About this episode

Caite and Arlene interview Neil Dahlstrom, an archivist at John Deere, discussing his work, books, and the importance of history.

This week, Caite and Arlene interview Neil Dahlstrom from the Quad Cities, an archivist at John Deere who manages historical records, collections, antique equipment, and corporate art; he says he cannot collect John Deere items personally due to ethics rules. Dahlstrom, who lacks a farming background, describes his path into archives and his interest in research and historical mysteries, while also “growing” his nearly 16-year-old son and new writing projects. He discusses his books: a Civil War press-freedom story (“Lincoln’s Wrath”), a biography of John and Charles Deere (“The John Deere Story”), and “Tractor Wars” (1908–1928) on tractor origins and the roles of Ford, International Harvester, and Deere, including forgotten brands, fraud prompting standards like the Nebraska Test Lab, long adoption curves, and implement changes. He explains how “Tractor Wars” became an Iowa PBS documentary, and reflects on why history matters. Don’t miss it! We're glad you're joining us for another episode of Barnyard Language. If you enjoy the show, please tell a friend (or two) and be sure to rate and review us wherever you're listening! If you want to help us keep buying coffee and paying our…

People in this episode

Hosts: Caite Palmer, Arlene Hunter

Guest: Neil Dahlstrom

Topics covered

• John Deere history
• archivist
• farming equipment
• historical research
• parenting
• writing

Keywords

• John Deere
• archivist
• Tractor Wars
• historical records
• parenting
• writing projects

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: John Deere

Books & works: Lincoln’s Wrath, The John Deere Story, Tractor Wars

Places: Iowa, Quad Cities

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