Tractor Wars: Espionage, Innovation, and the Fight for Survival in the 1980s Farm Crisis
The Farm4Profit Podcast takes listeners inside one of the most dramatic rivalries in agricultural history—the tractor wars of the 1970s and 80s. Our guest, Lee Klancher, award-winning author, photographer, and publisher of Octane Press, joins us to share his latest book Snoopy and the Spy—a gripping tale of how International Harvester and John Deere battled for survival and supremacy during the height of the farm crisis.
This isn’t just a story about machines. It’s a saga of corporate espionage, farmer loyalty, engineering breakthroughs, and the very survival of rural America.
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Lee Klancher’s Journey from Hobby to Legacy
Lee’s love for machinery and storytelling began as a teenager with a camera and a curiosity for tractors. Over three decades later, he has published 30+ books, taught creative writing, and built Octane Press from his garage in Austin into a respected publisher of transport and farm machinery history.
His career has taken him from photographing rare John Deere tractors in a custom-built studio to scaling the Julian Alps in pursuit of the perfect shot. These adventures fuel his passion for connecting history with human experience.
The Espionage and Innovation of Snoopy & the Spy
At the center of Lee’s new book lies a fascinating story of corporate espionage and innovation:
Bud Youle’s Espionage (1982): An IH insider who brazenly sneaked into John Deere’s Superdome showcase, gathering intelligence on Deere’s next moves.
IH’s “Snoopy” 2+2 Tractors: A bold but short-lived experiment in tractor design that promised innovation but couldn’t stabilize the company’s finances.
The Super 70 Prototypes: Rare prototypes like the 7288, 7488, and rumored 7888, machines that never reached mass production.
Deere’s Counterpunch: Deere struck back with industry-changing technology like the 15-speed PowerShift transmission and factory MFWD on high-horsepower row-crop tractors.
Espionage may have driven new ideas forward, but it couldn’t prevent IH’s eventual collapse and merger into what is now Case IH.
The Bigger Picture: Farmers, Companies, and Ethics
The tractor wars highlight a bigger question: What happens when survival is at stake?
Loyalty vs. Desperation: Farmers faced hard choices—stick with IH despite its decline or shift to Deere’s emerging innovations.
Corporate Ethics: Espionage blurred lines between innovation and desperation.
Impact on Farmers: While companies fought, farmers were left navigating financial strain during the 1980s farm crisis.
The rivalry wasn’t just corporate drama—it shaped the equipment in farmers’ fields and determined the fate of thousands of rural families.
Lee’s Reflections and Future Adventures
Beyond the rivalry, Lee shares lighter moments:
His dream tractor test drive
Favorite adventures from photographing machinery around the globe
Teasers of new book projects that will soon give agriculture fans even more behind-the-scenes history
For Lee, tractors are more than horsepower—they’re stories about people, passion, and perseverance.
Why This Episode Matters
This Farm4Profit Podcast episode blends ag history, business strategy, and human grit. Farmers and ag professionals will come away with:
A deeper understanding of how innovation is born out of competition
Lessons in how corporate decisions ripple down to rural communities
Inspiration from Lee’s journey of turning a passion project into a career
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