Indice dei contenuti per January 2026 in Tractor & Machinery

With the festive season nearly upon us, thoughts inevitably turn to the giving of presents. I know everything’s jumbled up in a maelstrom of commercialisation nowadays, and that the decorations and festive stock start appearing in supermarkets earlier and earlier each year but, fundamentally, the ‘big day’ remains all about giving. Whether it’s presents, our time, simple acts of kindness, religious thanks or a little extra consideration, the majority of us give something at Christmas. I’ve noticed that the spirit of generosity, and the desire to help others, have been particularly strong within the vintage and classic tractor movement over the past year. The number of fund-raising events, charity benefits and sponsored tractor runs has ballooned, and that’s a good thing. We’ve reported on and supported a good number of…

Everything’s set for this year’s Six Bells Road Run, which is now the southeast’s most well-attended Boxing Day vintage and classic tractor event. Typically attracting more than 140 tractors and other vehicles, the run is based at Jeff Burgess’s farm in Back Lane, Cross-in-Hand, near Heathfield, in East Sussex (TN21 0NE), and is scheduled for a 10am start. There will be free festive music, refreshments and mince pies available before the start of the six-mile road run, which finishes at the Six Bells public house in Chiddingly (BN8 6HT). It’s a great spectacle and provides the ideal opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise after the Christmas Day excesses!…

On a recent visit to Dominic Lowe’s yard, I met David Hall who, having seen the ploughing match advert on the back of my Range Rover, told me that his grandfather was a ploughman back in 1930. He subsequently supplied me with a photograph of his grandfather in action, and the caption for it reads: Avery Ploughing Match, 1st October, 1930. EA Toogood winning the silver cup (First prize) in the Traders Class, with the Oliver No. 8A plough and Fordson tractor. The fifth consecutive annual win with this outfit and the third success of EA Toogood in four matches. So, obviously, Mr Toogood was indeed someone to be reckoned with in his day. One learns something new every day. From this information, the Standard Fordson was around in the 1920s,…

Gaining traction Many years ago we operated, virtually side-by-side, Ford 7840 and 6610 tractors – the latter with a loader – mainly for ploughing and trunking grass for silage. Although the 7840 obviously had more power, it simply wasn’t in the same field when it came to wheel grip. Despite the fact that the 6610 had the loader on the front, the 7840 had to be switched to permanent four-wheel drive to match the smaller machine. Both were working with identical John Deere, four-furrow ploughs and, even on the uphill sections, the 6610 just coped so much better. In fact, when we first got the Ford 6610, its grip performance was so amazing, even with a big bale of silage on the loader, that I was convinced it was stuck…

Today the telescopic materials handler is a machine found on virtually all farms but, back in the 1970s and early ‘80s, it was a different story. Even forklifts were a rare sight in those days. Sometimes they’d be used by potato growers for moving boxes of spuds around the sheds and yards, but they could only run on smooth concrete. Of course, tractor-based front and rear loaders had been commonplace since the late 1940s, but these weren’t always the best option for materials handling. On the large arable and diary farm near my parent’s house, a rather special type of forklift was used on the dairy side of the enterprise. It was one of the rough terrain-type forklifts produced by a small number of specialist manufacturers, such as Matbro, Sanderson…

17TH-18TH OCTOBER, 2025 After the charity tractors had been sold (refer to the main News section at the front of the magazine), attention turned to the 183 preservation tractors listed for sale at this event – an impressive 84% of which were sold. The first machine of note I spotted was a 1975 Ford 7000 Dual Power in grade 5 condition, which raised a record price of £40,000. Then a Ford 5000 of similar age and condition sold for £26,500 before another record was set. This time it was a 1972 Ford 4000 in grade 5 condition, which found a new home for a thumping £20,300. Continuing with the record-breakers, a Barton Road-built, 1981 Massey Ferguson 1250, being sold with the correct rear lights and dual rear wheels, made an…

INDUSTRY NEWS This coveted award went to JCB in recognition of the Fastrac 6300’s combination of industry-leading features, abilities and performance. It was presented on November 9th, at Agritechnica in Germany – the world’s largest agricultural machinery and technology show – and fell within the Sustainable Tractor of the Year category at the event. It’s actually the second win for JCB as, in 2023, the Fastrac 4220 iCON won the same accolade. JCB deputy chairman, George Bamford, said: “Many congratulations to the JCB team involved in developing the new Fastrac 6300; it really is a masterpiece of engineering that underscores JCB’s passion for innovation and for developing productive, efficient machinery.” The new 335hp Fastrac 6300 was described by the international judging panel as ‘redefining the balance between performance, efficiency and…

