to Robert Amstutz of CT, contributor to Green Magazine

Dear Mr. Amstutz, I recently inherited a John Deere L and a box full of Green Magazine. While it is true that John Deere is not my forte' I am not anti-Deere either. True, I have but one tractor but I have several JD implements, Including a 1250 planter that would take a large pile of $100 bills to get me to part with it. As I began to read these magazines, I fully expected that there would be a few swipes (good natured or otherwise) at IH. Stuff like the "Whoop-de-Doo" lever on the M-TA, or you can always tell Farmall owners because they hang around in groups at engine shows with broken right arms, or IH was basically junk because of the free gas cap offer. This was all fun reading for awhile until I found your article devoted to ripping on F-12s. The entire article was faulty and I almost passed on it, but there were some items that were just too much for me to swallow. Would you mind telling me how you get the front wheels of an F-12 to slide sideways, into an obstacle, to where it is necessary to pull it backward with another tractor because the brake was locked? Why will the wheels slide sideways going forward and not reverse? You only need to turn the steering wheel a little bit to unlock the brake. To get into a predicament like this and blame it on the tractor is a lot for me to take in. Throughout your "article" , you repeatedly compared the F-12 to the JD A, observing the fact that the F-12 could not be comfortably operated while standing; ending the statement with, "IH copied JD's operator deck when they built the H and M." Really? Using your logic, is it possible to say John Deere copied IH just by the fact that the JD A exists? The balance of your literary effort is too petty to comment on, and like Mr. Thinker is fond of saying, "Does it really matter now?" Well,I think a magazine devoted to equipment of the past should be interested in the truth once in a while, even if it was a competitor. The F-12 got an undeserved rap in their magazine. They do have a section for you , however. It's called "Myth of the Month". Fritz

At tractor shows I like to ask the JD people why there are more JD's in collections than Farmalls. Most don't have an answer, so I tell them "the Farmalls are still working". I get a surprising range of results but it is always amusing. I've got a lot of Farmalls but I keep a few 2 cylinders around just so people won't think I don't know any better.

It's a shame when somebody feels the need to tear somebody else down to build themselves up isn't it? I had a similar experience with some grass magazine or paper,or whatever you want to call it. Grass Farmer or some such thing. I subscribed to some trial offer,thinking there would be a lot of good tips for pasture management and things like that. It was nothing but a slander rag,knocking conventional agriculture and commercial cattle feeding. Instead of being helpful,it was just a waste of paper that went in to the trash after a few issues.

I always liked grass farmer keeped me in business for years. Its a different way of doing things and its niche market for sure but a friend of mine his last milk check was 50 a hundred yes 50 . a lot of what he does comes straight out of grass farmer. What i noticed is a little bit of old school farming a dash of comman sense and a little new technology.

In my humble opinion a brand oriented magazine can publish articles to embellish their own brand all they want but tearing down the other color will alienate some readers. Using undocumented information damages the credibility of the entire magazine. I dropped Green Magazine years ago because of their pious attitude. I lean toward the green color but I don't like to see the green brand represented that way. We will not make it to heaven any sooner by owning one certain brand of anything!

There's a big difference between how to articles and tearing down other ways. All I wanted to know was how to improve pastures and grass hay seedings for my cow calf operation,not a condemnation of the way I do things in the feedlot end of my operation.

Maybe things change but thats all i ever seen was pasture. The are leaning to small scale operations and most of there customers are passionate about grass fed versus confinement and its simply giving the customer wants . I dont think there condemning feed lot setups there opinion is there is a better way

Oh they were condemning anything to do with corn alright,no question about it.

I remember an article about grazing corn seen a guy south of Dubuque that did it that way.