This official Society of Ploughmen handbook is aimed at two groups of people: newcomers to ploughing who need the basics for farm work, and the growing number of competitors at ploughing matches.

After a general introduction to the types of plough and how to set them up, the manual deals with the main classes of competitive tractor ploughing: vintage mounted and trailed; world-type conventional ploughing; and reversible ploughing. The handbook also includes the Society of Ploughmen rules, a glossary and a short history of ploughs.

Among the 200 illustrations there are over 150 colour photographs specially commissioned to show in detail good practices as well as faults and how to correct them. Author Brian Bell, Britain’s leading farm machinery writer, has prepared the manual with the help of a number of ploughing experts including Ken Chappell, David Chappell and Peter Alderslade.