In early 1800s, portable engines were first farm engines that were powered. These were steam engines using wheels that helped in driving mechanical farm machinery using a flexible belt. From these, the first traction engines developed around 1850. They were readily adopted for use in agriculture.

This word “tractor” is an agent noun of a Latin word trahere which literally means “to pull”. It was 1901 that the use of term “tractor” as used and it replaced the term that was used until then: traction engine (1859).

In Germany, Spain, Ireland, Argentina, Australia, India and Britain, tractor implies farm tractor, generally speaking. However, in Canada and US, it may additionally refer to the tractor’s trailer.

The origin of the name tractor is Latin. It is the agent noun for trahere which means “to pull”. Its use was firstly recorded in 1901 as “a vehicle or engine used for pulling ploughs or wagons”. It displaced the term used earlier called “traction engine” (1859). In Australia, Argentina, India, Ireland, Britain, Germany and Spain, the word or name “tractor” is a term that implies “farm tractor”.

If you talk about the first tractor engines, then they were ploughing engines that were powered by steam. Using a cable wire, a pair of these tractor engines were used for hauling a plough between them, back and forth across the field. In US, the condition of soils often permitted a direct-haul plough using a steam engine. However, in the UK and other places used ploughing engines that resulted in cable-hauled ploughing.

It was well into 20th century that agricultural engines powered by steam were used, before being replaced by engines with internal combustion that tended to be more reliable.

Now its time to have a look at the great range of used farm tractors for sale which also includes a range of farmall tractors for sale.