SelfHelp tractor info or pictures

Schield, Vern L.
(November 13, 1902–August 4, 1993)

–cofounder of Schield Bantam Company and founder of Self-Help International—was born on a farm near Hawarden, Iowa, the fourth of seven children born to Fred and Emma (Thompson) Schield. His early life was spent working on the family farm, where he showed a fascination with machinery. Following brief training in mechanics in Ames, probably at Iowa State College, he continued agricultural work, relocating with the family to a farm near Montevideo, Minnesota, in 1920.

Considering a career as a missionary, he attended Anderson College, a Church of God school in Indiana, from 1922 to 1924. He chose instead to pursue a business education and graduated from Minneapolis Business College in 1928. In the poor agricultural conditions of the late 1920s, his parents were forced to sell their property in Minnesota in 1929 and relocate to a smaller farm north of Waverly, Iowa, where Schield joined them.
Self-Help purchased and reconditioned various kinds of machinery, much of it obsolete in the American economy but well suited to conditions in developing nations, and sold it at prices customers there could afford. In the 1960s Schield designed a small tractor he named the Self-Helper. Built from salvage and surplus parts and funded partially through donations, this tractor was intended to help small farmer in developing countries improve agricultural yield. Self-Helpers are no longer produced, but Self-Help International continues other projects aimed at helping people in the developing world find ways to improve their lives.

The organization was established in 1959 by Vern Schield, who developed a small tractor called the "Self-Helper" for farmers in developing countries. It was shipped to 50 countries around the world for more than 30 years.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top