American Agriculture History Minute: Ferguson’s Three-Point Hitch Changes Agriculture

I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute.

Irishman Harry Ferguson is part of American Agriculture History. He’s credited with developing and patent the first hydraulic lift with automatic draft control. By 1933, he had patented a way to attach and implement to a tractor by three arms.

Ferguson’s three-point hitch was probably the most revolutionary improvement in tractor and implement technology, historians say. Today, virtually every tractor sold anywhere in the world features a three-point hitch based on Ferguson’s system.

That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.