Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i Tractor & Farming Heritage

This month we bring you the sad news that, unfortunately, this will be the last ever issue of Tractor & Farming Heritage. The decision by Kelsey Media to close the magazine has been purely made for commercial reasons. Our quality has never been in any doubt, but recent increases in the costs of printing and paper, coupled with increasing difficulty in obtaining newsstand shelf space for specialist magazines, have not helped. However, this April issue is a bumper 100-page edition, packed with the top-quality features and stories that we have come to expect over the years from TFH. From day one, this has been due largely to the excellent contributions of our correspondents, photographers, design artists and, of course, you the readers, for your support. It is indeed sad news,…

When summer returns, so will the Royal Bath & West Show with three full days of farming and foodies, activities and entertainment, music, and family fun - a grand celebration of rural life. Returning to the Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset, on May 30 to June 1, the show is doubling its efforts to showcase the region’s farming and food heart. Never failing to draw crowds - farming or otherwise - an array of British, continental, and rare breed cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and heavy horse breeds will call the show home for its duration. All will be expertly exhibited and shown by the finest stockmen and women competing for top tier silverware and a spot in the Grand Parade. And the family-friendly Lakeside Farm and Discover…

TARTAN TRACTOR A unique JCB tartan tractor has rolled off the production line at Staffordshire’s JCB Landpower factory honouring Scottish rugby legend and motor neuron disease (MND) campaigner Doddie Weir. The Fastrac 4220 iCON wrapped in Doddie’s own design tartan livery was welcomed off the Cheadle production line by son Angus Weir, ready to report for fundraising duty with the ‘My Name’5 Doddie Foundation’. So far, more than £11 million has been committed to vital research in his name and the Foundation is dedicated to continuing the fight against the cruel disease. The blue and yellow tartan tractor will make starring appearances at major agricultural shows and rugby games north of the border over the coming months raising funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. To support the foundation, visit…

Back in 2014 on our welcome page, I said: “Looking back through old literature and farming magazines is a good reminder that farming heritage is about the ‘whole thing’. By that I mean not just tractors, combines and other major items of machinery that have been developed over the years. Innovation and labour-saving ideas can be seen on every page from the past, from hand tools through to implements and farm transport.” So now it looks like Tractor & Farming Heritage magazine is to be consigned to that realm, as this issue marks the end of just over 20 years of its publication. With that in mind, it’s time for me to get out those rose-tinted glasses one last time, thumb through the old magazines and recall some of the…

The names used for these useful versatile carriers vary from region to region. They are known as transport boxes, link boxes, back boxes, and churn carriers, for they were oft en used to carry milk churns once horses and carts had ceased to be used on our nation’s dairy farms. Versatile The link box was a major step forward in that it fitted onto Ferguson’s three-point linkage and could be hydraulically lifted or lowered from the tractor’s seat, which made the Ferguson tractor a much more useful and versatile machine than most of the other tractors of the period. Link boxes were especially useful for carrying weighty items like full-to-the-brim churns, because unlike a trailer a link box could be lowered to the ground so that heavy objects could be…

Here we are, the last workshop article I will be writing for this magazine. I must say it has been an enjoyable journey all 18 years of it, the workshop articles for the last ten years or so. Along the way through the magazine, I have communicated all the way around the world (it just shows how far the magazine has travelled) with readers dealing with various tractor-related topics, here too in the UK. It is sad to see the best by far, tractor-related magazine, going by the wayside because of commercial reasons. To work Last month, I showed the setting up of the BMB engine block on the mill, ready to take a cut with the fly cutter to flatten the face of the block that has a cover…

The Charity Commission has approved the registration of Acton Scott Heritage Farm as a new charity, say the farm trustees. This paves the way for the farm to open later in 2024 and for the popular site to once again welcome visitors of all ages to witness its rich agricultural history and portrayal of traditional rural crafts. The charity has the aims of education, environmental conservation and health and wellbeing, and will achieve them by: Living History Demonstrations - Working horses and traditional breeds of livestock will once again engage and delight all ages. Education - the farm will develop an educational offer. These programmes will offer a unique blend of entertainment and learning, fostering a deeper understanding of historical agricultural practice and its relevance to today. Conservation and Restoration…

