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Time to crown the champion

Jeff Caldwell 06/02/2011 @ 1:39pm Multimedia Editor for Agriculture.com and Successful Farming magazine.

It's time to pick the Tractor Brackets winner! It's Red versus Green in the final -- the IHC Farmall Regular and the John Deere 4440. Which one will win out? Cast your votes here to make your pick for the Greatest Tractor of All Time!

IHC Farmall Regular

The Farmall was not the first tractor to feature the now famous tri-cycle design. Nor was it the first attempt at an all-purpose tractor; a machine as accustomed to cultivating row crops as it was plowing or powering a thresher. But Farmall was the tractor that put both concepts to practical application and commercial success. And for its impact on tractor engineering – let alone the improvement in quality of life for farmers – the Farmall stands atop the pile of the world’s greatest tractors.

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VS.

John Deere 4440

Although John Deere had introduced a successor to its 1960 New Generation of tractors, appropriately called the Generation II, it was the late 1978 “Iron Horses” which helped established the firm as a world leader in horsepower. The five row-crop tractors in this line, including the 4440, featured stronger or heavier internal components used throughout their design to provide stamina to back up the machines’ increased horsepower.

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Selecting the 'greatest'

"This 'Greatest' list certainly does not end with the 32 tractors featured here. Not by a long shot. At last count, I have winnowed my master list down to no less than 64 greatest tractors. Maybe more will join that fold in time as you take me to task for not including a particular tractor model that you feel qualified to be added to this honor roll," says Successful Farming Machinery Director and Ageless Iron Editor Dave Mowitz. "Enjoyable? Absolutely! I absolutely adore tractor history! The tractor has a very rich, very entertaining history. Plus, I’m of the conviction that the development of the tractor and related agricultural machinery is among the 'greatest,' if not the most monumental, of all technological advances that have occurred to mankind."

Four guiding principles were employed in that process. See how Dave picked the Tractor Brackets competitors and seedings, add your selections below, then get in on the Smack Talk in the Tractor Brackets forums!