favorite
on RFD-TV, the popular
program ”Classic Tractor Fever”
was the brainchild of John Harvey,
Aa Missouri farm boy whose entire
career has centered on writing for and about
American farm families.
Harvey’s experience spans more than four
decades and includes stints at his hometown
weekly newspaper (Savannah [Mo.] Reporter),
a state farm magazine (Missouri Farmer), a
regional publication (Successful Farming) and a
national magazine (Farm Journal).
He helped write and produce the USDA
Bicentennial Yearbook of Agriculture, a picture
book depicting what farming was like in
America in 1976.
As a public relations manager for DuPont
Agricultural Products, he conceived the idea of
a calendar comprised of antique tractors to
promote a new DuPont soybean herbicide
called Classic. Though the Classic Farm Trac-
tors Calendar was officially launched in 1990, it
actually made its debut at the Farm Progress
Show in Rochester, Indiana, the last week of
September 1989, and was an instant hit with
farmers - and people throughout the nation
with rural roots.
“
Along with the calendar, I wanted to make
sure we interviewed and recorded each tractor
owner, gathering the important facts and
figures about that particular model and its
significant contributions to the tractor industry
and American agriculture,” Harvey explains.
This was the genesis of the “tractor video,”
and the foundation for Classic Tractor Fever,
the company Harvey formed after exiting
DuPont.
That first video in 1990 was entitled, “Con-
versations with Collectors.” The format was
simple and straightforward: the classic tractor
owners were questioned about their beautifully restored Hart-Parr,
or Ford-Ferguson, John
Deere, Farmall, Caterpillar, Oliver, Massey-
Harris, Minneapolis-Moline, or Allis Chalmers.
Each owner did a proud “walk around,”
describing each and every feature of his tractor
from stem to stern. He showed precisely how
to start the engine - no easy task on many of
the early tractors. You hear the engine roar.
Then each owner drove his tractor as the
video crew recorded every movement and
sound. Detail shots were taken. When the
tractor owner pointed out the unique charac-
teristics of the engine, the red eye of the
camera focused on the engine. If the tractor
featured steel lugs rather than rubber tires, the
video focused on the lugs. And so on.
The calendar companion video produced in
2000 shows how the American tractor evolved
during the 20th century. Its name: “The
American Tractor, Century of Success.”
Classic Tractor Fever is a family business
founded by Harvey, his wife, Carol and daugh-
ter Jenny. This family business is designed to
serve people who collect, restore and have a
passion for classic tractors, with high-quality
products and personal service.
Contact Information
Classic Tractor Fever
Box 437 Rockland, DE 19732
Toll-free: 1-800-888-8979
Phone: (302) 478-2939
Fax: (302) 478-3606
www.classictractors.com |
