IN AND AROUND CHURCH FARM – One For The Boys…….. Perhaps it’s not pc to say, but there’s no getting away from the fact that most boys, of all ages, love tractors and wheels. Of course it’s not exclusive to boys and I speak as a female who entered what was predominantly a male occupation 30 years ago, so I am quite open-minded. But I’ve experienced it at first hand. Little boys from as young as 1 year old, that couldn’t possibly have been conditioned by that tender age, often scream their reluctance to leave the toy tractors at Church Farm, or howl distraughtly when the tractor ride round the fields is over!
The enthusiasm of older boys is evident too when discussing in detail the different makes of tractor, model numbers and size of machinery. Size is certainly important; the bigger the better. As manpower in agriculture has reduced so the tractor horse power has increased. 200 horse power is now the average on arable farms.
Technology has advanced tremendously making tractors more reliable and efficiency is what matters nowadays. A large estate like Stow employs a small nucleus of men. They rely on big machinery to complete the land work quickly. “ Hectares per hour” is the key calculation.
Big tractor units teamed up with heavy implements like ploughs, seed drills and sprayers, need to have the optimum number of wheels and tyres fitted to spread the weight and lessen the damage to the soil and crops. If I’m not careful this could turn into a physics lesson, but it’s all important and has to be considered to achieve the best results.
Now wheels and tyres are another story; duals, triples and tracks. Boys love them. And who could blame them? It’s great that they do!
©2024 Church Farm, Stow Bardolph, Stow Estate Trust