Industrial standards We take a close look at Jonny Haire’s superbly restored, prize-winning 1957 Ferguson FE 35 Industrial Buying the best! Find out the pitfalls you need to avoid when buying a Ford 7810; one of the best all-rounders money can buy Italian exotica SAME tractors in the 1970s offered reliable, air-cooled engines and factoryfitted 4WD. We chart their development BUMPER 164-PAGE ISSUE ON SALE JAN 9th…

Following-on from Steven Tester’s obituary that we published in the November ’25 issue, more than 50 gathered on 2nd November, at The Warren, in Crowborough, as a mark of respect and to raise funds for charity. The group set off on a road run that led them to The Huntsman, in Groombridge Lane, Eridge, and took nearly three hours. At the time of writing, the Facebook donations page was still open, with the total raised for the Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team and BEN Support for Life, stands at £3,500. Steven’s family has been overwhelmed and humbled by the response to the road run and the generosity shown. Consequently, they’d like to thank everyone who helped make the road run possible, especially those who organised the starting point, made the route…

December 11th-15th December Online Timed Machinery Sale Caithness Aberdeen & Northern Marts anmarts.co.uk 12th December Shrewsbury Plant & Machinery Sale Shrewsbury Auction Centre Bowmen Way, Battlefield Shewsbury SY14 3DR Halls tel: 01743 462620 12th-13th December Machinery Auction Dromore, Northern Ireland Euro Auctions euroauctions.com 12th-13th December Auction Whalen Auction Building 8020 Manore Road Neapolis, OH, USA Whalen Realty & Auction Ltd whalenauction.com 12th-13th December Monthly Collective of Tractors, Implements etc Hazle Meadows Auction Centre, Ross Road, Ledbury HR8 2L HJ Pugh & Co tel: 01531 631122 14th December Auction of the Erps John Deere Collection Online bidding 20114 IL Rte 16 Nokomis IL, USA Aumann Auctions aumannvintagepower.com 2026 January 14th January Online Auction of Contractors Plant, Farm Machinery etc Husseys husseys.co.uk 28th January Winter Online Timed Auction Will Barker & Co…

DIY projects in this issue – 1967 Lamborghini 1R oil leak rectification; Ferguson FE 35 PTO lever seal replacement; Marshall 12/20 air filter assembly refurbishment; Zetor 3045 fuel pump in the spotlight This Lamborghini was in for a paint job but, during this interesting tractor’s initial assessment, I spotted a few oil leaks. Eradicating every single oil leak from an elderly machine like this one is no easy task. Lubricant will start seeping out wherever a gasket starts to fail, or seals harden, crack or simply wear out. Keeping all the black stuff inside an ageing tractor’s engine can be a bit like painting the Forth Bridge; you simply never stop dealing with the job! In this case, though, I thought it would be sensible to address the most obvious…

FEBRUARY 2025 COVER STORY David Brown 780 DIY resto INSIDE MF 2005 Series, Chamberlain giant, Case/IH merger, Vicon spreader, Clay work MARCH 2025 COVER STORY John Deere 4350 restored INSIDE JCB Fastrac, IH 1468 V8, Fordson E1A Majors, De-stoners, Festive runs SPRING 2025 COVER STORY Ford 3000 buying guide INSIDE LAMMA report, JD 6030, David Brown 1410/1412 profile, Amazing models APRIL 2025 COVER STORY Full MF 135 buying guide INSIDE Ford Force II, NH balers, Tractor World, Best of British, County 4000-Four MAY 2025 COVER STORY Fiat 160.90 saved INSIDE Euro ploughing champs, MF 2680, Dexta buying guide, Ford 600 Series profile SOLD OUT JUNE 2025 COVER STORY Rare Marshall 904 XL saved INSIDE MF 1200 buying guide, NVTRR report, County FC654 profile, Timber work JULY 2025 COVER STORY Ford…

Regular readers will no doubt have noticed that, over the past few months, the popular My Shed feature has been missing from the magazine. This certainly hasn’t been a voluntary exclusion and we – like many of you – have been extremely sorry about the feature’s enforced absence. But it’s one of the editorial regulars that relies on input from the readers; without people coming forward and offering some input, there’s simply no article. So this is a call-out to anyone who would like to be involved in a future episode of My Shed. All you have to do is drop us an email at tm.ed@kelsey.co.uk and we’ll happily set the wheels in motion. GET IN TOUCH! WE WANT TO SEE YOUR SHED!…

Malcolme Walker Yeh, we had one it broke in half while ploughing Peter Dalsgaard Føns Malcolme Walker: they tend to do that if abused with too big and heavy implements. Richard Haffner Lord Muck: Front of the rear end casing, just behind the flange. Updated casings were supplied by M-F. They were updated during production, so not all 2000 Series tractors were prone. They were a bugger to get up the ramps onto the lorry though! I think we had 2 or 3 tractors fail during the mid-1980s, I left the dealership where I worked in 1988, so I could not tell you if there was any more failures after then. Richard Haffner Peter Dalsgaard Føns: No, it was a known failure point. Updated transmission casings were supplied. Stephen Bennett…

