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Watch the wheels as they go around, I likes the tractor David Brown. Of solid construction and built for hard graft, made in Britain with engineering craft.
Everything swings the lines are a treat and this lovely tractor it just can’t be beat. I love it I do and I just can’t wait, to start it up in morning and drive out the gate.
Wouldn’t hold it against the overall design for when it rolled off the production line, it was missing one thing which makes it stand out in modern farming a tractor without. A cab to keep us cosy and dry and nothing there to wonder why, they was made that way back in the day where there ain’t no doors to get in the way. I don’t care I’ve driven none better, cept Leyland  maybe – mind blowing speed setter. Blew me away Leyland did, with how fast it did drive and unforgive, that bloody noise was really loud as it went through the fields fast and proud.

I loved that one too but not as much, as David Brown and as such, Leyland weren’t tractor for my incursion, into farming as I learns on David Brown version. It gave me a fright one day in the fields and bang for the buck was made for all the more real.

Mean while and remembering then, back on farm in those times when, rising temperatures didn’t get no mention, cause shite winter weather got more attention. All the more reason to reminisce back and get this in writing and diary on track. If you look at those times how we used to get by, young generation probably would wonder why, it’s worth all the talk for a good old yarn, and the laugh and the crack, but they just can’t learn.
Tractors driven by GPS and suspension seats to make bumps less, touch screen sensitive info panels, scoff at our past like a load of old flannel. I remember such time on the day of a farm sale, boss man returns with day out tale. How a new tractor he bought as he moves with the times, even got cab and more refined. So it’s Ford now and here we goes, it’s a different brand the boss man chose.

Turns up it did on the back of a trailer, all ready to fire up and start work about here. But horrible thought goes through my mind and hopes 990 is not relegated to a previous time.
In quick succession another Ford arrives and before I know it I got a choice of drives. It’s not my call cause I just works for him and it’s up to him which tractor he puts me in. A stroke of good fortune and it’s good for me, how he decides to keep the 990. Before it’s lost in time I needs to mention how it wasn’t just the 990 that got my attention, cause on that farm also would be a true treasure and even older an 880. I couldn’t care less the racket it caused, flat out and noisy and all the more, exciting to drive and attention getter and David Brown gets better and better. Smoking exhaust pipe was particularly fun when gunned on full throttle and out for a run. Red one or white one I loves them both the same, no power steering or comfort driving to gain.

Can’t blame the tractor for the perishing winter when taking it out for an enforced stint of, shit spreading on fields no matter what, the weather threw at me it rarely got, the better of me cause I’m more determined than ever, to sit it out in the open in this shite winter weather. The farmer he has a process evolved, to use different tractors and work solutions solved, and because the 880 has a front loader attached, the 990 for that purpose it is no match, so I can’t clean the yards with loader up front in case I hit walls with a bit of a bump. The loader attached on front of 880, lacking in any hydraulic technology. No buttons, no screens, no gimmicks to work, just a lever with wire attached to a fork. So every year when the stalls is cleaned out, the 880 shines and shows its clout. Leaving 990 to haul and operate muck spreader, miles away in all kinds of crap weather. I’m honestly not bothered about any of this cause lifetime experience for I wouldn’t miss. Although I’ve never known fingers so flippin frozen, exhaust pipe up front is what I have chosen, to warm up my hands in between field and farm yard, cause I’m driving outside in these winters so hard.
Frozen cow drinking troughs, ice inches thick, breaks it up with iron bar to clear it quick. Now here’s a thing youngsters wouldn’t know anything about, there’s no cold start to add extra clout, for starting the engines when the diesel won’t burn on extra cold days when the engines is turned. The trouble we went to to get those things going and all without cold start glow plugs glowing. Sometimes they starts and off we goes before we stops again with diesel all froze. On extra cold nights left on yard ramp to bump, start in morning and avoid having to jump, with leads hanging from one to another, cause none of them starts, all just like t’other. Funny thing when bump starting down hill and wondering if the bloody thing will, fire up on the ramp the ground all icy and all of a sudden it gets a bit dicy, when wheels does go backwards as grip is disappeared, and sliding down sideways as tractor veered, for ditch on side of cow collect yard and I saves it in time and pulls steering round hard.
And when on that day Ford 5000 arrives, didn’t understand why it was so hard to drive. Added to this one an invention new, cold start system never worked like was meant to. And why make something so hard to steer when driving down road so it becomes clear, veering around from left to right with two hands on the wheel to hold it tight. It’s not the right way to move in straight line with new power steering a sign of the times, it’s fractionally sensitive to each little movement, but in the fields is a massive improvement. On older tractor’s steering gear no added device, and grab hold of steering wheel with the grip of a vice. So Ford took taming on a different level while I can sit in cab and there upon revel, in how I got to grips with the steering devil, on the Ford 5000 whilst flat out on the pedal. A trick to learn was mine alone with one hand on wheel and steering straight line done. Never did that Ford tractor feel the same, not true and steady and on rails like a train.

All helps when driving in true straight line did powerless steering from back in old times.
All of this true from where I was farmhand, to have passion for David Brown tractor brand.

I’m talking to boss man the farmer of Gatesmore, which was where I then worked and still furthermore, every working day in the morning first thing, we speaks while he’s milking with all them cows singing. They’re happy as Larry with cake in the trough, as well they might be, there for the scoff. Milking away and we shout over and around, the noise of the milking machine makes sucking sound. He shouts his orders and makes it clear, for what I’m supposed to do a word in my ear. He has to shout loud cause I didn’t know, at the time I’m half deaf but it didn’t show, only in as much as I couldn’t hear proper, didn’t know myself so didn’t tell no doctor.

