John Deere's having a birthday. Or rather, to celebrate the 75th anniversary is the production of the first self-propelled combine harvester, the Model 55 whose future development has changed agriculture so much so that today, these machines collect more than half of the grain produced worldwide.
In 1947, John Deere launched the Model 55, the first self-propelled harvester, considered the forerunner of today's harvesters: at the time it was the company's response to advancing agricultural mechanization. The factory later focused mainly on self-leveling machines, such as the 55H slope harvester, capable of obtaining the best threshing results even on peaty terrain.
With the advent of the new century, the steering systems have acquired an increasingly central role: the US company has not overlooked this and, in 1999, had already enabled the parallel driving system of the car with the GreenStar display. Three years later, he introduced AutoTrac and the first generation StarFire receiver - the first system to offer harvester operators the automatic guidance system.
Along with the introduction of the John Deere Modular Telematics Gateway, also in 2002, John Deere paved the way for more precise harvesting for farmers and contractors. Rapid development has led to current T, S and X Series models that allow farmers to use real-time machine performance and positioning data for remote monitoring and harvest analysis.
The development of the self-propelled combine has changed the way the world works agriculture: the Model 55 was John Deere's first self-propelled combine and, in many ways, was ahead of its time in design, becoming the de facto precursor of combines today. The central driving position is at the top, overlooking the header: the engine is positioned near the rear wheels, behind the operator. The hopper is close to the front axle for added stability, with the additional weight on the front axle providing additional traction, leaving the rear wheels with the ability to steer.