How would we cope without our farm fixers?
IN most people’s eyes there are three emergency services – fire, ambulance and police.
In the farming world, you have to add at least another two.
One addition won’t surprise anyone, as it’s a safe bet that most livestock farmers keep their vet’s number on speed dial.
Farming’s relationship with vets has been depicted in the James Herriot books and TV series while, more recently, fly-on-the-wall documentaries have also shown these animal doctors at work.
Saving an injured animal or helping to bring a newborn safely into the world not only makes for good television but, in real life, must give the vets a good deal of job satisfaction – although the outcome isn’t always as cheery as portrayed on TV.
However, while they may not receive the same coverage, there is another group of dedicated individuals offering an essential emergency service on farms – the mechanics and engineers who provide crucial support when a piece of machinery breaks down.
When crops are being planted or harvested in changeable weather, farmers rely on their machinery to get a job done and at peak times some of these machines work virtually around the clock to make the most of any decent weather.
With fewer people now working on farms, machinery tends to be larger, more expensive and more specialised – so it can be a huge problem if a piece of equipment breaks down, especially when the weather is set to break.
But I sometimes feel sorry for the lads who help us get things up and running again.
As every second seems so precious, we often don’t do a good job of hiding our impatience as they work on the machine or to say thanks properly after they’ve got our tractors, combines or whatever up and running again.
Certainly, as machines have become increasingly complex with more advanced electronics, it’s now a real challenge for the farmer to repair them himself.
But someone cheekily told me that there were two types of mechanics these days – the young lads who try to repair a puncture with a laptop and the old ones who try to fix the electronic engine management system with a hammer.
But I guess we should all say a big thanks to the underappreciated majority who fall into the middle bracket – and seem to be able to fix anything.