Farm machinery production in the U.S. and USSR 1970-1988
In 1970, the Soviet Union produced more than three times the number of tractors and combines that were sold in the U.S.. Despite this, some estimates from this time (including official Soviet estimates) suggest that agricultural output per worker in the U.S. was five times higher than that of the USSR in the 1970s. The Soviet Union prioritized the production of larger vehicles over individual passenger cars, as it was believed that it would be more beneficial to the economy, but agricultural output failed to catch up with the west over the following two decades. In 1988, the difference between the two countries had increased to 11 Soviet tractors or combines produced for every one sold in the U.S..