History of John Deere Combines (Part 2) 

I’ve run too many to remember. I was lucky as we not only farmed but Dad owned a dealership. I remember in 1966 taking. Brand new 105 off the lot to help a farm family that had suffered a death in the family during harvest. 14 machines showed up and I remember Massey, Case and International. All dwarfed by the new 105. Spent many hours pulling 65,95,6601 and 7721 before we jumped to a self propelled model 9500. I ran many 95s, 105s, 6600s, 7700s, 7720s, 8800, and 8820 before moving on too the 9600 and of course the list now gets smaller as I no longer farm and only help out on occasions. Hopefully I will get to run an X9 before I’m too old. That will be my bucket list.

Love these combine videos. My first memory of Dad's combines was in 1964 (I was 6) and while Dad was combining late at night one night he went to get up on the back of the combine and instead of grabbing the ladder he grabbed one of those big belts (before guards) that was spinning. He lost the 3 middle fingers on his right hand and only had the thumb and little finger left. Thankfully the hired hand was there and was able to get Dad to the hospital. I am pretty sure that combine was a JD55. I think Dad had two 55's (one after the other). Not sure what year exactly but somewhere in the mid-60's Dad upgraded to a JD95 and then a couple years later to the JD105 "Corn Special". I think it was 1972 when Dad got his first JD4400. It had a gas engine and Dad said it was underpowered and so in 1973 he traded it in on a JD4400 Diesel. Dad really liked that one. He let me use it one time to cut timothy for a neighbor and that is the only time I ever ran any of Dad's combines. Due to his health Dad cut way back in 1976 on rented crop ground and only had the 80 acre homestead and so he didn't need a big machine for that and so he bought a used J.I. Case 1660 with a 318 Chrysler engine. That combine was before J.I. Case & IH merged and was the true 100% Case combine and not to be confused with the more modern Case-IH 1660's. Dad sure loved that Case combine. Dad died in 1983.

My fondness memory is my father putting me on the operator seat of a 55 in 1965 when I was a big kid at 10 years old. My uncle was on a 95 keeping an eye on me from across the field as we ran side by side. I'll never forget the opportunity they gave me then.

My dad bought a 45 in 1963, then moved up to a 95 EB (Edible Bean), then a 105 in 1969. That combine was a beast, no doubt!

I remember watching the neighbor using a pull type on oats and seen a 95 working in a bean field. Your viedo brings back good memories. Nothing Runs Like A Deere

In the early ‘70’s my dad was growing corn, barley, and sometimes kidney beans as well as doing quite a bit of custom work. He always seemed to have a revolving door of 95 round backs with a couple of 55’s mixed in. I learned to wrench on them every time he came home with another one. We live in rice country so we switched several of them from tracks back to tires. Some of my first tasks were to get in the bin to switch the bin extension from one to another. He would run one or two at a time and get at least one “new” one every year. Finally, about the time I started high school, he bought a really low time 95 square back, high low with a cab. Not long after he gave up the custom work and started doing a lot of other work off the farm. He taught me how to run it and after that I ran it about as much as he did.

I started farming with a 1960 45 round back. We used it to cut soybeans and oats. I used it on my first crop of soybeans in 1983, I was 14 years old. After a couple years I bought a IH 615 with cab and air conditioning. The 615 had right around 300 hours on it when I bought it for 4500.00 dollars. It still had the original plastic on the seat, it was a slick machine. It came with both a bat and pickup reels.

We had a 95 round back on our Montana ranch. It did a great job of putting out clean grain. I completed a summer internship at the Harvester Works in 1980, working in Process & Tool Engineering. We put out 64 combines a day, with the largest being the 8820 Turbo! Great memories!

I really enjoyed the video. The first combine I owned was a 1968 model 55 R. I bought it used in 1974 It had seen a lot of use on a rice farm but I needed a rice machine because I farmed a black land Delta farm in Eastern Arkansas. I rebuilt the machine and used it several years until it burned. I bought a 410 Massey to replace it. Mistake. So I then bought a 6600 John Deere. I m still farming and using John Deere combines

John Deere never got into combine world till they came out with the 7720 machines they finally got it right. All the 20 series machines were great machines.

Our Dad had the 40 round back. I remember too well pinching my fingers on the folding ladder!

1st combine in 1976 was a 40 round back w/10' head, next a 55EB square back with 14' platform and 234 corn head. Converted to quick attach heads in 1978 trading 234 for a 244 head. Best $ I ever spent. Left the reservation with a Gleaner CII in 1980, back in 1982 with a 105EB w/ 404 diesel, 13' FCB and 635N corn header. This machine was my favorite, a real beast!

My dad had a 55 John Deere combine he wouldn't let me for grain but he let me run it by myself for corn boy did I love it I felt like big man I thought that I was bigger than the combine itself

Ran a 1968 John Deere 95. Sund pickup. Harvesting small grains, mostly spring wheat. Factory cab with a fan. Was 13 years old. Good machine.

I had a 40-45-55-4400-6600 all good machines my 4400d 1976 model most trouble free 213 flex head with electric header control was great up grade for cutting beans 444 corn head great in its day some still being used❤

Thanks for the history lesson. My dad had a 105 then a 730 . I just drug out from 22 years in storage,a 1958 model 30 . It seems to be a bit of a misfit considering what was available by then. It had hardly been used as the knife,rub bars and sprockets show no wear.

