Minneapolis Moline Prairie Gold Tractors

Prairie Gold: The color Minneapolis Moline selected for its machines to differentiate them from other manufacturers equipment.

Bright colored tractors adorned fields beginning in the late 1930's. Even then, tractor manufacturers used design and color to set their products apart. Farmers felt considerable loyalty toward various tractor brands, and manufacturers did not want anyone to confuse their product with that of another line. Because of the design and color combination, most farmers soon learned to identify tractor brands in a quick glance.

For instance, Farmall was all red with silver wheel rims. John Deere was Granny Smith apple green with bright yellow wheels. Olivers were clad in dark green with red wheels. Massey Harris chose bright red with yellow wheels. Allis Chalmers used Persian red. Minneapolis Moline stood out with Prairie Gold paint on the sheet metal and a blood red tone on the wheels and radiator grille.

Beginning with the Model Z tractors, the golden yellow color known as Prairie Gold was introduced. Early original Prairie Gold tractor parts that haven't been repainted suggest that the early yellow color tended to be a much less bright orange than the later prairie Gold color. In fact, early company advertisements didn't use the term "Prairie Gold" to describe the tractor's color scheme. The change to the bright orange now referred to, as Prairie Gold didn't occur until after World War II, probably about 1948. This Prairie Gold paint color was used until the end of Model 335, Model 445, 5 Star, and Model GB production, with the exception of the late industrial models.

The 4 Star, Model M5, and Model GVI had a new shade of darker Prairie Gold tinwork and wheels with metallic Bronze chassis. The first series Jet Stars were entirely metallic bronze with Prairie Gold wheels.

The Jet Star 2, Jet Star 3, U302, M602, M604, M607, G705, and G706 models featured the lighter Energy Yellow tinwork and wheels with Dyna Brown chassis and a small white band around the grilles. This color scheme also included the following models: Jet Star 3 Super, U302 Super and M670 Super through 1966, G707, G708, and the G1000. A white band encompassed the hoods of these tractors, providing a background for the company name lettering.

Beginning in 1967, models of the Jet Star 3 Super, U302 Super, M670 Super, G900, G1000 Vista, and the late production G1000 Wheatland were entirely Energy Yellow.

The 50 Series and 55 Series were entirely Energy Yellow as well, except on these models the wheels were white. The white hood band was also seen on this series.