Old Pond publishing days

Praise from Pro-Operator for Chris Lockwood's Sprayers and Spreaders DVD

'This DVD -- Sprayers & Spreaders, self-propelled machines in Britain by Chris Lockwood -- provides great information and entertainment for anybody interested in farm machinery and sprayers.' This is the verdict of the reviewer in the spring edition of Pro Operator, the only specialist publication for all registered spray operators in the UK.

The reviewer continues: 'Seeing one of the original SAM FC from Sands, self-propelleds in a field along with the Ford tractor-based Chafer Tramliner as well as forward control MB-Tracs will be a treat for some. While others will marvel at the comfort, features and electronic control on show on the latest machines at work.'

The website for Pro-Operator is here.

Details of Chris Lockwood's Sprayers & Spreaders DVD are here.

Visitors to LAMMA this week can find the DVD on sale on the Old Pond stand in Hall 4.

A delightful present from Australia

The wood carving by James Pascoe of Kerang, Victoria, Australia is made from red gum, a Eucalyptus species. It measures 24 cm across the base. You may notice an Old Pond frog next to the letter 'O'. (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

James has sent us this delightful and unexpected present as, he says, 'a thanks for sending catalogs over time.' He carves as a hobby and was recently featured in Tractor & Machinery magazine.

Fendt Tractors DVD is due shortly from Tractor Barn

Fendt Tractors: A Power on the Land Since 1928, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD approx. 100 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-90-4. Now in stock at Old Pond at £16.95 inc. VAT.

In their usual lively way the Tractor Barn film-makers start by telling the early story of Fendt by using a mix of archive material from the 1930s to the 1980s, including factory footage and testing, as well as lots of their own footage taken over the years at various events. They cover the original Dieselross series as well as the later models including the long-running Favorit and Farmer ranges; they give the low-down on the toolcarrier concept.

A large part of the programme is devoted to products of the firm from the 1990s onwards and all the sophisticated features that have made the Fendt brand so highly regarded today.

The AGCO takeover is also examined and we then see the very latest tractors including the new 900, 800 and 700 Series models as shown in promotional material and by Tractor Barn’s own filming out in the fields of the UK.

Combine Harvesters Part 3 2010-13 new DVD by Chris Lockwood advance information

Combine Harvesters Part Three 2010-13, Chris Lockwood. DVD, approx. 95 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-89-8. To be released by Old Pond in July at £16.95 inc. VAT.

For further information or to order in advance email [email protected].

Following on from the highly successful Combine Harvesters Parts One and Two DVDs, Part Three brings things up to date with the latest generations of combines. In total 32 machines are featured, including some older machines from the early 2000s which help explain where the current models are developed from, although most machines date from the 2010-13 period.

Included are the current flagships from the major manufacturers with headers up to 40ft/12m wide including the Claas Lexion 780, Case IH Axial-Flow 9230, John Deere S690i, Massey Ferguson Delta 9280 AL and New Holland CR9090.

What makes the programme particularly interesting are interviews with the owners, operators or farm managers responsible for 16 of the combines featured. They touch on topics ranging from previous combine history to output achieved.

All the footage was filmed specifically for this programme and has not appeared anywhere else. Almost all machines were filmed during the 2013 harvest, and all are shown at work on British farms in various crops including winter oilseed rape, winter and spring barley and winter wheat.

Chris Lockwood has developed a reputation for making comprehensive, detailed programmes aimed at fellow farm machinery enthusiast. This is his tenth DVD, and he is also author of two tractor titles in the Know Your … series. A free-lance agricultural journalist, Chris lives in Suffolk.

Combine list (32 machines)

·         Case IH Axial-Flow 9120, 7230 and 9230.

·         Claas SF, Lexion 430 Evolution, 480, Tucano 430, Lexion 520, 580+ TT, 630, 750 TT, 760 TT, 770 TT, 760 TT (Tier 4i) and 780 TT (Tier 4i).

·         Deutz-Fahr Topliner 4080 HTS and 5670 HTS Balance.

·         John Deere CTS, C670i, W540, S690i (2011) and S690i (2012).

·         Massey Ferguson Centora 7280 AL, Delta 9280 AL and Beta 7370 PL.

