Editing John Deere (inventor) (section)

==Steel plow==
[[File:Early John Deere plow.jpg|thumb|Early John Deere plow, c. 1845, made in Grand Detour, Illinois, displayed at [[The Henry Ford Museum]]]]

John Deere settled in [[Grand Detour, Illinois]].  At the time, Deere had no difficulty finding work due to a lack of blacksmiths working in the area.<ref name=toytractor>"[http://www.toytractortimes.com/january07/ 170 Years of John Deere]," ''The Toy Tractor Times'', January 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2007.</ref> Deere found that cast-iron plows were not working very well in the tough [[prairie]] soil of Illinois and remembered the needles he had previously polished by running them through sand as he grew up in his father's tailor shop in Rutland.<ref name=toytractor/> Deere came to the conclusion that a plow made out of highly polished steel and a correctly shaped moldboard (the self-scouring steel plow) would be better able to handle the soil conditions of the prairie, especially its sticky clay.<ref>Attoun, Marti. "[http://www.americanprofile.com/article/4689.html American Innovator, Agricultural Icon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061105131651/http://www.americanprofile.com/article/4689.html |date=November 5, 2006 }}," ''AmericanProfile.com'', April 17, 2005. Retrieved May 22, 2007.</ref>

Varying versions serve as the inspiration for Deere's famous steel plow. In one version, he recalled the way the polished steel [[pitchfork]] tines moved through hay and soil and thought that same effect could be obtained for a plow. Another version is that he used an old sawblade that had been polished from years of use.

In 1837, Deere developed and manufactured the first commercially successful [[Steel plow|cast-steel plow]]. The wrought-iron framed plow had a polished steel share.  This made it ideal for the tough soil of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] and worked better than other plows. By early 1838, Deere completed his first steel plow and sold it to a local farmer, Lewis Crandall, who quickly spread word of his success with Deere's plow. Subsequently, two neighbors soon placed orders with Deere. By 1841, Deere was manufacturing 75–100 plows per year.<ref name=leffingwell/>

In 1843, Deere partnered with Leonard Andrus to produce more plows to keep up with demand, but the partnership became strained due to the two men's stubbornness. While Deere wished to sell to customers outside Grand Detour, Andrus opposed a proposed railroad through Grand Detour. Also, there was Deere's distrust of Andrus' accounting practices.<ref>Neil Dahlstrom, and Jeremy Dahlstrom, ''The John Deere Story:  A Biography of Plowmakers John & Charles Deere.'' Northern Illinois University Press, 2005, pg. 18</ref> In 1848, Deere dissolved the partnership with Andrus and moved to [[Moline, Illinois]], because the city was a transportation hub on the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert N. Pripps|title=John Deere Photographic History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BQZzjmG0zI0C&pg=PA18|year=1995|publisher=Voyageur Press|page=18|isbn=9781610606479}}</ref>  By 1855, Deere's factory sold more than 10,000 such plows.  It became known as "The Plow that Broke the Plains" and is commemorated as such in a historic place marker in Vermont.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hans Halberstadt|title=The American Family Farm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pL-angnX7HAC&pg=PA18|year=2003|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|page=18|isbn=9780760317068}}</ref>

Deere insisted on making high-quality equipment. He once said, "I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me."<ref name=magee>Magee, David. ''The John Deere Way: Performance that Endures'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=PosxHvyEi6EC&dq=%22I+will+never+put+my+name+on+a+product+that+does+not+have+in+it+the+best+that+is+in+me.&pg=PA36 Google Books]), John Wiley and Sons, 2005, p. 36, ({{ISBN|0471734292}}), accessed October 21, 2008.</ref> Following the [[Panic of 1857]], as business improved, Deere left the day-to-day operations to his son [[Charles Deere|Charles]].<ref name=haycraft>Haycraft, William R. ''Yellow Steel: The Story of the Earthmoving Equipment Industry'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=vv0bQHZGebcC&dq=charles+deere&pg=PA86 Google Books]), University of Illinois Press, 2002, p. 86, ({{ISBN|0252071042}}), accessed October 21, 2008.</ref> In 1868, Deere incorporated his business as [[Deere & Company]].<ref name=haycraft/>