Red Tractors 1958-2013
The Authoritative Guide to Farmall, International Harvester and Case IH Farm Tractors in the Modern Era
by Lee Klancher, et al
Octane Press, 2013
The End of International Harvester
A wicked combination of factors made farm auctions rampant in the early 1980s. High interest rates, low crop prices, foreign markets that slowed or stopped, dropping land values. and high levels of debt all conspired to make it difficult for farmers of large operations and essentially impossible for small and medium producers.
As the 1980s progressed, the farm crisis only deepened. Efforts were made to relieve farmers, but various aid packages mostly helped larger farms more than small and medium-sized ones. Very few farmers purchased heavy equipment during this time. The effect on Harvester was cataclysmic.