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Weekly picks surfaced by readers who obsess over tractors, soil, and stories from the field.
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Foodies and environmentally minded folks often struggle to understand and articulate the fundamental differences between the farming and food systems they endorse and those promoted by Monsanto and friends. With visceral stories and humor from Salatin's half-century as a "lunatic" farmer, Salatin contrasts the differences on many levels: practical, spiritual, social, economic, ecological, political, and nutritional.<br><br>In today's conventional food-production paradigm, any farm that is open-sourced, compost-fertilized, pasture-based, portably-infrastructured, solar-driven, multi-speciated, heavily peopled, and soil-building must be operated by a lunatic. Modern, normal, reasonable farmers erect "No Trespassing" signs, deplete soil, worship annuals, apply petroleum-based chemicals, produce only one commodity, erect Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, and discourage young people from farming.<br><br>Anyone looking for ammunition to defend a more localized, solar-driven, diversified food system will find an entire arsenal in these pages. With wit and humor honed during countless hours working on the farm he loves, and then interacting with conventional naysayers, Salatin brings the land to life, farming to sacredness, and food to ministry.<br><br>Divided into four main sections, the first deals with principles to nurture the earth, an idea mainline farming has never really endorsed. The second section describes food and fiber production, including the notion that most farmers don't care about nutrient density or taste because all they want is shipability and volume. The third section, titled "Respect for Life," presents an apologetic for food sacredness and farming as a healing ministry. Only lunatics would want less machinery and pathogenicity. Oh, the ecstasy of not using drugs or paying bankers. How sad. The final section deals with promoting community, including the notion that more farmers would be a good thing.
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<p><b>Get the entire history of the best trucks on the road.</b></p><p>The International Truck and Engine Corporation has built the trucks that have been a staple of both agricultural and industrial trucking for nearly 100 years. <i>International Harvester Trucks: The Complete History</i> tells the complete story of the light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, vans, and station wagons built by International Harvester during over a century of history, starting from the company's early days, through its first truck model in 1907, and right up to the present.</p><p>The focus is firmly on the trucks themselves including collectible machines such as the Travelall and Scout. Author Patrick R. Foster is one of the world's premier transportation historians. His accessible writing style, illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen archival photographs, makes this book the best examination of one of the world's most prolific truck manufacturers.</p>
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<p>They may be known by letter--the D, the GP (general purpose), or the A and B. They may be numbered--from the Model 40 and 50 to the industrial strength 8301 and 8401. Or they may have colorful names like the Waterloo Boy. But in the end, they are all John Deere tractors, an icon of the landscape of American agriculture and industry since their first appearance in 1923. <br><br>This book captures the unmistakable power of the John Deere tractor over the years with more than 500 photos. In pictures from one of the worlds best-known tractor photographers, Legendary John Deere Tractors celebrates the hard-working tradition that has made John Deere one of the most beloved mechanical workhorses in America and around the globe.</p>
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This text tells the story of the two-cylinder tractors. It includes more than 130 colour photographs, showing restored tractors owned by enthusiasts in the United States, Britain and Canada. The photographs provide a record of the design changes which took place over more than four decades of development.
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John Deere's two cylinder tractors helped build a solid foundation for this American institution-not to mention the nation.John Deere Tractors retraces the early history of the company and its production of these popular models. Far from a simple listing, however, the book is about how the tractors fit into the larger drama of a company, a nation, and a world undergoing tremendous change from 1918 to 1960. From the Waterloo Boy to the 30 Series, each model is described in its historical context, includes information such as production numbers and specifications, and is placed in a unique, artful timeline.
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Used to identify different plow models.
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Leffingwell combines interviews with famous Deere designers and newly discovered information on Deere tractors with 200 new, color photos of original and restored tractors from all over the US, to provide a unique history of America's favorite farm tractor. 250 photos and illus.
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The 1923 Model D represented a watershed for Deere & Company insomuch as it was the implement-maker's first foray into tractor production after purchasing the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company. Ideal for those seeking authentic restorations, this marvelous color guide examines all of Deere's post-merger "Letter Series" tractors through the 1954 Model R. Each chapter features exhaustive data, color photography depicting handsomely restored tractors in evocative settings and up-close detail shots. Covers industrial tractors and crawlers, as well as agricultural models.
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