When I'm asked that question, this built-from-scratch articulated combine built by Wayne Vogel, a farmer in Michigan, usually comes to mind. We featured it back in 1984 and later showed his self-propelled carrot harvester and other big machinery. I spent a day in his shop and it was pretty amazing. No blueprints or any kind of designs on paper. It was all in his head.

We're working on the Sept.-Oct., 2018 issue of FARM SHOW.  Unlike a lot of publications, who work 6 to 8 months ahead because of advertising-related issues, FARM SHOW starts from scratch after each issue is published.  That's because we don't have any advertising.  Our only income comes from subscriptions and the books we sell.  
So right now, I and the other 4 writers, are pulling together stories and photos.  Many of them are sent in by readers.  Other stories come from farm equipment shows. Some are just ideas we hear about and then chase down.
To me there's nothing more exciting than to see a great new invention or idea that I know readers will be interested in.  Usually that means it will save money, time or just simply be extremely entertaining.  


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I just found a gardening website that's kind of interesting: www.gardeningproductsreview.com. It's just what it sounds like - detailed user reviews of all kinds gardening products. I haven't looked at everything yet. Hoping there might be an invention or two in there that I haven't heard of.

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By Lorn Manthey, Contributing Editor

This picture shows two of my grandsons in front of a Farmall Super M-TA at a local county fair. It's very similar to a tractor my dad bought new in 1954. I started driving that one at age 8 in 1956. We used it to pull a 3-bottom plow and also disked, baled hay, hauled manure, chopped silage, ground feed, planted and later mounted a 2-row corn picker on it that my dad used for years. The TA, or torque amplifier, was activated by a lever to the left of the seat. You could pull back on it to lower the gear ratio and provide more torque in tough conditions. The tractor also had ‘live’ pto and dual action hydrau ...

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Did you know we have a list of farm equipment shows right here on our website under "Links"?  We update it constantly with new info and links to each show's site.  Lots of shows are coming up this fall.  Click here to check 'em out! List of Shows

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Mark Newhall, Editor-Publisher
As of this month, I've worked at FARM SHOW for 40 years.  I started in 1978 after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in agricultural journalism.  The founder of FARM SHOW, Harold Johnson, started the publication in 1977 after leaving his job as editor of Farm Industry News magazine. His idea was to start a magazine with no advertising so it would not be indebted to big advertisers and could "tell it like it is" about lemon products that don't perform the way manufacturers intended.  
In 1994, Harold retired and gave me the chance to take over.  It's been great fun and I still enjoy putting together every issue of FARM SHOW.  We couldn't do it without all the contributions from subscribers who generously take time to tell us about the inventions and ideas they've come up with, as well as to tell us about their "best & worst buys", shop tips, and much more.  I don ...

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