What better way to start the new year than with a new farming era? It is goodbye to wearing metal and diesel and hello worms and mycorrhizal fungi.

Why on earth I have come to this decision when diesel is so cheap you can’t afford not to cultivate I am not entirely sure, but I have seen the future; sandals, beards and carthorses, and doesn’t it look easy!

See also: Driving west with one eye on the Doreens

A decision like this can only be honoured by buying a new tractor. With the emphasis of the main tractor moving from deep tillage work to drilling, more versatility is required than our crawler can offer, so a change back to wheels is on the cards.

Unfortunately, as a technophobe, the shortlist of tractors has been whittled down to American grunt over German sophistication; a lot of the techie talk is lost on me.

 All I require is an engine, transmission and big wheels, in fact dual wheels will be specified to try to minimise surface compaction as much as possible.

With a heavy heart the Challenger will then be put up for sale. This is like losing one of the family. In fact, for three months of the year I see a lot more of the tractor than I do the family.

And even more of a problem is that I need to tell the service team that look after the crawler that I will be no longer be requiring their service. It feels a little like telling your wife you are leaving to shack up with her sister.

All the direct drilling sages will question the wisdom of changing tractor at a revolutionary time such as this, and they are correct. Surely the drill would be a better place to start?

This is why I am now amassing parts to start assembling my first parallel-linkage coulter.

I am struggling to find a drill that suits my requirements, and as I like inhaling noxious fumes and getting bits of metal in my eyes, the obvious solution is to build my own.

This could be exciting, dangerous or a complete waste of time, but it is an itch (now we don’t have neonics) I need to scratch.

Will Howe farms 384ha of medium to heavy land at Ewerby Thorpe Farm, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, growing wheat, oilseed rape and winter beans.