Horse power and the steam tractor and [[stationary engine|stationary steam engines ruled for provision of tractive power. The first powered farm implements in the early 1800s were portable engines – steam engines on wheels that could be used to drive mechanical farm machinery by way of a flexible belt. Around 1850, the first traction engines were developed from these, and were widely adopted for agricultural use. Where soil conditions permitted, like the US, steam tractors were used to direct-haul ploughs, but in the UK different soil conditions, made ploughing engines more suitable and they were used for cable-hauled ploughing instead, without heavy engines compacting fields. Steam-powered agricultural engines remained in use well into the 20th century, until reliable internal combustion engines had been developed.