The 1980s agriculture downturn saw extensive consolidation, leaving the market with two dominant players: Deere (TICKER: DE ) and Case New Holland (TICKER: CNHI ). During the last agriculture boom in the 1970s and subsequent bust in the 1980s, there were several tractor manufacturers: International Harvester, New Holland, Ford, Deere, Massey-Ferguson and a handful of other smaller players. 2) Manufacturing processes over time become more efficient, so the price of products need not rise at the rate of inflation to maintain constant margins and returns on capital.