Better Farming January 2017 Follow us onTwitter @BetterFarmingON 21 Rachel has fond memories of the Ford 8N. She remembers that her father built an 8N pulling tractor when she was ten years old. She participated in her first tractor pull on the 8N – and won first place. The family sold that Ford 8N but Dan and Guy built the 1952 Ford 8N, pictured here, a few years later. While not evident at first glance, the engine is “souped up” quite a bit to enable this tractor to be fairly competitive in pulls. Rachel and her father, Dan, next to an 1855 Oliver tractor. The company produced the 1855 between 1969 and 1975. This model has 100 HP so it handles a front- end loader very well. Waukesha made these engines for Oliver, and the engines were turbo-charged. The Gingells display their tractor pulling trophies in the barn. The family has a long history of participating in these pulls; Guy Tripp, Dan, Jennifer (Rachel’s mother), and Rachel have all competed. In the 1990s, Guy and Dan competed at national-level tractor pulls every weekend. Now, the family stays closer to home and competes in smaller community pulls. FIELD TRIP Rachel examines the wiring destroyed by mice on this New Holland 4630. Rachel and Dan will soon replace the wiring. Dan is a licensed electrician and he says this training helps him immensely when repairing equipment. He’s shared some of his expertise with Rachel, too.