Weather held up well for the first day of the Ploughing and this allowed those in the vintage exhibit area to put on some impressive threshing displays.
There appeared to be smaller numbers of vintage tractors present and there were few that were especially exotic.
The overall displays included more crafts and items of domestic rural interest. There were some interesting engine displays compared with the past, all leading to a different emphasis for the overall vintage display.
And while these displays were interesting in their own right, this aspect of the event could benefit from a change of site and a fresher approach. The display needs something radical in terms of presentation in order to get the public back in numbers to this very important aspect of the Ploughing.
Browse the gallery at the top of this page for more photographs of some different machines, ones that were not featured from Ploughing events of the past.
Tony Smith memorial threshing event
Meath Vintage Group in conjunction with Crossakiel Community Groups will be hosting the Tony Smith Memorial Threshing and Vintage Show on the Crossakiel Parish Green on Sunday 4 October.
Anne Berrill (087-220 4170) of Meath Vintage said that this year, as in Tony’s time, all proceeds will go to the Meath branch of Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Tony was a well-respected and liked figure on the vintage scene, and the Meath Vintage Group looks forward to welcoming back all of his old friends.
Novel tractor-pulling results at Crossdoney
The recent Crossdoney Fair included a novel approach to testing the tractor pulling power. The event on the day raised over €24,000 for Cystic Fibrosis and Autism charities in equal share.
Eight modern tractors were tested to establish their pulling power using a wire rope against a fixed braked truck axle. The results make interesting reading but are in no way an attempt to place one tractor over another when it comes to field pulling ability, according to the organising committee.
The Fendt 939 topped the pulling tables at almost 9 tonnes, even though this tractor would be rated officially to tow in excess of 32 tonnes. The pulling ability figures on the day in kg were as follows:
Upcoming vintage events