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In 1938, Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson made their famous "handshake agreement" at Ford's Fairlane family estate. Ferguson, a prolific inventor born in Growell, County Down, Ireland, had developed a multiple-point linkage that would force a tractor down as opposed to the pivoting and overturning action experienced in earlier pulled-plow arrangements. He further integrated automatic control of plow depth with the hydraulic system to raise and lower implements. His innovative hydraulic three-point hitch system was utilized in England on tractors produced by Brown-Ferguson in 1936.
Ford's mass production techniques of his Fordson tractor revolutionized the tractor market in the era from 1918 to 192 8. However, Ford's interest had waned for the agricultural market as he concentrated on the automobile industry. This interest was reversed completely when he saw the advantages of...