pitchforks and shovels. An item that set him apart was the self-scouring steel plow, which was pioneered in 1837 when John Deere fashioned a Scottish steel saw blade into a plow.

Prior to Deere's steel plow, most farmers used iron or wooden plows to which the rich Midwestern soil stuck, so they had to be cleaned frequently. Deere created a highly polished steel surface that allowed the soil to slide easily. This tool addressed the difficulty of tilling the Prairie State's soil and greatly aided migration into the American Great Plains