The old adage of “you get what you pay for” is ringing loudly in my ears this month. Many farmers in this area are of Dutch descent. By their own admission they tend to be a little bit scrooge-like with their spending habits.

Perhaps I have been around them for too long, as I recently leapt at the opportunity to snap up some “reduced for final sale” tools at a local farm hardware shop.

Feeling rather smug, I brought the tools back to the farm workshop and proceeded to demonstrate the abilities of my cheap tools to the other chaps at the farm. My feelings of smugness rapidly evaporated when the ratchet gave way and I proceeded to shred my knuckles down the side of none other than the wretched power-hiller mentioned in previous columns.

Incidentally, readers ought to be aware that the adage also applies to prosthetics. I recently had a conversation with a Dorset farmer friend of mine, who had made acquaintances with someone in the business of selling replacement hips. I was assured that there was a vast difference in quality (and price tag) between the “Ford Fiesta” low spec models and the higher end “Porsche 911”. A fact that I’m sure you would agree is priceless in many ways.

March is a frustrating month to be an English farmer residing in Canada. While the sun is shining and the snow has retreated, the soil is still too cold for us to start fieldwork just yet. There is also the realistic threat of a sudden dramatic temperature drop or significant snowfall. For now I will just have to look enviously at the in-field cultivation pictures posted on social websites from your side of the Atlantic. Spring must be approaching though, as both the fertiliser and red diesel prices are going upwards at an alarming rate.

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