As Canada’s population grew, farmers felt pressured to produce more crops. As field size increased, farmers needed an alternative to horse-pulled ploughs. In 1918 the Sawyer-Massey 20-40 Kerosene Tractor was developed, replacing the use of animals to pull ploughs – which required care – and competing with the steam traction engine tractors – which needed expensive fuel. The Sawyer-Massey company based in Hamilton, Ontario produced this tractor between the 1910s and 1920s. Initially, kerosene tractors were used mainly by farms in western Canada, where the fields and crop yields were large enough to make buying these giant tractors profitable. This Sawyer-Massey 20-40 Kerosene Tractor weighed 11 800 pounds (5350 kg), and cost $3500. The term “20-40” refers to the equivalent amount of horsepower that was produced off the drawbar and the pulley. Although this tractor provided significant advancement in farming methods – being heavy and powerful enough to work large farm fields relatively quickly – it was far from perfect. The lack of a protective covering on the engine and the open standing platform meant that both the engine and farmer were susceptible to heat, dirt and debris, and the steel wheels made for a very bumpy ride. Tractors have since changed in shape and size and are designed to be more efficient and comfortable for the farmer.

Jess Aylsworth