Coming Soon to the QC

I’ll admit it: this video for the renovation of the John Deere Pavilion made my morning.

I’ll definitely be checking it out on one of my visits to Moline.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Deere

 

This Tuesday  is John Deere’s birthday.

John Deere the man, that is, not the company he founded. He was born 207 years ago  on February 7, 1804 in Rutland, Vermont. The company he founded has seen the invention of the engine, the tractor, even the telephone.

John Deere didn’t invent the plow- those had been in use for centuries. What he did was find a way to make plows work in the soil of the American midwest, which helped turn it into the agricultural powerhouse it is today. The company that John Deere founded is celebrating its 175th Anniversary this year.

Of course, John Deere is not the only inventor who had an impact on agriculture. Hiram Moore invented the combine harvester in 1838, and the Van Brunt brothers invented the grain drill in the 1860s to stop passenger pigeons from carrying off freshly planted seeds.  The first gasoline powered tractor was invented in 1892 by John Froelich, who founded the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Factory.

What’s most amazing to me is that while these inventions have been revised and modified through the centuries, they’re still very much in use today. Planting equipment is still built in Moline, Illinois, and some of the world’s most powerful tractors are still built in Waterloo, Iowa.

I do wonder if these men knew what a lasting impact their inventions would have. Or were they just trying to solve a problem to make life easier for themselves and their customers?

Pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Mean Green Walking Machine

And it’s com in to the John Deere Pavilion this February.

The Walking Forester prototype is one of only two in the world (the other is in Finland) and was a test to see how the walking technology would work for uneven terrain.

I can’t even imagine how complex it would be to operate. I think each leg has to be moved separately, even though whoever is operating it in the video makes it look easy.

My practical side also has to wonder what kind of maintenance is needed to service all the legs and joints. I have to imagine it would make a track tractor look simple.

It will be on display at the John Deere Pavilion when it reopens on February 15. I see a field trip in my future!

Pictures from the Display Floor

I got to spend some time playing on the updated equipment on the display floor at World Headquarters.

Equipment like a new S550 Combine

And some big construction equipment

and some tractors

and a replica of a classic old plow

Stop Apologizing for Your Online Life

This TedxVictoria video came across my twitter stream, and I have to share it everywhere.

I’ve had many discussions around the subject of online vs offline friends, and Alexandra Samuel does an amazing job at arguing that maybe we should stop drawing that distinction.

The video is about 10 minutes, so I won’t go into too much commentary, but I think many of you AgNerds will relate.

 

Set a World Record? CAN DONE!

 

 

It’s official, with a press release and everything. Project Can Do, the life-size sculpture of a new S Series Combine built out of canned food, holds the record for being the largest sculpture made from canned goods.

In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records says it more than doubled the previous record.

And all 308,448 cans and 11,268 bags of food went to hungry families in the midwest.

There’s an awesome collage of the virtual cans that John Deere fans created on the John Deere Facebook page.  You can even see my smiling face in one…but I’m not telling you where to find it!