Lanz Bulldog HL 12

With this tractor, first manufactured in 1921, Lanz became a trailblazer in the mechanisation of German agriculture. Its cylinder head and protective cover are reminiscent of a bulldog; in parts of Germany, tractors are still referred to as bulldogs today. Lanz’s “Bulldog” was the first crude oil-powered tractor in the world.

Agriculture had depended on the muscle power of humans and animals since its beginnings some 11,000 years ago. Technology such as tractors and artificial fertilizers increased the per-hectare yield enormously during the 20th century. This agricultural revolution makes it possible to feed the nearly 7 billion people on Earth.

Today the price of this immense gain in efficiency is heavily disputed: the reduction in biological diversity due to monocultures, overfertilisation of the soil and eutrophication of the water, the ethics of factory farming, and
social and biological concerns about green genetic engineering. Organic farming methods are becoming more important around the world.

Inv. No. 75789