Will’s World: A farmer’s plea to angry folk in North Wales
© Richard Stanton There’s a lady in our village who seems very angry. Without fail, day or night, if any of us drive past her house on a tractor, she’s standing at the end of her drive shaking her head dramatically, hands on hips.
She has the kind of venomous look on her face that would make even the most hardened Mafia hitman nervous.
It’s got to the point that I don’t even look at her now, and I’ve advised anyone who’s driving for us to do the same.
See also: Road rules reminder: Trailer safety, tractor speed and licences
This is partly because it’s usually when we’re silaging or harvesting, so we haven’t got time for silly confrontations, but also just in case any of them unwittingly makes direct eye contact and gets turned to stone. Like everyone else, we’re short-staffed enough as it is.
I thought that in the interests of building bridges, I’d write her a letter.
Dear Madam,
You don’t know me, but I’m a local farmer, and I often drive through the village and past your house on a tractor, as various members of my family have for 75 years. I can’t help but notice that you seem extremely displeased by this course of action.
I appreciate that it isn’t ideal, and often happens at weekends and evenings, when doubtless the tractors are disturbing your peace and quiet. However, I’m afraid that farming isn’t a nine-to-five job, and we’re often under pressure to get crops in before the weather breaks.
I’m sure that you’re familiar with the shortages of various food items in supermarkets over the past few years due to the changing climate, Covid, the war in Ukraine, and Brexit. We are doing our best to keep those shelves full.
I would prefer not to take the route that leads past your driveway, but if I take a chance and go up the high street, I can almost guarantee that – due to the number of people who park their cars along both sides of the road – I won’t be able to get through.
I could just put my foot down and take off all their wing mirrors, of course, which I’d enjoy greatly, but I don’t think they’d be best pleased.
And I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to reverse a tractor and trailer down a busy street when there are several cars behind you, but it does rather tend to cause chaos.
Some drivers get very agitated indeed and will even resort to making assorted vigorous hand gestures.
My other option would be taking a longer route back to the farm, but we’re trying not to unnecessarily burn fuel and to produce food in a way that’s as environmentally friendly as possible.
With inflation where it is, I’m sure that you can appreciate that we can’t afford to waste money either. Our choices are therefore limited.
We always try to drive slowly and respectfully in case there are children or pets wandering the streets. I’m conscious, too, that modern agricultural machinery can be large and intimidating when you’re not used to being around it. Despite this, you are obviously still greatly irritated by our presence.
So how do we resolve this? Well, next time I drive past I’m going to give you a cheerful wave and smile, and I’d urge you to find it in your heart to do the same in return.
There’s a quote from Peter Pan author JM Barrie: “Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” I like that, and you might too.
Yours sincerely,
A local farmer