Tractor & Machinery Magazine Tractor & Machinery August 2013 Retour à l'édition précédente

I was thumbing through a book of etiquette in the Oxfam shop the other day and came across “It really is a great pity that many people go to the theatre in tweed skirts and coats, duffel-coats and suchlike. The correct dress is dark suits for men and simple cocktail dress with a fur wrap,
fur coat or evening coat for women.”I was surprised to discover that this book was published in 1964, so perhaps the Sixties weren’t as Swinging as we remember them! Another surprise in the 1960s would have been the subsequent rise to pre-eminence of John Deere and its tractors. It was a bit of a non-entity over here in those days, but look at it now! How did it happen? Our main feature this month tries to answer that question by looking at its breakthrough tractors and talking to one of the men who contributed greatly to its rise to power. Despite the much delayed (and, even then, rather cold) Spring, summer so far is being kinder than it was in 2012 and our Out and About pages are blossoming accordingly. Last year the story was mainly about cancelled events but this time it’s largely about how well supported they have been, both by exhibitors and visitors. There are still some very big shows to come – Dorset, of course, and the County Down event among them – but if you want to see what you’ve missed (or attended) so far, then turn to page 116 for six pages of reports.
I’m constantly impressed by our readers’ knowledge. It’s always evident on the Q&A page (36) but shows itself in Postbag as well this month. If you remember last month’s archive photograph of King George V1 being shown something unusual in a fi eld you’ll be impressed by the level of detail about it that has emerged from correspondents. Postbag is always a good read anyway, so thank you to all who write in. As space is running out, I’ll conclude by saying that I hope you enjoy the magazine this month. If you do (or if you don’t) your views on it are always useful to help us make it better, so do drop me a line.