Patrick Kielty’s BBC show explores story of the men who changed the world of agriculture

TV presenter Patrick Kielty has travelled across Northern Ireland, England, Detroit and New York exploring the untold story of Harry Ferguson and Henry Ford – and how they changed the world of agriculture.
By Joanne Knox
Published 5th Sep 2022, 16:40 BST
Updated 5th Sep 2022, 16:40 BST
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Airing tomorrow night on BBC One Northern Ireland, ‘Patrick Kielty’s Tractor Wars: Ferguson v Ford’ will uncover the men behind the myths.

In 1938, Ferguson and Ford, two former farm boys, shook hands on a gentleman’s agreement with the ambition to change the agricultural world forever.

Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and Harry Ferguson, the brilliant Ulster inventor, agreed to mass-produce an ingenious new tractor.

Patrick Kielty on a 'Wee Grey Fergie'. Image: BBCPatrick Kielty on a 'Wee Grey Fergie'. Image: BBC
Patrick Kielty on a 'Wee Grey Fergie'. Image: BBC

Together, they would mechanise the world of the struggling small farmer on an industrial scale and put an end to the depressed 1930s.

In a journey that takes him from Northern Ireland to the USA, Dundrum native Patrick Kielty reveals the story of Harry Ferguson’s partnership with Henry Ford, and the events that led to a $250 million lawsuit.

It is a transatlantic story of farming, big business and a broken partnership.

The Northern Irish comedian visits the house in Co. Down where Harry Ferguson was born in 1884, and attempts to plough with horses in the same field that Ferguson did as a boy.

Patrick gets behind the wheel of several Ford and Ferguson tractors, and drives around Abbotswood, the grand country estate in the Cotswolds where Harry Ferguson lived in later life.

Following in Harry’s footsteps to the USA, Patrick pays a visit to Detroit to the site of the world’s first assembly line where the Ford Model T was built.

He also visits Fair Lane, the home of Henry Ford, where that famous handshake agreement took place.

Patrick then heads to the former site of Ferguson Park, the rival factory that Harry set up right on Ford’s doorstep.

Patrick’s journey takes him to New York to examine the spectacular fall-out which led to a $251 million lawsuit - a David v Goliath story of its time, gripping the press and the general public over five years.

Uncovering the men behind the myths, Patrick reveals the genius of two farm boys from different sides of the Atlantic, who went on to change the world of agriculture.

‘Patrick Kielty’s Tractor Wars: Ferguson v Ford’ airs Tuesday 6 September on BBC One Northern Ireland, at 10.40pm.

If you miss it, the show will also be available to view on BBC iPlayer.

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