But it was not the end of vehicles and equipment designed to run on that fuel. Older farm tractors and motorized farm implements were never meant to use unleaded gasoline.

AGCO is offering souped-up gear to make tractors smarter, betting farmers are eager to upgrade to the latest technology while also saving on costs. In short: If it can’t beat Deere, join it.

How Farmers Are Teaching Old Tractors to Think for Themselves Deere, Agco, CNH offer cheaper retrofits to ease transition to more automation A combine harvests corn at Scott Farms in Delphi, Ind.

Instead of buying new tractors, the farmer elected to purchase 40- to 50-year-old tractors and place them with implements attached at each of his five farms.