As 2023 drew to a close, so too did the centenary celebrations for the Case IH Farmall tractor.
And those celebrations had a special connection to northern Victoria.
One of the focal points for the centenary has been a historic 1940s restored Farmall that has been on the field day circuit promoting the milestone and providing an insight into the proud history of this tractor model.
The fully restored 1949 Farmall was purchased by Case IH during 2023 to help showcase the celebrations, and was displayed at the AgQuip, Henty and Yorke Peninsula field days throughout the year.
The tractor was bought from Kerang, where it had been restored by passionate collector Cedric Sheaf, who passed away early in 2023 at the age of 91.
Cedric’s family wanted to ensure his tractor collection went to new owners who would appreciate them as much as their father and grandfather.
“Dad was so passionate when it came to restoring the tractors he collected, he was very meticulous and took a lot of pride in doing it right,” said Barbara Lawson, one of Cedric’s daughters.
“When he died, the tractors were left to various family members, but without the room to store them properly, we then looked to passing them onto collectors as dedicated as Dad was, who would really appreciate them and the history around them.”
Case IH tractor product specialist Scott Jericho said it was important to the company to invest in its own vintage Farmall tractor to promote the centenary at a variety of events through 2023.
When he saw the 1949 Farmall Super A advertised by Cedric’s family, he knew it was the right one.
“The fact the tractor was fully restored was very appealing because we wanted to be able to use it immediately, and Cedric had done such a beautiful job with it,” Scott said.
“It’s such a great example of a classic Farmall and it’s attracted a lot of attention and comments throughout the year.”
Cedric and wife Inez were farmers near Kerang before retiring into the town in the late 1990s.
Barbara said he had a Farmall tractor on the farm for many years, so once retired, he started to collect old Farmalls, all in reasonably poor condition.
For Cedric, it became a labour of love restoring the tractors to their former glory.
The 1949 Farmall Super A purchased by Case IH was bought by Cedric from Trentham Cliffs, Mildura, in June 2001, where it had been sitting in a paddock for 13 years.
His collection ended up totalling six Farmalls, which were kept in a shed in the couple’s backyard.
Cedric enjoyed showing them off at vintage tractor events and driving them in local parades. The Farmall Super A won a number of ‘Best Restored Tractor’ awards at vintage machinery club days.
“Dad would have been so thrilled to know one of his Farmalls was actually purchased by Case IH to help celebrate the Farmall’s centenary year,” Barbara said.
“When my sister and I knew one of Dad’s tractors was going to the company, we were really emotional. It meant such a lot and would have meant a lot to him.”
The Farmall Super A is currently on display to the public at Case IH dealership Larwoods Ag at Kadina in South Australia.