If there’s one model of tractor that’s written most about, makes people smile when they see it and is surprisingly common, it’s Harry Ferguson’s TE20. Fondly known across the world as the ‘Little Grey Fergie’ there were well over 500,000 made at Banner Lane in Coventry between 1946 and 1956. Their old technology makes them relatively easy to fix, thousands of them are still working and reasonably priced parts are readily available.
The first TE20s came off the production line in October 1946, a light manoeuvrable tractor with a combination of three-point linkage and hydraulics, the revolutionary ‘Ferguson System’ which enabled the tractor and implement to work as one with implements working as part of the tractor not as dead weights towed behind. A hydraulic pump operated by a lever at the side of the driver enabled an implement such as a plough to raise or lower the tool to alter the depth of the plough in the soil.
Ferguson TE20s are fitted with a 9-inch single-plate clutch, there’s no live drive to the PTO or hydraulics, this means that everything stops when the clutch pedal is depressed. If you are more used to driving a more modern tractor it’s a different way of driving and operating implements and takes practice, just as it would have when Harry Ferguson opened his training school back in the late 1940’s.
THE FERGUSON SYSTEM
This story is from the May 2023 edition of The Country Smallholder.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2023 edition of The Country Smallholder.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How to Buy a Smallholding in France- Long-time smallholder Lorraine Turnbull looks at the practicalities of moving to rural France
Aspiring smallholders are continually thwarted by the prices of smallholdings and property with land located within the UK. Even the humblest croft in Scotland comes with a substantial price tag and conditions which would make even an adventurous wannabee consider carefully. But all is not lost. For those willing to take the adventure of a lifetime, there is always Europe, and one of the most popular places is France.
Meet the Bournemouth goats and their supporters
These capricious animals are hard workers preserving the natural habitat
Still warm enough to sit outside with a Pizza
Henrietta Balcon uses fresh figs to create an unusual dish at Harvest time
Goodbye to the birds of spring and summer
If you look and listen you might be able to see them preparing to leave says The RSPB
Get ready for the colder weather in the warmth of late summer
Claire Waring advises on doing the best to make sure your colonies survive until next spring
Preparing the Veg Patch for Winter
Lee Senior says, a well-run plot can excitingly continue to produce good quality, tasty, fresh food for much of winter
Time to prepare to plant your orchard
Wade Muggleton, smallholder and author of The Orchard Book, shares his practical experience so you can create your own fruit collection
Choosing feed for the autumn
As autumn approaches, Joanna Palmer, nutritionist at the Smallholder Range, offers advice on choosing the right feed to support your adult birds through their annual moult and ensure your young birds grow and finish well at this time of the year.
Vet advice from an experienced poultry vet
Reflecting on how much the humble hen has helped people world wide plus advice on stopping the scourge of red mite
Give your hens some support
Paul Donovan looks at the right and wrong ways of handling birds
