March 12, 1947, the first model M rolled off the assembly line at the new John Deere Dubuque Works Plant. The model M was very competitive in the market and popularity quickly grew. John Deere experienced success with the model L Industrial or “LI” and wanted to continue serving the industrial market with the model M. In 1947, approximately 75 (50 yellow and 25 orange) industrial M’s were produced as an attempt to meet this demand. The only difference between a regular M and an industrial M was the paint color, everything else was identical. John Deere quickly received feedback that a dedicated industrial variant of the M would be needed to meet industrial demands. This feedback led the company to start developing the model MI.