McCORMICK DEERING FARMALL F12 – 1932

The F12 Farmall is regarded as the World’s first true Rowcrop tractor. The F12 was first produced in 1923. A rowcrop tractor was designed to be able to travel through the rows of a crop which were spaced to permit cultivation while the crop was growing.  Initial sales were slow but once it caught on, most other manufacturers copied the design.

420,460 units were built from 1923 to 1939 at a cost of £AUD185 per tractor back in 1936, and for another £40 pounds pneumatic tyres were fitted. It used a channel frame in preference to a cast “hull”, as in the Farmall 10/20 tractor.                                                          

WA Distributors (1947): The State branch of International Harvester Company of Australia Pty Ltd, 789-795 Wellington Street, Perth.  

Technical Specifications: 4-cylinder, 4-stroke, OHV petrol/kerosene engine. Ignition was by high tension magneto. Bore was 3¾” and stroke was 5” giving 12hp at the drawbar and 14.6hp at the belt at 1200rpm. Gears: 3 forward speeds and 1 reverse.  Weight 1.7 tons.

History: McCormick and Deering were originally reaper manufacturers and merged with three other firms in 1902 to become the International Harvester Company and retained their names for the series of Rowcrop and Orchard tractors.

This tractor was purchased in the mid-1980s with a hand-operated hay bailer and a power-take-off (PTO) operated sickle mower. They came from a farm in the Chapman Hill area south of Busselton. This machine was fitted with Rowcrop wheels and was most likely used in the growing of vegetables. The restoration of this tractor involved the replacement of the fuel pump and exhaust manifold and carburettor. The magneto also needed to be rebuilt.