HERITAGE VEHICLE OWNERSHIP NEWS David Whale, chairman of the FBHVC, presented the important National Historic Vehicle Survey at the NEC on December 7th, offering some fascinating insight into the UK’s historic vehicle movement. Based on feedback gleaned from the more than 19,900 owners, enthusiasts, traders, clubs and members of the public who completed the survey, one of the headline conclusions is that annual spending on historic vehicles and events in the UK is a staggering £7.3 billion. The survey also revealed that there are 1,934,178 registered historic vehicles in the UK, owned by 690,777 people who, on average, each spend £4,567 a year on their cherished machines. Other interesting statistics show that vehicle ownership has risen since the 2020 survey, albeit only by 1%, and that, on average, each owner…

INDUSTRY NEWS Tallis Amos Group (TAG) is delighted to announce that it’s been appointed as the exclusive dealer for Bailey Trailers in Shropshire. This partnership unites two trusted brands, combining Bailey’s exceptional trailer engineering with TAG’s commitment to quality service and customer support. “Bailey Trailers is renowned for its exceptional build quality and reliability, and is a perfect fit for TAG,” said Tom Shakeshaft, sales director at Tallis Amos Group. “Bailey is a family company we know well, we’ve worked together for many years and so we’re delighted to expand and grow this partnership together.” Bailey Trailers produces 1,400 trailers every year with 1,120 sold in the UK. The range covers every farming season and includes units for arable, vegetable and silage use as well as specialist models for bales,…

Instant heat The Clarke Heat Devil 2800Q is an efficient and compact, 2.8kW, wall or stand-mounted infrared quartz heater. It produces instant heat and can be used on any one of six output settings, selectable with the supplied remote control that features a timer. Wall bracket included. ● Clarke Heat Devil 2800Q 2.8KW infrared quartz heater (230V) Machine Mart 01159 565555 machinemart.co.uk £161.99 (inc. VAT) Making light work This 18V Cordless LED Inspection Light, when combined with a JCB 18V 5.0Ah battery (not supplied) will provide more than 12 hours of constant illumination. It produces 220 lumens and features a 270º adjustable head and an integrated hanging-hook for hands-free use. ● JCB 21-18IL-B 18V Inspection light (BARE UNIT) Machine Mart 01159 565555 machinemart.co.uk £21.98 (inc. VAT) Suck it up! With…

In the first instalment of this miniseries I focused on how the sugar beet harvest had developed over the years, from lifting the beets by hand to the introduction and refinement of increasingly specialised machinery. I also covered the evolution of tractor-drawn harvesters, as they progressed from single-row implements to six-row machines. This time I’ll be spotlighting what was perhaps the biggest revolution in the sugar beet sector; the development of the self-propelled harvester, from the simple single-row units to the massive, multi-row behemoths. SELF-PROPELLED The idea of making a sugar beet harvester a self-propelled entity with its own engine for operation and propulsion, plus a driving platform, represented a natural evolution of the technology, and the first examples arrived in the 1950s. They were mainly multi-row machines from European…

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The prices shown on the following pages are based on tractors sold at auction, on the internet, privately and from some overseas markets, too. Prices change as time progresses, and it’s not always an upward trend, but you will get a good indication of what’s currently happening in the market by referring to our guide. If you are thinking of buying a tractor, here are a few pointers to help you. Should you be looking for something specific, weigh up your options – particularly if you have a limited budget. If it’s a popular model, then it’s not always to your advantage to go for the first one you see. If a fault is highlighted, make sure you have a good idea of how much it will cost to repair,…

A magazine subscription is the perfect gift: • Personal, thoughtful and fuels their passion • Provides enjoyment all year round • And saves you money on the shop price! GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM £22.99 OVER 45 TITLES TO CHOOSE FROM VISIT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/XMAS25P OR CALL 01959 Lines are open Mon-Fri 8.30am to 5.30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate UK customers only. Offers end 31st January 2026…

Attention to detail I was delighted to see that Duncan McColl’s superb 1983 MF 698 won the Best Massey Ferguson Cup at last month’s Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show. It’s actually the second time this machine has won that coveted award, which is surely a fitting testament to the hours of time and effort that he put into the project. Regular readers may remember we featured this tractor, and the story of its exacting restoration, in the July 2024 issue. Seeing this image reminds me of the trip I made for the photo session in Stirling, Scotland, and how lucky we were with the weather. Restoring tractors to this level surely is a labour of love that not only demands high levels of personal determination and expertise, but also…