Regulars
3 Welcome
13 News
All the latest news of what’s going on in the world of tractors.
70 Tractor Talk
All your views and the latest news and reviews of DVDs, tractor and farming heritage products.
74 Model World
This month’s model review has a distinctive French feel; writes Henry Smith who looks at the launches at the recent 19th ACA Farm Model Show in Chartres.
76 Finding the right contact
Whether it’s connecting up a battery the right way, fitting the correct solenoid or even finding someone ‘in the know’, care is always needed to make sure you get the best results!
80 Tractor Master Class
Jo Roberts meets the tractor mechanics of tomorrow at Glynllifon College, based near Caernarfon, and finds out what fuels their ambition.
84 The Macaskills’ Magical Mystery Tour
Details for the fifth Killin Road Run organised by the Macaskill family from Glen Lochay had been wonderfully vague for months – but it was well worth the wait.
87 Rare Breeds
No. 101 Boreray Sheep
120 Farming Focus: Thinning time
Once the farmer had got his turnips sown all he could do was hope for favourable weather before the next stage in the growing season started.
122 Next month
Preview of the September issue of Tractor magazine.
Your tractors
7 A local connection
Paddy Colbert’s fleet of restored David Brown tractors has come about through a motivation and desire to buy tractors with some local history.
18 Long tall Massey
An ultra-high clearance MF 135 has been rescued by its former driver from a moribund pile of bits – now this flamingo is flying again.
22 The rubber revolution
We take a look at an early example of the Allis-Chalmers Model U, the first production tractor in the world with pneumatic rubber tyres – a massive technical leap in tractor technology at the time.
26 Blue – through and through!
For Mick and Jonathan Putterill having a fantastic collection of 12 Fordson and Ford tractors is not only something of a dream come true but also a practical proposition, as they are all working machines.
35 Fit for a King
Case has just introduced its new 30 Series of modern hi tech combines but more than 50 years ago the company used this designation when it announced its new range of 30 Series agricultural tractors which came to the market in 1960.
40 Retired at 47
When Paddy McGorman’s 1965 Massey Ferguson 165 was no longer needed around the farm at Mullins Cross, Dunleer, he decided to give it a retirement present to remember – a full restoration.
42 High cut hopes
A practice session had worked well for the high cut plough, but now some minor niggles were still to be worked out and Don still had to learn and practice all the ‘tricks of the trade’.
In the workshop
44 Dutch courage
A rare arrival at Ben Phillips’ workshop, a Kramer KL150, proves to be a delightful change for him to restore from the many Ferguson tractors he sees from day to day.
Farming heritage
48 Challenging times
We pick up the second part of our story on the continued development of the Fowler Challenger range of crawler tractors as the new decade dawns in 1950.
54 Handling mechanisation
We continue our review of the 1962 Royal Show and see how the mechanisation of farming tasks begins to affect every area as demand for productivity soars.
58 The Dufton rake makers
We visit John and son Graeme Rudd at Nook Fold on the edge of Dufton, who run probably the last wooden rake making company in England.
62 Tractor Gallery
Our working image this month is of a Ford County conversion carrying out heavy logging work near Torrin, Isle of Skye back in 2004.
65 Tractor Archive
More farming memories from our archive of period sales literature featuring implements and agricultural machinery of days gone by.
Marketplace
88 What’s on
Your guide to heritage days out throughout the season in our comprehensive event guide.
94 Tractor events
Reports on road runs, rallies and ploughing matches around the tractor and heritage scene.
102 Sales & Marketplace
Round up on the auction front in a busy month of tractor sales.