JCB chairman Anthony Bamford has just celebrated an unprecedented milestone with the family firm - 60 years’ service. Having completed an engineering apprenticeship with Massey Ferguson in France, he first walked through the doors of the company’s Rocester factory as an employee on February 24, 1964, aged just 18 and started work on the shop floor. Fast forward 60 years and Lord Bamford’s thirst for work continues at the age of 78 as he leads a £100 million project to develop hydrogen combustion engines to power the JCB machines of the future. Lord Bamford was presented with his long service award at the JCB World Headquarters by JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald. He also received a gift of an oak tree from company directors. Anthony Bamford’s personal career highlights include the…

Well, the lake that had developed to cover our roadside fields slowly drained away, and it looked like we would get our grass back. Then we got another gut full of rain and now the lake is back and larger than before. Searching for a solution This latest downpour urged me on to get some sort of aerator for when I could actually use one. I had several on watch on the internet, but I was only lukewarm about them. Some would need quite a bit of work to get them right, some were on the upper limit of my finances, and some were downright knackered. Then one dinner time I switched on the computer for a peruse and there one was, newly posted, and only in Norfolk, only a…

MARCH 15 - Collective Machinery Sale in conjunction with Gwilym Richards & Co. Chepstow Racecourse, Chepstow, Monmouthshire NP16 6BE. Greenslade Taylor Hunt, tel: 01278 410250. 16 - Billinghay Farm Machinery Dispersal Auction. Billinghay. Will Barker & Co Ltd, tel: 01529 414555. 16 - Auction of Vintage & Classic Tractors, Implements & Spares. Sale includes a Private Collection of Horse Drawn Wagons & Carriages also a Private Collection of Stationary Engines. Hazle Meadows Auction Centre, Ross Road, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 2LP. H J Pugh & Co, tel: 01531 631122. 16 - Winestead Sale. The Saleyard, Winestead, Hull HU12 0NH. Frank Hill & Son, tel: 01964 630531. 16 - Collective Sale. Ardingly Showground, Sussex. South East Marts, tel: 07890359622. 17 - Ray Crilley Toy Collection Auction. Online bidding. 20114 IL Route16, Nokomis,…

Tractor Fest celebrates its 18th anniversary this year at Newby Hall, North Yorkshire over June 8-9. It will showcase over 1000 vintage and modern tractors, 600 stationary engines, commercial vehicles, cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Among this year’s highlights will be a display celebrating orange tractor marques including the original orange tractor made by US machinery manufacturer Allis-Chalmers, as well as harvesting and threshing machinery and an exhibition of vintage and modern European cars. Allis-Chalmers tractors were the first to be produced in a bright, easily recognised colour. Produced in Persian Orange (a colour inspired by the Californian poppy), competitors soon copied the marketing ploy with International Harvester produced in red from 1936, and Case using Flambeau Red. After Henry Ford cancelled production of the Fordson tractor in the US in…

It took place this year in dry conditions and the temperature crept up to heady heights of 7°C as the day went and for a time the sun came out as well as a bonus. There was by far the biggest crowd seen here in recent years, particularly on the Saturday. It was helped by a bumper H J Pugh sale with the most ever tractors entered into this sale, with over three-quarters changing hands. More of that in our sales section of the magazine. Feature marque The feature for this year was Allis-Chalmers, and some 51 were entered, but on the day some 36 were on show and made an impressive sight in three rows. Allis had always been short on money in its early days and was on…

We want your news, views, and pictures: Write to us at Tractor & Farming Heritage, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL or email tfh.ed@kelsey.co.uk LETTER OF THE MONTH CLAAS MEMORIES Here are some photos of me and my old neighbour. I will start with Jack Payne with his old Claas Matador (1). This was taken 25 years ago at Maze Farm Holding on the Sutton Bridge Estate. Next is Jack on the combine and his wife in the Ford 7610 tractor (2). In the background, you can see the Maze. It was bought by Beber Bros of Lutton Marsh and Gedney Drove End, Lincolnshire. When they bought the Matador, they also bought a Senator brand new. I am sorry to say Jack is now in a…

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