I think the first major improvement was when manufacturers settled on what is today pretty much the standard configuration: Two large traction wheels in back, steering wheels in front, with the operator riding between the rear wheels. If you get a chance to see some of the pre-war designs, there were a lot of horrible configurations. Some were even steered by reins, like the tractor was a team of horses.
The internal combustion engine was a big improvement over steam, but it was inevitable once it took hold in automobiles that it would be the engine of choice in farm tractors.
Certainly the three-point hitch was a major development for safety and utility. And the power takeoff was a big step forward from belt pulleys. (belts being a holdover from steam engine days.)
I would say that pretty much all improvements in tractor technology have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Automatic transmissions, hydraulics, power steering, electric starting, four wheel drive all came about because the technology was available. Very few developments originated with tractors. The Ferguson 3-point hitch system is a notable exception.
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Today's Featured Article - A Cautionary Tale - by Ian Minshull. In the early 1950s my father bought an Allis Chalmers B and I used it for all the row crop work with the mangolds and potatoes, rolling and the haymaking on our farm. The farm and the Allis were sold and I have spent a lifetime working on farms throughout the country. I promised myself that one day I would own an Allis. That time event
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