International Harvester Titan 10-20

Making its debut at the national Cereals Event this year is an 86 year-old stalwart from the forefront of the modern revolution in British food production.

The International Harvester Titan 10-20, scheduled to be operating on the RAGT Seeds stand at regular intervals throughout the show, is part of a major display celebrating the heritage and development of robust wheat breeding in the UK.

Introduced in 1919, the two-cylinder, 28 bhp paraffin-powered machine had two forward speeds and was considered the most versatile tractor of its time. Said to have the pulling power of 15 good draft horses and the endurance of 50 while costing less than 10, it could plough just over 1 ha (2.5 acres) per hour.

"During its lifetime the Titan has seen average UK winter wheat yields increase by more than 350% from just under 2 t/ha to nearly 8 t/ha," explained Chris Black of RAGT Seeds. "Our PBIC Seeds varieties developed at Cambridge - from Yeoman and Holdfast, through Maris Huntsman, Hobbit, Norman and Mercia to Hereward, Consort, Napier, Gladiator and Ambrosia today - have been fundamental to this huge progress.

"Down the years they and the Titan have shared the same reputation for exceptional reliability, which we believe is as important as ever to wheat growers today faced with more volatile markets, more variable growing seasons and more acute time pressures. So it's entirely appropriate this wonderful machine is showing-off its strength and survivability alongside our market-leading portfolio of robust wheats."