Farm and Horticultural Equipment

[will-haggle]

I have just received my copy of Tractor & Machinery today and the F & HE section is no more. looks like we’re on our own now. The Cultivator will be the only regular magazine for our interest. Quote from editor Patrick Knight “and now with the June 2014 issue (No. 171) the curtain has closed on F & HE in this guise – although I’m led to believe farm and horticultural equipment will continue to appear in T & M from time to time.”. Just as we are getting better recognition at rallies….

[hillsider]

Like you I think it is a great shame that the curtain has closed on F&HE magazine as we know it and we can only wait and see just how many pages will be devoted to our subject in future issues of the Tractor and Machinery magazine.
I also think it is rather unfortunate that the T&M editor does not see fit to make reference to the changes in his editorial piece at the front of the magazine where he could have taken the opportunity to use a few well chosen words to reassure readers about the way forward.

[will-haggle]

Yes, Ray, all I read about was his ploughing exploits!

[vhgmcbuddy]

I only bought Tractor & Machinery because of the F & HE section. Won’t be renewing my subscription.

[joegrgraham]

At least it’ll save me going to WH Smiths to read the F & HE section! I stopped buying the magazine a while back as it had got far too gimmicky and samey, there are tractors other than Masseys and David Browns!.

Joe.

[will-haggle]

I’ve emailed Scott, the T&M editor and asked if we can have a plug for the club. Peter Love replied and said he’d do it….

[charlie]

A sad day for Patrick after all the hard work he has done over the years, a great opportunity for another magazine to take up where T&M left off. Also another good reason for people to join the VHGMC as our magazine is now the only one dedicated to our hobby. I too stopped having T&M as it felt a cheap publication with the flimsy paper they used, it was noticeable that the number of pages dedicated to F&HE reduced over the years, possibly due to lack of material.

[stevewoollas]

I used to subscribe to F&HEq when it was an independent magazine and have most copies except a few very early ones. The amalgamation of F&HEq into T&M was carried out with no customer consultation, (ie with us the subscriber and reader), and I forecast then this action was the commencement of a run down leading to closing its publication completely. This has now proven to be true and I suspect that as a result fewer people will subscribe to T&M.
The result is that The Cultivator is not only the leading magazine for our hobby but the only UK publication with specific garden and horticultural equipment specialisation. This makes it all the more important we support the new editor with quality articles and photographs relating to our experiences. The Cultivator will only continue in accordance with the level of members support. Over the years many members have said to me “I can’t write ought” or “I can’t spell”. My reaction is you don’t need to! You can talk so just write down what you would say and let the editor edit it for both grammar and spelling. No excuses, keep the articles coming, your Cultivator needs you!
Sermon over

[wristpin]

Well said, and let’s hope that our editor knows that Howard rotary cultivators are RotAvAtors and not RotOvators !!

[vhgmcbuddy]

I have sent an email of complaint to the T&M editor and have receieved a fairly bland reply, as have other people, sounds like mixed messages are coming out, my subscription to T&M may well be cancelled before long…

[steve-d]

I to have emailed a letter of disapproval, and the. More of us who do it the better as it’s more clout,our hobby is growing at such a rate that it’s over taking the tractors and to thoughs who came to ardingly last year I think my team and I proved it and we put the tractor boys noses out of joint and put them second best for once,not that it’s a competition. The cultivator is now our only magazine dedicated to our hobby and let’s see it grow!
Comments made by others about the t and m were also made by me in my email to the ed, ie I’m not interested in ploughing, fed up with reading about fergies and fordsons, for me horticultural means all aspects of our hobby.
So put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and voice your disapproval after all what do we have to do we are a proud and dedicated group and club and for to long we have been pushed to the side line.
I hope you all don’t disapprove of my views but that’s me I’m afraid being nice doesn’t always get you anywhere and having seen peter love at shows like ardingly he will be taking pictures of tractors and as soon as horticultural machines appear no matter how rare he disappears so that shows how interested he is!

[will-haggle]

Yes, our editor does know Howards are RotAvAtors and it’s a palindrome!

[charlie]

I think it could be the longest palindrome in the English language.

[wristpin]

Interesting to see that Villiers Parts advertise a “Howard friction plate” (300 clutch?) and Howard drive belts. The belt illustrated is marked “Howard Rotovator” in a fairly crude way so I’m guessing that it’s not a genuine Howard part!

[charlie]

Thinking about T&M dropping the F&HE section I suppose it raises the question of continued VHGMC support of Tractor World show, what do you the members think?

[Author]

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