Who were Massey and Harris?

Inventive geniuses, innovative businessmen personified development of agricultural manufacturing in Canada.

By Robert N. Pripps
Published on May 7, 2021
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A rare Massey-Harris Model 50, a product resulting from the dealer friction caused by the Massey-Harris/Ferguson merger. M-H dealers wanted a tractor like the Ferguson 35, so M-H sheet metal was added to it and the tractor was named the Massey-Ferguson 50. When Ferguson dealers rebelled, sheet metal was added for their version and it was called the Ferguson 40.

More than 200 years ago, a quiet revolution started to unfold. It began with the reaper replacing the man swinging a cradle scythe. Obed Hussey obtained the first patent for a reaping machine. Inventor Cyrus McCormick, who had not bothered with a patent up until that time, quickly filed his own, and the fight was on.

As the original patents expired or could be circumvented, other competitors joined the fray. The real challenge soon became the acquisition of sub-patents that could be applied to the basic reaper concept. Thus the self-raker made the original reaper obsolete, and the binder made the self-raker obsolete. As time passed, the names reaper, harvester and binder became interchangeable.

At that point, even a rudimentary harvester put the flail and winnowing basket out of business. Agricultural technology advanced further with the development of threshers and then steam power. And with that, the mechanized agricultural equipment industry was born.

This new industry was driven by the founders of three great companies: J.I. Case, International Harvester and Massey-Harris. The leaders of each firm were uniquely blessed with a rare combination of inventive genius, perseverance and business acumen.

All three were international in scope, but Massey-Harris was, initially at least, uniquely Canadian. That presented its own set of challenges, both geographic and geopolitically. While Case and McCormick battled each other in the U.S., large-scale agriculture was just getting started in Canada.

Beginning on the shores of Lake Ontario, Canada’s timbered plains were being rapidly harvested for lumber used to build the country’s fast-growing cities. Land was inexpensive for those who would clear it and plant crops. The aftermath of the War of 1812 and favorable trade and tariff agreements also accelerated the pace of agriculture in Canada. Large grain-growing operations developed and a steady supply of immigrant labor found jobs in the farm implement industry. The stage was set for the innovative leadership of Daniel Massey and Alanson Harris.

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