14. Farming 1985/95

At the start of this period, the health and well-being of tractor drivers was finally (gratefully) improved. Tractors with no cabs or cabs which only partially kept out the wind and rain, with seats that were very poorly sprung and of course extremely noisy, were rapidly disappearing. Another reason why a lot of farm workers in their late 50’s were no longer interested in spending 10 to 12 hours a day sitting in a tractor, most would have back problems of some sort.

The introduction of quiet cabs (Q cabs) not only kept engine noise out, also kept out engine vibrations as they were isolated from the engine. Hot and cold air blowers came with them. Air conditioning became standard towards the end of this period. The seats were vastly improved, adjustable spring tensioning to suit the weight of different drivers, also with adjustable back and arm rests. Air cushioning in the seats also came into use at the end of this period.

The added extra which came with all of these cabs was a radio/cassette player. Tractor drivers work often meant doing a 12 hour day, 7 days a week doing the same job, they made the day pass a lot quicker. Although with some drivers I would question why they had a Q cab when you could hear the music they were playing from outside the cab.

With the drastic changes that had to be made on Sheriffs Court Farm during this period, we stopped growing potatoes and onions. Bob Hood retired in 1993 leaving me on my own for the next 22 years. To manage this, by 1995, the sprayer and fertilizer spreader were replaced with machines that covered 24 meters in one pass, up from 12 meters. Contractors were used at harvest and cereal planting time. On the machinery side we reduced to 2 good working tractors, a combine harvester and a rough terrain loader.

Terry Marsh

Originally published in the Monkton News (October 2025).