I have to get tractor and drive up the road, up to fifteen acres and hitch up the load. Attach the flat roller and spend all day, in the field up by side of the dual carriageway. Spent hours eventually towing it there, up the main road without nod or care, for any cars and traffic back there, cause frankly I just couldn’t care. Had to drive careful, couldn’t drive fast cause the roller’s filled with water ballast. It made a clanking sound as it went around, I had to slow down to dampen the sound. I didn’t care cause I had all day to get it up to the field by the dual carriageway. I tows it there with David Brown and feels extra happy as the sun’s shining down.

Now I’ve done that field and the sight was it pleasing, to see them stripes outlined and teasing. From the dual carriageway below and from alongside, that pattern showed good and tickled me pride. Dark over light and over again, the whole fifteen acres’ stripes all the same. The traffic below all going their own way, having to see my annual display, of what farming can do and how it may, show seasonally on a certain day. With pride and joy I moves across the road to carry on that great farming show, but only to some cause most don’t cares, how the grass looks in Springtime so is unawares. I carries on rolling in my very own ways, field after field in sunshine days. I sets off on tractor driving so slow, so grass can get flattened and encouraged to grow. I loved that job on David Brown tractor, even though nine hours I was sat for, on contoured metal seat with piece of sponge cushion, for comfort against the lack of suspension. By the time I gets back to the roadside fields, I’ve covered dozens of acres to raise the yields. I loved them Spring times with sun on my back, just as well cause tractor had no cab. But I haven’t finished yet I’ve got one field to go, this one on a hill on the side of the road.

Old retired bloke who owns the fields, takes his share of the land and its yields, as he rents out his land to the farmer boss man who only wants to farm this bit of land. Unknown to me he’s keeping an eye on the progress in fields as everyday goes by. He confronts my boss and makes a fuss, reckons fields aren’t rolled proper and accuses us, of missing out headlands to speed up the job, all in the effort to save a bob. Cantankerous bugger if he was only aware, how I loved that job and I wouldn’t dare. Now I was angry and underhand bitten, he’d struggle to find someone so utterly smitten, with driving Selectamatic David Brown 990, and every day as happy as I can be. I argues my case clear as day and night and says he should look a bit harder and get his facts right. To him it was wrong but what did he know, lived off rent from land from the farmer in tow. I know he had barns with machinery inside, stuff that long ago had been left and died, of negligent parking and lack of attention, left farming to others my boss to mention. For me I cares one hundred percent, cause I understands the boss has to pay the rent. So here we goes rolling the grass, and the headland comes first it’s face about arse. Just to be sure they say do headland twice so as I don’t miss any and it’s all left nice. Well if that’s what he wants it’s alright with me, gives me extra time on the 990. Might be hard to imagine it might, doing field work on tractor without a cab in sight. No windows, no doors, no cab on it, just a rock hard seat for me to sit. Good job the weather was different back along, spring times and summers hot and strong, but you had to look at it two different ways, cause the winters was wet and freezing long days. Now I’m in this field on top of the hill, looking down yonder wondering how this rig will, react when I drives down with all the grass wet, hopes I get to the bottom with no regret. I couldn’t go down in high ratio, even though it was bloody slow, two and a half miles per hour is where the needle stops, to cover these spring time flat rolling ops. Just to be safe I put ratios in low, so I can get down the hill nice and slow. I’m happy I made the right change of mind, changing gears around and hopefully find, so I can get those stripe lines straight, as in the process I try to make. It’s crucial to get the roller in line cause wobbly lines are no thing of mine. I didn’t know it – OCD, straight lines a sign of making me happy. Imprinted and set and stuck in my mind, was the greatest of pleasure to create straight line. A funny feeling at the top of the hill was whether I was right to be flat rolling still. Three ton roller hitched on tow bar, made me wonder just exactly how far. Good reason I thought in advance, to leave out headland this time and take no chance, cause niggling feeling wouldn’t go and I was expected to have some work to show. Right on edge of field was fence, and steepest part of hill from whence, I was expected to roll it flat, but my mind takes it in and I says ‘fuck that’. So chosen is ground a good ten feet away, from the steepest part marking boundary. It still looks precarious and dodgy on ground, but in for a penny, in for a pound. So gears selected and off we go, heading down hill nice and slow. Too late now it’s all in motion before all of a sudden a panic commotion. I’ve seen it before many a time, when the wheels turn backwards and we’re out of line. I’m hanging on tight to the steering wheel, turning into the slide cause that’s the deal, to get out of a trouble when in a slide ways, and get the tractor into sideways. It’s worked and I can’t believe my luck, how the tractor is sideways and the whole rig is stuck, in a position of slew and I’m broadside down, as the roller overtakes me as it comes around. Never believe it in all my days this roller slips past in a different ways, overtakes me and the tractor both, as it pulls me around and makes the most, of the weight advantage it suddenly gained as forward motion of tractor is not maintained. Now I’m facing the right way again, as the tractor does its best to maintain, motion in forwards as it overtakes, the roller and now its reverse stakes, the tractor’s in front of the roller once more and here we go flat rolling to the fore. But hang on a minute I can’t believe, a split second reaction and all in the need, cause here we go the hill’s too sloped and that roller’s back past again as I never hoped, I’m going round and round like a spinning top, wondering just how I was going to stop. Tractor and roller all in one, straight lines gone and headland done. Old retired bloke and he never did see, how rolling progressed if he’d only been, lurking around and watching that day, but thankfully he never had a word to say. I got to the bottom all in one bit, cause field flattened out before fence marked it.

What an experience there fore to write down, glorious fantastic that David Brown. That headland got rolled quite unlike any other and was worth the effort and all the bother. I came away once the whole field was done knowing that headland was covered and I didn’t miss none. Later the sunshine made for hot sunny day and I drove that hill the proper way.