Gerald Potterton

edit@farmersjournal.ie

Farmer Writes: is this one of the great summers of our time?

The summers of 1976 and 1977 were very hot and I have vivid memories of replacing a fan belt on the New Holland 1540S combine in unbearable heat.

FARMER WRITES 29 July 2026

Farmer Writes: is this one of the great summers of our time?

MOST READ STORIES

1

2

3

4

5

Farmer Writes: harvesting by hook or by crook

Farmer Writes: harvesting by hook or by crook

FARMER WRITES 15 July 2026

Farmer Writes: I'm blissfully living in a 1970s timewarp

Farmer Writes: I'm blissfully living in a 1970s timewarp

FARMER WRITES 1 July 2026

Farmer Writes: shower dodging to spray the ear wash on wheat

Farmer Writes: shower dodging to spray the ear wash on wheat

Farmer Writes: shower dodging to spray the ear wash on wheat

FARMER WRITES 17 June 2026

Farmer Writes: Brexit was Britain’s Titanic hour

Farmer Writes: Brexit was Britain’s Titanic hour

Farmer Writes: Brexit was Britain’s Titanic hour

NEWS 3 June 2026

ADVERTISEMENT

MOST READ STORIES

1

2

3

4

5

Farmer Writes: a man that could have sold straw to tillage farmers

Farmer Writes: a man that could have sold straw to tillage farmers

The list of Moore drill owners reads like a who’s who of progressive tillage farmers in the 1980s, writes Gerald Potterton.

FARMER WRITES 25 February 2026

Farmer Writes: suckler farmers the backbone of the beef industry

Farmer Writes: suckler farmers the backbone of the beef industry

The suckler men (and women) have persevered and for the past 18 months are receiving decent money for their weanlings.

FARMER WRITES 25 February 2026

Farmer Writes: are we happier today than people were in 1926?

Farmer Writes: are we happier today than people were in 1926?

Gerald Potterton's thoughts turn to the incredible progress in agriculture in the last 100 years.

FARMER WRITES 25 February 2026

Farmer Writes: why astronauts have really flown to the moon

Farmer Writes: why astronauts have really flown to the moon

While we await this plug-in-and-play satellite near the moon to start working, we have to endure another week or two of bad weather.

FARMER WRITES 25 February 2026

Farmer Writes: maybe I'll become a summer grazing farmer

Farmer Writes: maybe I'll become a summer grazing farmer

Such a change would permanently remove me from the sow-fertiliser-spray-combine cycle giving me loads of time to go on holiday and an odd weekend away.

FARMER WRITES 25 February 2026

Farmer Writes: back out and working in the fields again

Farmer Writes: back out and working in the fields again

I see frogspawn in the shallow pond which is always a sign that it is warming up and time to be out with fertiliser.

FARMER WRITES 25 February 2026

Farmer Writes: why virtual farming tours were best for me

Farmer Writes: why virtual farming tours were best for me

Gerald Potterton reflects on his interview for a Nuffield Scholarship. Nowadays his tour of distant agricultural fields is limited to terraHorsch.

FARMER WRITES 25 February 2026

SPONSORED

Looking for a reason to get out and explore this August?

National Heritage Week runs from 15-23 August, with over 2,000 events taking place across Ireland. Many are free and family-friendly, making it the perfect opportunity to try something new.

Looking for a reason to get out and explore this August?

LOAD MORE STORIES