·         New Holland TX66, TF78 Elektra Plus, CX8090, CX8080 Elevation, CR9070 Elevation, CR8080 and CR9090.

Old Pond Publishing provisional schedule of book and DVD publishing 1st half 2014

Old Pond Publishing. Initial schedule 1st half 2014

BOOKS

Juggernaut: Trucking to Saudi Arabia, Robert Hutchison. Paperback 216 x 138 mm (portrait), 320 pages inc. 12pp. photographs. ISBN 978-1-908397-86-7. £12.95 NOW IN STOCK. Details here.

The David Brown Tractor Story: Part Two Agricultural Tractors 1949-1964, Stuart Gibbard. Hardback, 275 x 214 mm (portrait), 360 pages inc. 560 illustrations. ISBN 978-1-908397-58-4. £34.95 April. Details here

Scania 112 and 142 at Work, Patrick W Dyer. Hardback, 210 x 265 mm (landscape), 144 pages inc. 204 photographs. ISBN 978-1-908397-87-4. £19.95 June. Details here

 DVDs

Fendt Tractors: A Power on the Land Since 1928, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD, approx. 100 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-90-4. £16.95 inc. VAT. NOW IN STOCK. Details here.

Tracks, Tyres and Skid Units Part 2 1964 to 1994, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD, approx 100 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-91-1. £16.95 inc. VAT April. Details here

Combine Harvesters Part 3 2010-13, Chris Lockwood. DVD approx. 95 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-89-8. £16.95 inc. VAT, May. Details here

Scania 112 & 142 at Work new book by Patrick W Dyer advance information

Scania 112 & 142 at Work, Patrick W Dyer. Hardback book, 210 x 265 mm (landscape), 144 pages including 205 photographs. ISBN 978-1-908397-87-4. Now available to pre-order at Old Pond at £19.95.

In the eight years from 1980 when Scania introduced the 2-Series trucks covered in Patrick Dyer’s new book, they produced no less than 135,311 units. For much of that time the 142 held the title of the most powerful production truck in Europe.

Why was this range so successful? One reason was that Scania’s advanced modular manufacturing system allowed it to cover the weight categories from 16 to 174 tons without any special types. Operators could specify exactly the right truck for their needs and Scania’s production and efficiency were streamlined.

Scania got both the engineering and the design just right, matching improved versions of their tried and tested running gear with new frames and a modern, class-leading cab designed by Italian stylist, Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Scania 112 and 142 at Work is Patrick Dyer’s seventh book in the series and a companion to his Scania at Work LB110, 140 & 141. Once more he has been able to draw on two hundred fine photographs, some from Scania’s own archive as well as working shots by truck enthusiasts.

Although Patrick’s day job is in motor sport, he holds a Class One licence and drives whenever the opportunity arises.

This year's reply card voucher winner

Every year we offer a £50 gift voucher in a blind draw among those who have completed Old Pond DVD reply cards.

This year's winner is Mr DJM of Lydney, Glos who responded (favourably) after viewing JCB's Backhoe Loaders.

Juggernaut: Trucking to Saudi Arabia paperback by Robert Hutchison advance information

Juggernaut: Trucking to Saudi Arabia, Robert Hutchison. Paperback 216 x 138 mm (portrait), 332 pages including 12 pages of photographs. ISBN 978-1-908397-86-7. Now in stock at Old Pond at £12.95.

In 1986 professional writer Robert Hutchison became a passenger on a 10,000-mile trip through fourteen countries in a Scania 111. He was sampling the life of the long-haul trucker.

The truckers’ world was one of long days and nights on the road away from their families, hair-raising tales of accidents and the extreme danger created by murderous driving. He grew to understand why truckers put up with the life – not just for the money and the excitement, but also for their pride in coping whatever the circumstances and for camaraderie. There was, too, the beauty of mountains and lakesides and the strangeness of the desert.

Robert’s trip with Graham Davies of Whittle International took him through Cold-War Europe to Turkey and then through Iraq during the Iran–Iraq conflict with twenty-mile border queues and frequent police shakedowns. Finally they delivered their cargo of machinery and ovens for making plastic pipes to Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia before heading home after 31 days on the road.

