jan04gordy

In 2003, Case IH celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the commercial introduction of mechanical harvesting technology for cotton. In 1943, International Harvester Company, part of today’s Case IH, unveiled the model H-10-H spindle cotton picker, the world’s first commercially successful mechanical cotton picker.

Mechanical cotton harvesting presented engineers with unique challenges the plants are stiff and woody, and the bolls that house the actual fiber do not readily release it. International Harvester experimented with various technologies for about 40 years before developing its signature design, which harvests from both sides of the plant.

Introduction of the H-10-H picker also came at the height of World War II when the cotton harvesting workforce was in short supply. When commenting on the revolutionary introduction, Fowler McCormick, then president of International Harvester, said, “We regard it as fortunate that perfection of the picker has coincided with the great present wartime need to solve a critical agricultural manpower situation.”

The quest to replace man with machine for cotton harvest began even earlier. Between 1850 and the introduction of the International Harvester design, more than 1,800 cotton picker patents were issued. Today’s spindle picker design is based on the early work of Angus Campbell, Theodore H. Price and Peter Haring. International Harvester purchased the Price-Campbell patents in 1924 and continued to refine the cotton picker to produce a design that performed consistently under all conditions.

Due to the scarcity of resources during WorldWar II, mass production of International Harvester cotton pickers could not begin until after 1947, when the Memphis Works was completed. In 1948, more than 1,000 cotton pickers were produced. H-10-H picker mounted on Farmall H tractors could pick approximately seven acres per day, or four bales of cotton. Today’s six-row Case IH CPX610 pickers can harvest up to 100 acres of cotton per day, or 200 bales

In 2000, the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) recognized the development and successful commercialization of the International Harvester cotton picker as one of the top five agricultural achievements of the 20^th century. Prior to that in 1978 ASAE also designated “Old Red,” a 1943 International Harvester H-10-H cotton picker donated to the Smithsonian Institution, as an ASAE landmark. This month we will look back at several of the IH and CaseIH cotton picking brochures from years past and modern times.


60 Years of Cotton Harvesting Hertiage at CaseIH by Gordy Schultz
In 2003, Case IH celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the commercial introduction of mechanical harvesting technology for cotton. In 1943, International Harvester Company, part of today’s Case IH, unveiled the model H-10-H spindle cotton picker, the world’s first commercially successful mechanical cotton picker. Mechanical cotton harvesting presented engineers with unique challenges the plants are stiff and woody, and the bolls that house the actual fiber do not readily release it. International Harvester experimented with various technologies for about 40 years before developing its signature design, which harvests from both sides of the plant. Introduction of the H-10-H picker also came at the height of World War II when the cotton harvesting workforce was in short supply. When commenting on the revolutionary introduction, Fowler McCormick, then president of International Harvester, said, “We regard it as fortunate that perfection of the picker has coincided with the great present wartime need to solve a critical agricultural manpower situation.” The quest to replace man with machine for cotton harvest began even earlier. Between 1850 and the introduction of the International Harvester design, more than 1,800 cotton picker patents were issued. Today’s spindle picker design is based on the early work of Angus Campbell, Theodore H. Price and Peter Haring. International Harvester purchased the Price-Campbell patents in 1924 and continued to refine the cotton picker to produce a design that performed consistently under all conditions. Due to the scarcity of resources during WorldWar II, mass production of International Harvester cotton pickers could not begin until after 1947, when the Memphis Works was completed. In 1948, more than 1,000 cotton pickers were produced. H-10-H picker mounted on Farmall H tractors could pick approximately seven acres per day, or four bales of cotton. Today’s six-row Case IH CPX610 pickers can harvest up to 100 acres of cotton per day, or 200 bales Early Self-Propelled Cotton Picker In 2000, the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) recognized the development and successful commercialization of the International Harvester cotton picker as one of the top five agricultural achievements of the 20^th century. Prior to that in 1978 ASAE also designated “Old Red,” a 1943 International Harvester H-10-H cotton picker donated to the Smithsonian Institution, as an ASAE landmark. This month we will look back at several of the IH and CaseIH cotton picking brochures from years past and modern times.
1961 International Harvester Farm Equipment Catalog page 62 featuring the No. 14.-A low-drum picker for Farmall 240 and 340 tractors, No. 114-A low-drum picker for Farmall 460 and 560 tractors and the No.-120-A high-drum with hi-clear axle for the Farmall 560 tractors.
1965 McCormick-International 30 Cotton Harvester and 22 Cotton Stripper. This 11 page page brochure features three choices of cotton harvesting systems with a choice of three pickers. The Economy 22 Striper was built for to fit the Farmall 504, 404, 806, 706, 560, 460, 450, 400, 350, 300, M, Super M, Super MTA, H, Super H, MD, and Super MD with single or dual front wheels. The 22 would also fit the John Deere 3010 and 4010. The Deluxe 30 Harvester was built to fit the Farmall 806, 706, 560, 460, 450, 400, 350, 300, and Super MTA with single or double front wheels ..... 504, H, Super H, M, and Super M with single wheels only. Again the 30 would also match the John Deere 3010 and 4010. The harvesters offered two rows of stripping with elevator delivery to a wagon, air delivery to a wagon and a tractor-mounted basket shown on the cover.
The 1974 International 95 Self-Propelled Cotton Harvester is 6 pages long with a color cover and black and white interior pages. The 95 was a 2 row picker powered by an IH D310 diesel engine with 110 hp. The basket offered 655 cu. ft of capacity. The tractor mounted 90 two stripper is featured on the pack paged mounted on a wide front 856.
The 1980 International Agricultural Equipment Buyers Guide on pages 64 and 65 featured the two row 782 Picker and all new 4 row 1400 Picker. The 782 was introduced in 1978 . The new 1400 offered 2, , 3 and 4 row harvesting options with a big 637 cu. ft basket and a 120 hp engine. The 1400 was built to harvest up to 7.9 mph. This was big cotton harvesting in 1980. John Deere was three years away from having a 4 row picker.
In November 1984 International Harvester Agricultural Equipment division was sold to Tenneco the parent company of J.I. Case. Tenneco formed a new Ag Division under J.I. Case called Case-International. IH's last new product before the CaseIH merger was the 1844 picker. In fact in the 1985 CaseIH buyers guide the 1844 appears with the IH logo only. The picture shown here is the CaseIH 1844 included in the 1988 Buyers Guide. the 1844's big improvement over the past pickers was that the basket unloaded from the side rather than a large high lift dump bin. In 1988 CaseIH marketed the cotton picker line under the name Cotton Express. The cotton Express line included the CaseIH 1400, 1822 and 1844 pickers.
The four row wide CaseIH 2555 replaced the 2155 picker in 1997. The 2555 is still offered by CaseIH today. This big picker offers a 1,150 cu. foot basket. The 2555 brochure is a full color 19 page brochure featuring lots of great field pictures.
Big improvements on CaseIH CPX610 pickers include 45 percent faster basket raise and lower speed, helping to reduce overall unloading time. Service time is also reduced on all Case IH cotton pickers because of a new moistener column design. The new moistener columns provide simplified service, and the moistener pads are individually replaceable reducing replacement costs. A new compressor sheet allows the spindles to penetrate difficult to pick cotton for a longer time. In addition, new CPX610 machines feature redesigned elements on the basket and chassis shielding to simplify cleaning and improve the cotton sample. An automatic lube system is now standard on all Case IH picker models, reducing daily maintenance by one hour each harvest day.