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When it pays to get in the professionals

The Country Smallholder

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November 2025

Agricultural journalist, smallholder and editor of Ford & Fordson Tractors Magazine Jane Brooks, joins us for her regular look at the world.

When it pays to get in the professionals

With Autumn approaching the tidy up begins, we have started our Autumn tasks with hedge cutting on the 1st September. Personally, I have about a quarter of a mile of road frontage on the busy Fosse Way in Warwickshire and this year a friends son, who does a little contracting alongside his farming duties, has just spend an evening giving it a haircut. It’s one of those tasks where it really pays to get someone else to do, as not only do they have the experience and insurance for the job, but also up to date well maintained kit.

To many of us one of the most vital pieces of equipment on a reasonably sized smallholding is a tractor. Added into the mix is the fact that many smallholders also have a second job away from their land so are sometimes faced with tight schedules, and often made the best job they can with older machinery.

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