This journey was undertaken when the golden age of transport from Europe to the Gulf was coming to an end. Robert’s accurate record, first published in 1987, is full of interest, drama and humour, telling the story of a remarkable breed of men. This is the first paperback edition and it includes an additional item: a 12-page section of colour photographs taken by the author during his journey.

Robert Hutchison was for many years a correspondent for the Sunday and Daily Telegraph. Among his other books are two dealing with financial crime and an exposé of the extreme right wing of the Catholic Church. Born in Canada, he has lived in Switzerland for over fifty years.

David Brown Tractor Story Part 2 hardback book by Stuart Gibbard advance information

The David Brown Tractor Story Part Two Agricultural Tractors 1949-1964, Stuart Gibbard. Hardback book, 275 x 215 mm, 360 pages including 560 photographs and illustrations. ISBN 978-1-908397-58-4. To be published mid April at £34.95.

Now available for pre order here.

A new, detailed book by tractor historian Stuart Gibbard is always an event to be eagerly anticipated by enthusiasts. David Brown Part Two will exceed even these expectations. It is Stuart's biggest book to date with the largest number of photographs supporting his meticulously researched text that opens new ground. It is the result of years of work during which Stuart Gibbard has talked to many of David Brown's key personnel. A large number of the 560 illustrations are taken from DB's own archives and will not have been seen before.

Company management; personnel; design, prototype development and testing; engine development and technical improvement; marketing and sales results – Stuart Gibbard fully explores all these avenues.

The result is a remarkable record of a proud company during probably the greatest period of its history, focusing on the period when the motto of this celebrated Yorkshire firm was ‘Mechanising the World's Farms’. It was no idle boast as the company expanded its product line to embrace a host of different models, becoming a serious contender on the global market.

The Cropmaster remained in production until 1953, but the exciting new developments that followed included the six-cylinder 50D, innovative rowcrop 2D and a range of crawlers and industrial tractors.

In 1955 David Brown added the old-established firm of Harrison, McGregor & Guest, together with its range of Albion implements, to its portfolio. Indeed, the company almost over-reached itself with its wide range of models but then concentrated its efforts to stage a remarkable recovery. The early 1960s saw the link with Oliver as well as the arrival of the Implematic range before the era of red DB tractors came to an end in 1964.

This fully indexed work is completed by Appendices of David Brown Tractor serial numbers 1949-65 and Specifications of selected tractor models during the same period.

The remarkable life of heavy horse breeder and farmer Geoffrey Morton has ended

One of the nicest and most inspiring men I have had the pleasure of meeting during my time at Farming Press and Old Pond was Geoffrey Morton who died on 13 December at the age of 87.

Geoff was single-minded in keeping alive the tradition of working farms with horses. His own farm at Hasholme Carr, Holme upon Spalding Moor was a Mecca for people interested in draught horses. He was a generous man. In 1977 when we needed farm carts in Wakefield so that the Mystery plays could be processed around the town, Geoff lent one of his and saw it transported a good distance from his farm and back again.

However, his life might have taken a different direction; indeed he was fortunate that it did not end prematurely. Born in Whitby in 1926, Geoff became a merchant seaman, serving for 9-10 years. In 1943, a week before his 17^th birthday, his cargo ship Fort Pelly was bombed during the invasion of Sicily. The ammunition store exploded, forty seamen lost their lives, but Geoff swam to safety.

Geoff was formerly President of the Percheron Society and a long-time member of the Draught Horse Training Committee. In 1990 he was awarded the MBE for his services to agriculture.

There have been quite a few films made about working horses but Geoff was the subject of one of the earliest and best: Beauty, Bonny, Daisy, Violet, Grace and Geoffrey Morton made in 1974 for Thames Television. It went on to win national and international recognition with a Bafta and the Prix Italia for documentaries. I asked Geoff how he got on with the film-maker, Frank Cvitanovich, and his reply was down to earth: ‘An easy man to work with. You’d do all right with him.’ The programme is available as a DVD from Old Pond.

Geoffrey Morton is survived by Lucy, his wife of 64 years, his children Mark (who continues to work the farm), Andrew and Janet, and seven grandchildren.