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Video: York farmers spray NHS thank-you message on airfield

Ed Henderson 27 April 2020
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Farmers in York are the latest to thank the NHS and food producers during the coronavirus pandemic – by using precision technology to draw a 34m-high tribute on an airfield near Rufforth.

Chris Hartley and Lee Clarke, of Trimble Agriculture, came up with the idea of spraying the messages adopting the software arable farmers use to help manage their crops.

See how they and other farmers are paying tribute to the NHS below.

See also: See how farmers are helping to #FeedTheNation

Watch the drone video filmed by Steve Butler from Agrovista:

“Thanks NHS” and “Thanks Farmers” were mapped out using the technology, which uploads instructions to the tractor’s management screen and sprayer controls.

Mr Hartley said: “We do this in farming all the time – creating exclusion zones on fields so that we don’t spray unnecessary areas, which saves money and benefits the environment.”

The John Deere tractor was supplied by carrot grower MH Poskitt and driven by Roger Venton. Steven Beckett owns the airfield in Rufforth.

“We wanted to get together to say thank you to the NHS and to farmers – our local friends and farming community made it happen,” Mr Hartley added. “The results are quite spectacular and could probably have been seen from outer space.”

Silage bale spelling

NHS spelt out in field

Members of Eglwyswrw Young Farmers’ Club, north Pembrokeshire, used silage bales to say thanks to the NHS.

Hedd, 20, Ffion, 18, and Cai, 12, spent three hours arranging 41 bales to create the message in a field.

The trio said they wanted to show their own personal appreciation, in addition to the weekly clap for carers and NHS staff, that has seen people across the UK stand on their doorsteps at 8pm every Thursday.

Elsewhere, rural police officers on patrol in East Hampshire spotted this dedication to the NHS, in a field in East Meon. They gave it top marks.

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