Taranaki/Manawatu Farming Lifestyles February 2012
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Central Districts Field Days Mechanic gears up for tractor pull Manawatu mechanic Todd Fletcher took up tractor pulling competitions just two years ago and has already gained national recognition Driving a New Holland T7060, owned by Manawatu-based agricultural contractor Nick Eames, Todd placed second in the standard class at the 2010 Central Districts Field Days. He followed this success up by winning the national weight transfer finals at Mystery Creek the same year. Todd said he hadn’t had a lot of experience driving tractors before the event. “I’m usually on the other side fixing them,” he said. He has worked at Norwood Farm Machinery Centre in Palmerston North for the past 10 years, and got together with workmates Ian Vincent and Roger Allen to modify a Ford 66-10 tractor just over 12 months ago. The tractor was donated by the Hopkins Farming Group.
The team used last year’s Central Districts Field Days competition as a test run and they placed third in the modified section, then travelled up to the Mystery Creek Field Days and took out a second placing. “Brent Smith of Kopane Transport trucks it around to the different events for us,” said Todd. Weight and tyre pressures are usually checked before a competition and a few adjustments made to the tractor. Now Todd is gearing up for this year’s competition at the Central Districts Field Days. “I’ll be there and another Norwood mechanic, Roger Allen, will also be competing.” “We will be sharing the tractor,” he said. Todd said to finish the competition is a bonus but the event also has a social side to it. “You get a sense of achievement,” he said.
Norwood Farm Machinery Centre mechanic Todd Fletcher will be driving this Ford 66-10 tractor at the Central District Field Days.
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Spending evenings and weekends at the Norwood workshop, the team began to restore the machine, starting with a bigger engine, larger rear wheels and new paintwork. “We named it ‘Henry’ after Henry Ford,” said Todd.
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