After the 1862 Homestead Act, settlers moved westward across the great plains of North America, establishing farmsteads and small communities. These early settlers worked the land with teams of horses, growing crops to feed themselves and others who contributed to the westward movement such as miners, railroad workers and the lumbermen.
Wheeled tractors and tracked tractors enabled the following generation to cultivate more of the rolling countryside during the 1930s and 40s, and the desire for increased tractor power gained momentum; many famers hooked two tractors together, doubling the drawbar power while gaining four-wheel drive.
By the early 1950s, the Wagner brothers from Portland, Oregon had developed the world's first modern 4WD articulating agricultural tractor. Montana brothers Dave and Jack Curtis developed their own 4WD tractor, the Rite, in 1973 following the demise of the Wagner tractor. At the same time, Wagner tractor dealer Wilbur Hensler from Havre, Montana and his workshop foreman Bud Nelson developed their own tractor, calling it a Big Bud NH-250.
From as early as 1977, Big Bud tractors were being produced with engines rated at 525hp and the power to weight ratio of the Big Bud tractor is still unmatched today.
The world's largest agricultural tractor was built in 1978 at the Big Bud facility in Havre: The massive 52 ton giant fitted with a Detroit Diesel 16V92T twin turbocharged engine produced 750hp at 2100rpm; now opened up to 900hp, the 16V-747 is still the world's largest and most powerful agricultural tractor.