We started out with an old McCormick pull combine, then upgraded to 55H 14’ header, then to 95H 16’ header wheat and grass

We had a 105 and a couple of 7700's. The 105 was much easier to work on

Massey Harris' model 21 A combine utilised an auger table and was introduced to market in 1943, beating Deere & Co by some margin. Anyone would think they'd invented it ! Massey Harris also marketed the first commercially successful self propelled combine, with the model 20, in 1938 thru 1941. Some 925 units produced over 2 years, but was considered too big, expensive and heavy to appeal to the wider mass market, and so introduced a model approximately 2/3rds the size, in the MH 21 model, in 1941, the slightly later MH 21A being a development of this. Fun fact - Massey Harris made straw walker crankshafts for John Deere in their earlier combines.

Man, I still remember your 110 video, it’s nice to see how far you’ve come.

I have a model 40 round back that I just used to harvest my first wheat crop this spring.

My dad had acquired a 95 John Deer combine from a neighbor.

I would love to see a video on the John Deere 8000 series and its development. Great video as always

I ran my dad's 1955 JD 55 with a sacker when I was 7 years old. In 1964 he bought new 105 square back with Cab. Then in 1968 added another 105. Then a couple years later upgraded to two 7700 JD.. and then to 8820's in 1979. All had pickup headers for grass seed crops and 13' headers for 130-140 bushel wheat - here in Salem, Oregon.

My favorite combine was the John Deere no.95

I started with a 30 pull type. Then a 55 square back to a 6600 level land, to a 6600 side hill, to a 6620 side hill.

My younger brother has two 55 combines, a turtle back open platform and a square back with a cab. The turtle back he has set up for small grains and the square back for corn with a three row head.

Great job, great video!

My uncle ran a 55 and he would be covered with dust and trash blowing up from the dry corn over the head at the end of the day. I sometimes operated my daddy’s 4400 which you may cover next. Also, I would love to see information on the self-propelled peanut picker. My daddy was a peanut (and corn) farmer in southeastern Virginia and even though we didn’t have one, I remember a neighbor having one. Best I can remember, it did not perform very well, however.

Great content

We ran jd30 pull type sack tie then JD40 self propelled

I use to run the old 55 round back. I love the video but would have loved to seen more on the pull types of the 50's like the updates to the number 30

Just found your channel. Loving the equipment history videos. Your videos are also very high quality and put together! Looking forward to more! If I could make a request, I’d love to see a series on the history of Deere cotton pickers!

Started on a 7700 then 8820 when they came out. Still using them today

105 was amazing, for its day

could you please do a video on the old hay cubers and peanut combines

I am a IH fan here but Deere called there experimental rotary combines the axil flow system back in 1958. There’s a video here on RU-vid that explains Deere’s experimental rotary combines.

Thank you for the incredible informative video. I wait with bated breath for your next video.

I have run a 55 in red clover and buckwheat and a 65 PTO in wheat, oats barley rye and triticale

Back in the 70s. I work for a farmer that had a 55. And then later on, I drove 105EB Annette would have been in the 80s. In a 105 was a lot better combine.

Great video I grew up on 55 combines on my dad’s farm and the first one I bought was 1959 model 55 which I still have today in the shed and in working condition 👍

You should do the history of ager wagens and gravity wagens

First combine i ran was a 1963HILO55

I have a John Deere 530 S6 which has a 6 Cyl Perkins and I have seen a few of them here in Australia but in the states I think they are called the 530MD and have a 4 Cyl John Deere motor I have a video of mine running when I got it on my other channel called Reggie’s ride-ons and tractor repair videos If you happen to mention that model you can use the video if you like

Great video.

Thanks

The 105 with tracks or any of the combines with tracks they're my favourite

Started with a 45 gas then a 4400 Diesel and still running it today

Hey Locust, I have written down all the design changes between each production year of the New Generation Series combines and would not mind sharing it for a future video. If your interested, let me know how I can message you.

We ran a hydrostatic, gasoline 105 with a 19' auger header for sorghum and a 444 corn header up until the early '90s. It had the cab with the dutch door.

Funny how headers started out with draper heads then abandoned . Now virtually all grain heads are draper heads again.

I enjoy your videos, but… @ 1:38 the cutaway to video of running ear corn through an International feed grinder is relevant… how? My dad had a square back 55 with a cab. Interesting that certain technology was only available from aftermarket companies, like the “Eagle Air” air conditioning for the cab, and the “Robot” automatic header control for soybeans (flex heads didn’t come along until much later). Lots of fond memories riding in the cab of that 55 with my dad, picking corn 2 rows at a time.

I've ran the 95 in soy beans. Sitting over the feeder house means you were in the dust.

Hi Lo was not an option but a change in later years

1969 105 Diesel with A/C.

The G went one year more then the A and B 1953 was its last year

I work for Deere can you please tell me which books are you referring since I create catalogue and need such info. Thanks

What do you mean you'll catch me in the next video??

what about the no. 40 combine?????

They could only make one combine during war time

95

While You’re enjoying this vid don’t forget the Co. that developed the self propelled Combine from scratch. It wasn’t JD not even close. It was Massey Harris eventually to become Massey Ferguson.

John Deere junk!

Ran a diesel 105 an 95 too

My grandpa owned a 3300 harvester, would be awesome if you featured it as in the next video the 6600 will likely be the most famous transition to more modern style combines.