Tractor boom

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The tractor boom is a phenomenon of the 1950s that describes a strong demand for agricultural machinery , especially tractors, in the post-war period ; the word tractor is another word for tractor . At the same time as the tractor boom, there was also a combine harvester boom . The beginning of the tractor boom in western Germany was triggered by the currency reform at the end of the 1940s , as the D-Mark made funds available again to purchase agricultural machinery and there was a shortage of such. At its peak in 1955, 140,408 tractors were produced in the Federal Republic of Germany. The end of the tractor boom could be seen at the beginning of the 1960s, when the market was saturated with agricultural machinery; in West Germany there were already 1,000,000 tractors in 1963, while in 1950 there were not even 140,000. This time was shaped by more than 30 tractor and agricultural machinery manufacturers who offered around 180 different types of tractor. The 25 to 34 hp performance class was particularly well represented. With the exception of a few manufacturers, most companies in Germany did not survive the end of the tractor boom economically. The tractor boom marks the beginning of the extensive industrialization of agriculture.

Tug as a prestige object

Towards the beginning of the 1950s, a new attitude was noticeable among farmers , one that opposed the conservative and anti-technology attitudes: They identified with modern technology. This was especially the case with the younger farmers, for whom the possession of modern technology was not only a business issue but also a status symbol . While in the early days of the industrialization of agriculture, machines such as the steam plow were seen as prestige objects, their ideal value was transferred to the agricultural tractor. The costs incurred for tugs played only a subordinate role in the procurement considerations, so that many tugs were purchased. Farmers developed into mechanics and hobbyists through the tractor . According to Uekötter, the engine power of the tractor plays an important role in the prestige concept. While the average tractor engine power was in the range of 30 hp in the early 1930s, it fell afterwards, as the small tractor segment was already growing during this time. Over a longer period of time, from the early 1930s to the 1960s, engine output remained the same. It was roughly between 25 and 34 hp. Most of the machines were offered in this segment even during the tractor boom. Towards the mid-1960s, however, it became apparent that the demand for more powerful tractors had increased and that after the tractors of the previous performance class, due to market saturation, it fell sharply. The steps in the development of the farm tractor, which were euphorically received at the beginning of the 1950s, had become a matter of course. An initial skepticism from expert circles about powerful machines with more than 100 hp was offset by great demand from farmers. The total engine output of all tugs in the Federal Republic of Germany increased from 28 to 47 GW in the 1970s and 1980s  . In doing so, consideration was not always given to the need for a more powerful machine. The pursuit of increased performance ultimately favored both the upswing and decline of the tractor boom.

Economic impact

Mechanization made it possible to greatly reduce the number of people employed in agriculture. In 1950, 22.7% of the German population was employed in agriculture, in 1960 it was 13.8%. This trend continued in the following years, the agricultural business developed from smallholder self-employment to large-scale operation. The procured tractors in the power class from 25 to 34 HP could not be used to full capacity on the small parcels and therefore could not be used economically. The acquisition of more and more tractors led to the indebtedness of smaller businesses in particular, the number of which fell sharply in the 1960s. Large farms that mainly used larger tractor models were able to prevail. In 1961 more than 53% of all newly registered tractors in West Germany were produced by the five largest German manufacturers. This trend increased, but above all the number of tractors sold fell by 21% between 1956 and 1962. Smaller tractor manufacturers could not hold their own in the market.

Ecological consequences

Until the widespread use of the tractor as a replacement for farm animals for cultivation, agriculture was characterized by intensive and labor-intensive cultivation of fields. The area-wide and massive use of the tractor in combination with the use of modern fertilizers opened up a new possibility in arable farming, namely to cultivate much larger fields cost-effectively. Frank Uekötter describes that this circumstance did not lead to the sensible use of this possibility, but that farmers with practical experience and rules of thumb use the tractors and, above all, due to ignorance, no longer paid any attention to soil health. Uekötter uses the term arable farming as an example , a label for soil health that has been forgotten with the tractor boom. The farmer changed from a pure natural profession to a technical profession that deals with natural processes. The tractor boom favored this development, as agricultural technology was still at a stuttering beginning in the 1920s and at the end of the 19th century the farmer was still described as technophobic .

Graphic development

Tractor population and growth in the Federal Republic of Germany according to Beck:

Combine sales in the Federal Republic of Germany:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Beck, p. 276
  2. ↑ a b History of agriculture: tractors - agricultural machinery and chugging cult vehicles . Planet Wissen , ARD , accessed on: April 6, 2019 (archive).
  3. ↑ a b c Beck, p. 324
  4. ↑ Uekötter, p. 325
  5. ↑ Uekötter, p. 319
  6. ↑ Uekötter, p. 324

literature

Web links