-Harris-Ferguson—soon shortened to Massey Ferguson—which carried Ferguson’s hitch legacy into a global line.

Why the Ford/Ferguson era mattered

  1. Mass adoption: Fordson proved tractors could be built at car-scale volumes and prices, accelerating the shift away from horses.

  2. System thinking: Ferguson’s hitch + hydraulics + matched implements turned tractors into universal tool carriers—and the three-point linkage became the worldwide standard.

  3. User-friendly power: The 9N/2N/8N brought safe, simple, versatile mechanization to smaller farms, while the TE/TO series democratized the same concept around the world.

Quick timeline

  • 1917 – Fordson production begins; first mass-produced, lightweight tractor.

  • 1933–36 – Ferguson’s Black prototype and Ferguson-Brown Model A validate the three-point system.

  • 1938–39 – Ford–Ferguson handshake → 9N launch with Ferguson System.

  • 1946–56 – TE-20 built at Coventry (≈517,651 produced); TO-20 in the U.S.

  • 1947 – Ford introduces the 8N after the split.

  • 1952 – Ferguson v. Ford settles for $9.25M.

  • 1953 – Ford NAA “Golden Jubilee”; Ferguson merges with Massey-Harris → Massey Ferguson.