A CENTURY ago today, the John Deere tractor brand was born, signalling the start of a year of celebrations for the US-based machinery giant, which also has a European base at Mannheim, in Germany.

It all started with the iconic Waterloo Boy, in the American Mid-West and today John Deere is the world’s leading manufacturer of agricultural tractors, with 12 factories worldwide.

The $2.25m acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, in Iowa, in 1918, first marked John Deere’s entry into the tractor business. This was a much debated and controversial investment at the time, as many critics did not believe in the future of tractors and continued to rely on the use of traditional horse power.

The 27hp Waterloo Boy Model N (12hp at the drawbar) was manufactured from 1917 to 1924 and became the first tractor built and marketed by John Deere. The first John Deere branded, fully green and yellow production tractor was the Model D, built from 1923 to 1953 – the longest production run of any farm tractor.

Its all-time bestseller was the Model B, with 300,000 sold from 1935 to 1953, while the 4020 became the most widely sold single model tractor, with a total of 175,000 produced from 1963 to 1971. It was the catalyst to JD becoming the world tractor sales leader for the first time in 1963.

In 1956 Heinrich Lanz's was bought to expand into Europe for the first time – its Lanz Bulldog model, first produced in 1921, was popular in Europe.

Now that we are in the world of 'cloud' engineering, John Deere's name has been at the forefront of colossal change in the use of 'smart' farming technology.

The John Deere Forum, in Mannheim, is featuring a display of vintage and classic tractors that have strongly influenced the company’s history, including an original Waterloo Boy, while its shop is offering a variety of fan merchandise, such as a special edition 9RX tractor model, caps, shirts and mugs. Tractors ordered by customers this year will also carry a 100 years anniversary badge.

* Another milestone this year will be the 80th birthday of the Institute of Agricultural Engeineering (IAgrE) which is inviting the submition of photographs depicting 'Agritech in Action', to showcase the exciting world of agricultural technology – there's a £250 prize for the winning entry. The closing date is September 30 and full details are on the IAgrE website.