TRACTOR RUNS

Commuting to and from The Urban Co-op I happen to meet many tractors. Or follow. The speed of same is dictated by the age of the driver. It is easy to tell from behind. The older farmer travels slower along the road and I notice heads turning left and right to survey the land around. Younger drivers needless to say go faster bopping to music or some such distraction as the head stays firmly forward. These large tractors are quite impressive machines. Technology has advanced so much that they are comfortable and powerful (and a bit scary on the roads!). Measured in horse power can you imagine the conversion of 300 horses to do the work of one tractor?

Recently I came across an old record of a receipt for the first farm tractor purchased by my father. In the late fifties this cost a small fortune of £350. It must have been a game changer from working with horses. I actually do remember this machine in action. My mother driving it on a hot day turning hay, alongside my father as he used the baler with the more modern Massey Ferguson. The weather must have been about to turn but on that day the sun shone gloriously. I smell the dry hay again. Working picnics of tea, sandwiches and cake to keep the momentum going. Sitting on those little grey tractors with no cab farmers were exposed to all the elements. The hay seeds, the dust, the sun, the rain, the smells, the birdsong. Despite the convenience of these work horses you were still in touch with the land through the assault on your senses. Do younger farmers have that connection with the land still? The ability to read the land, the weather and all the signs that nature tells us? I really doubt it. How do we get back to understanding the language of the land again? 

Anne Maher