Compact Tractors: An Illustrated Guide and History

Compact Utility Tractors, or CUTs, are cute little cutters! As farming became more refined so did the needs of tractors. The answer was a smaller, more maneuverable and fuel-efficient tractor with a variety of implements and attachments. With this focus on special needs, attachments became available such as plows, disc harrows, mower decks, cultivators, spreaders, snowblowers, and more. They have become a necessary utility for farmers, orchards, small construction jobs, and landscaping/maintenance for estates, parks and golf courses. At the forefront of this evolution was the Farmall Cub and John Deere Model L. Then came the Japanese invasion; a new kind of tractor by companies such as Yanmar and Kubota. These four-wheel drive machines were rugged and tough and used a variety of hydraulically powered attachments. American companies like John Deere, International Harvester, and Massey Ferguson built their own their own four-wheel versions. Today’s compact tractors, such as the Kubota BX series, Massey Ferguson’s GC series, and the John Deere 3000, offer an even larger selection of implements for special purposes.

Dennis is not new to automotive writing - besides authoring Fifties Fins, How to Restore Classic Toys, and History of the Tonka Toy Company, his work has appeared in Car Collector, Cars & Parts, Special Interest Autos, and Automobile Quarterly. He's been involved in the Society of Automotive Historians, American Truck Historical Society, Classic Car Club of America, Antique Automobile Club of America, amongst being involved with esteemed events like judging for the Greenwich Concours de Elegance and the Councours de Elegance of the Eastern United States. To further prove his candidacy  for this subject, Dennis was the winner of the 1998 Hernando DeSoto Award and was also the Technical Editor of the National DeSoto club.