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Ronning Ensilage Harvester

Ronning Ensilage Harvester

Creator:
Contributor: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Source: Minnesota 150 (F606 .R63 2007)
Ronning Ensilage Harvester (front)

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (front) patented by Andrean and Adolph Ronning of Minneapolis in 1915. Manufactured by the American Harvester Company, also of Minneapolis.

In many ways, Adolph Ronning was a typical Minnesota farm boy. One of nine children, he grew up on a farm near Boyd, in Lac qui Parle County, and graduated from Dawson High School in 1912. He took violin lessons in school, tinkered with his family's farm equipment, and used some of his free time to earn extra money.

But, unlike many rural teens, Ronning wasn't saving up for a set of wheels or a bus ticket to the big city. His earnings funded a patent application for his ensilage harvester, which he had started designing at age seven. He was nineteen years old when he and his brother Andrean filed the patent, and it was the first of dozens he was to receive throughout his life, all with the goal of making mechanical work easier and more efficient.

The ensilage harvester improved on standard practices for harvesting and storing crops. Its basic design, largely unmodified, is still used by agricultural implement companies worldwide. The Ronnings' machine cuts corn, grinds it into silage, and stores it in a side- or rear-drawn wagon as the field is harvested. When the wagon is full, it is detached from the harvester and pulled to a silo, where a mechanism propels the silage up and into the silo. Meanwhile, a second wagon is attached to the harvester so that the cutting and grinding can continue.

Adolph Ronning soon moved to Minneapolis, where he founded a company to make and sell ensilage harvesters and other machines, including a power road grader. In 1925, he sold his business to International American Harvester Company of Minneapolis. The following year, he sold some of his tractor patents to International Harvester, including one for what the company dubbed the "Farmall System of Horseless Farming." After that, he later recalled, "I had more time to myself." His inventiveness was seemingly boundless, and for a fifty-year period, beginning in 1913, Ronning had a continuous succession of patents pending. His brainstorms ranged from headlight dimmers to tractor-powered golf course mowers (sold to Toro Corporation) to a stick power control for army tanks.

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Roberts, Kate. "Ronning Ensilage Harvester." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/thing/ronning-ensilage-harvester
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First Published: May 23, 2012
Last Modified: April 15, 2025

Bibliography

"The Adolph Ronning Collection, Volume One: The Ensilage Harvester and Farmall System." Firestorm Films, 2002. DVD.

Related Resources

Primary

142.C.13.3
Jacob Ronning and Family Papers, 1919–1983
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Brother of Adolph and Andrean Ronning. Includes materials on Jacob Ronning's family genealogy (1982–1983), as well as materials about his own farming implement inventions, with product catalogs (1919–1921) and correspondence (1982–1983) concerning his business relationships with several manufacturers.

Mac Martin Advertising Agency, 1910–1925
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00508.xml
Description: Advertising proofs, brochures, booklets, catalogs, photographs, and films documenting work done by Mac Martin Advertising Agency of Minneapolis for more than 130 companies, including American Harvester Company. Location 148.F.3.6F. Box 1. American Harvester Company, 1920.

Ronning Motor Company. Ronning universal tractor and truck and automatic farm machinery line / Ronning Motor Company. Minneapolis: The Company, [between 1919 and 1921].

Secondary

"The American Harvester Company: Manufacturers of Famous Ronning Ensilage Harvester Have Perfected Device That Will Play Dominant Part in Future Agricultural Developments of Entire Nation." Minneapolis Morning Tribune, June 17, 1919.

"Ronning Modernizes Ensilage Harvesting: Tedious Farm Work Simplified by American Harvesting Co.'s Machine." Minneapolis Morning Tribune, February 1, 1920.

Vossler, Bill, "Making Things Better." Farm Collector, February 2009.

———, "Ronning Harvester Is One of a Kind." Farm Collector, January 2009.

Wendel, Charles H., and George H. Dammann, ed. 150 Years of International Harvester. Sarasota, FL: Crestline Pub., 1981.

