Posted by oldtanker on July 01, 2011 at 21:35:13 from (66.228.255.223):
In Reply to: inventions posted by SouthernFarmall on July 01, 2011 at 18:33:51:
Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see
Guess he should have said good inventions!
The Snap coupler with farmers that started with mules and horses and didn't know anything about machinery was a disaster waiting for a place to happen! Coupled with bad management decisions that made it so that you had to buy AC implements to use it really hurt the company in the long run. IH with the 2 point quick hitch had the same management problems. So those were not great inventions. The Power Director wasn't a great invention but simple a poor mans answer to faking true live PTO. Again a management decision to save a few bucks.
IMHO the great inventions were true live hydraulics and PTO, 3 point with draft control, power steering, power shift and a comfort control cab with both heat and AC. Those are the inventions that are still around today! If the farmers hadn't wanted/needed/liked them they would have passed with the DODO Bird, Snap Coupler, Power Director and Quick Hitch.
Bad management decisions destroyed AC, Oliver, MM, IH and others along the way.
For example, AC targeted smaller farmers with cheap tractors and great ad campaigns. When the markets and subsidies died in the late 70's and 80's so did the small farmer......ops there went AC's customer base!
Oh sure it wasn't all of the companies fault. Part of the blame lies with the farmers. The small guys worked their kids to death! When they finished high school they went on to other things cause they had already been worked too hard! Dad had no one to take over! So he quit and retired cause JR was working a factory job in the city!
I have an advantage over a lot of you guys because I grew up in the burbs of NYC! Then at 16 in 1971 I moved into farm country. I was an outsider looking in. I went to school with kids that couldn't wait to get off the farm and away from all that back breaking work! Kids who wanted to take the 4Th of July off but instead spent the day in the hay field and that evening in the barn milking! I spent my 1st 4th here in the hay field with a farmers son who is now my BIL. He was really angery because he wanted to take the day off but his dad said NO! He treated his own kids the same way. He has one son out of 7 who wants to farm!
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