85th anniversary of the plough for victory demonstration at Stormont

This was to help publicise the need to get farmers to plough an additional 250,000 acres across Northern Ireland for 1940 as part of the war effort to keep the nation fed.

The compulsory plough for victory tillage scheme ran under strict conditions, but paid farmers £2 Pounds per acre for land cultivated. It also offered farmers financial help to buy new tractors in a government funded hire purchase scheme with only a quarter of the cost down and the balance to be paid within three years.

The working demonstration was specially organised by Harry Ferguson and Sir Basil Brooke MP, the Minister for Agriculture to showcase the many advantages of the latest tractors available to farmers over the outdated horse. It would be the largest demonstration of farm tractors and machinery ever held in the history of Northern Ireland.

Farmers keen to learn more about the different tractors on offer travelled from all over Northern Ireland to attend the event. All government Ministers were in attendance including the Prime Minister Sir James Craig and as part of the demonstration a grand parade of the 40 tractors on display took place. A film was later shown in cinemas throughout the British Isles to mark the historic occasion.

Harry Ferguson spoke at the demonstration and announced “Northern Ireland will become the granary of Britain, thanks to his Ferguson System” and as part of a speech made by Sir Basil Brooke he made the call “If we are to survive we must plough!”

A wide range of different makes and model of tractors were on display. Of special interest was the new Ford-Ferguson tractor designed by Harry Ferguson and his engineers from Northern Ireland that had recently commenced production in the USA thanks to the gentleman’s agreement between Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson.

Ever since Harry Ferguson envisaged a new method of attaching implements to a tractor and automatic draft control in the ground breaking 1925 Ferguson Master Patent he had been striving to develop what would become his Ferguson System of farm mechanisation.

That would finally be achieved less than 15 years later in the mass production of the game changing and revolutionary Ford-Ferguson tractor that was launched in 1939.

The first examples arriving in Northern Ireland in September, 1939. By the time of the demonstration over 150 more had joined them, with hundreds more on order, being purchased by the government of Northern Ireland for use throughout the country.

Sir Basil Brooke along with other government Ministers couldn’t wait to have a go on the new Ford-Ferguson tractor and each of them took turns to plough several furrows under the careful supervision of Harry Ferguson.

This would also be the first time the Ferguson System Demonstrator was put on display. It was built on the direction of Harry Ferguson by William Sands, Harry Ferguson’s chief engineer using the back-end of the first Ford-Ferguson tractor to arrive in Northern Ireland in September, 1939.

The tractor serial number 917 was previously used for research being disassembled in the hope to start the manufacturing of the Ford-Ferguson tractor in the United Kingdom. Sadly that did not happen, production remaining in the USA only.

After being used for research the tractor’s back end which included the hydraulic pump, three point linkage, power take off, and fingertip control lever was carefully sectioned or cut away by William Sands in Belfast.

This was to facilitate the showing of how the internal components of the hydraulic three point linkage in the Ferguson System worked as fitted to the Ford-Ferguson tractor.

A bespoke casting was added to the front of the housing and the hydraulic system pump operated by a hand turned wheel at the front. The complete unit was fitted with a stand and created a lot of interest as Harry Ferguson explained the finer points of how his Ferguson System worked.