Web

Google Patents. Combination Tractor Grader, United States Patent 1706256.
http://www.google.com/patents/US1706256

Google Patents. Ensilage Harvester, United States Patent 1161252.
http://www.google.com/patents/US1161252

The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century, from the National Academy of Engineering. Timeline, see Agricultural Mechanization.
http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=2984

Minnesota Historical Society, Placeography. Adolph and Hildur Ronning House.
http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Adolph_&_Hildur_Ronning_House,_5030_Woodlawn_Boulevard,_Minneapolis,_Minnesota

Related Images

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (front)

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (front) patented by Andrean and Adolph Ronning of Minneapolis in 1915. Manufactured by the American Harvester Company, also of Minneapolis.

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (side)

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (side) patented by Andrean and Adolph Ronning of Minneapolis in 1915. Manufactured by the American Harvester Company, also of Minneapolis.

Ronning road planer prototype

Ronning road planer prototype, undated.

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (front)

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (front)

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (front) patented by Andrean and Adolph Ronning of Minneapolis in 1915. Manufactured by the American Harvester Company, also of Minneapolis.

© Minnesota Historical Society    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (side)

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (side)

Ronning Ensilage Harvester (side) patented by Andrean and Adolph Ronning of Minneapolis in 1915. Manufactured by the American Harvester Company, also of Minneapolis.

© Minnesota Historical Society    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Ronning road planer prototype

Ronning road planer prototype

Ronning road planer prototype, undated.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Turning Point

In July 1913, Adolph Ronning and his brother Andrean apply to patent the Ronning Ensilage Harvester, an implement that streamlines modern farm work.

Chronology

1912
Farm boy Adolph Ronning graduates from Dawson High School near Boyd, Minnesota.
1913
Adolph Ronning and his brother Andrean apply in July to patent the ensilage harvester.
1915
The Ronning brothers are awarded the ensilage harvester patent in November and file to incorporate their business, Ronning Machinery Company, which is later known by other names.
1925
Adolph Ronning sells his business to International American Harvester Company of Minneapolis.

Bibliography

"The Adolph Ronning Collection, Volume One: The Ensilage Harvester and Farmall System." Firestorm Films, 2002. DVD.

Related Resources

Primary

142.C.13.3
Jacob Ronning and Family Papers, 1919–1983
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Brother of Adolph and Andrean Ronning. Includes materials on Jacob Ronning's family genealogy (1982–1983), as well as materials about his own farming implement inventions, with product catalogs (1919–1921) and correspondence (1982–1983) concerning his business relationships with several manufacturers.

Mac Martin Advertising Agency, 1910–1925
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00508.xml
Description: Advertising proofs, brochures, booklets, catalogs, photographs, and films documenting work done by Mac Martin Advertising Agency of Minneapolis for more than 130 companies, including American Harvester Company. Location 148.F.3.6F. Box 1. American Harvester Company, 1920.

Ronning Motor Company. Ronning universal tractor and truck and automatic farm machinery line / Ronning Motor Company. Minneapolis: The Company, [between 1919 and 1921].

Secondary

"The American Harvester Company: Manufacturers of Famous Ronning Ensilage Harvester Have Perfected Device That Will Play Dominant Part in Future Agricultural Developments of Entire Nation." Minneapolis Morning Tribune, June 17, 1919.

"Ronning Modernizes Ensilage Harvesting: Tedious Farm Work Simplified by American Harvesting Co.'s Machine." Minneapolis Morning Tribune, February 1, 1920.

Vossler, Bill, "Making Things Better." Farm Collector, February 2009.

———, "Ronning Harvester Is One of a Kind." Farm Collector, January 2009.

Wendel, Charles H., and George H. Dammann, ed. 150 Years of International Harvester. Sarasota, FL: Crestline Pub., 1981.

Web

Google Patents. Combination Tractor Grader, United States Patent 1706256.
http://www.google.com/patents/US1706256

Google Patents. Ensilage Harvester, United States Patent 1161252.
http://www.google.com/patents/US1161252

The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century, from the National Academy of Engineering. Timeline, see Agricultural Mechanization.
http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=2984

Minnesota Historical Society, Placeography. Adolph and Hildur Ronning House.
http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Adolph_&_Hildur_Ronning_House,_5030_Woodlawn_Boulevard,_Minneapolis,_Minnesota