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State Historical Society of Iowa

Farmer Operating Corn Picker with John Deere Tractor, ca. 1945

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One adult male farmer sits on a John Deere tractor. Attached behind the tractor is a two-row corn picker on the farmer’s left, and an auger leading to a wagon full of ears of corn that is on the farmer’s right. The corn in the field is fully mature and ready to be harvested.
Courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa, ca. 1945

Description

While John Deere's original invention focused on plowing the land, Deere & Company expanded their product lines to include other parts of farming as well. Only four years after introducing their first John Deere brand tractor, the company introduced their first harvester, the John Deere No. 2. In this photograph, a farmer drives a John Deere tractor with a corn picker and wagon both attached to the tractor. This corn picker harvests the ear from the plant but does not shell the kernels from the cob. That is another step in the farmer's production before selling the corn.

Source-Dependent Questions

  • How many people does it take to operate this equipment? How does that impact a farmer financially? Compare this photograph to the image of "Field Workers Harvesting Sweet Corn."
  • How did the inventions that John Deere made impact the farmer in this photograph?