Top five quirky farming stories of 2013

The Farmers Weekly team finds itself writing about far more than livestock, crops, legislation and tractors.


Farming is a way of life and as such readers regularly contact us with a range of weird and wonderful stories that they would like to share.


Here’s our pick from 2013:


Tales of the unexpected


There are some things that you just don’t expect. And finding a macaw in the middle of your wheat field when combining is one of them. Not the most important story of the year but one of our finest headlines: Macaw blimey: Parrot found in winter wheat crop.


Picture that


They say you should never work with children or animals, but photography student and Wales Young Farmers’ Club member Carys Mair threw out the rulebook when she, together with friends and family – including toddler Alfie – and 120 sheep, created a heart-shaped sheep photograph to spearhead this year’s Wales YFC’s charity fundraiser in aid of the British Heart Foundation (BHF).


The miracle dog


Sometimes, you hear stories that truly give you a warm feeling. Stories that would melt the heart of even the most cynical person. Jason Gathorne-Hardy in Suffolk gave us one of these when he contacted us to share the tale of his dog Domino who returned after being lost for three weeks.


Let the tweet cake


We know Farmers Weekly readers eat, sleep and breathe agriculture – but towards the end of the year we discovered they also bake, ice and eat it. It started when we retweeted a picture of a farm-themed birthday cake on Twitter. In minutes we received another, then another and they just kept on coming. They include cakes that have to be seen to be believed.


Driverless tractors


A letter from an eight-year-old Farmers Weekly reader explaining why he is against driverless tractors certainly captured the hearts and minds of our readers. The letter got over 1100 likes on Facebook, was shared 134 times and was retweeted over 200 times on Twitter.


More on this topic


For more quirky stories then read the Field Day blog

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