I’ve often wondered what tool or device an individual farmer could (or would) not live without.

Not large and expensive items like new tractors or harvesters, but more those small items that don’t cost the world but are nevertheless deemed to be irreplaceable. I would love to see a competition in the Irish Farmers Journal, not for the neatest farmyard, the best herd of cattle, or the top silage-maker, but for the device (let’s say at under £300) that has contributed most to the smooth and easy daily running of our farms.

I thought I had just that thing a couple of years ago when acquiring a heavy-duty set of jump leads. All those years of trying to start tractors with lazy batteries on frosty mornings, and having to wait for half an hour while jump leads the thickness of fuse wire gradually transferred a trickle of power from the slave battery.

To suddenly connect a proper set of leads that transferred full power without any voltage drop was one of those experiences that felt almost revolutionary and unprecedented at the same time.

Nowadays, I almost look forward to a non-starting engine, and cackle triumphantly at the prospect of winning this previously long, drawn out battle with some ancient tractor.

Pour-ons

Pour-on products for cattle are also strong contenders in this category, and I’m sure that plenty of young people have little experience of trying to drench wild cattle in a poorly constructed crush facility, with steaming animals and sweaty farmers competing in one big wrestling match.

By comparison, being able to walk beside cattle as they eat their meal and scoot a syringe of multi-purpose product up their backs hardly qualifies as proper work at all.

The same applies to the range of products that control fly strike in sheep and lambs. If anyone ever complains about having to carry out this task, they should be made to drag a few hundred stubborn mule ewes into a good old-fashioned sheep dipper. That ought to shut them up.

Clippers

However, I have discovered another device that may eclipse the usefulness of these other great boons from the world of farming, because I recently purchased a set of cordless sheep clippers. At this early stage, I am inclined to say that I feel as if I’ve been waiting all my life for something this useful.

I was at an agricultural show a few weeks ago, and happened to wander past a trade stand that had a range of clipping and shearing equipment for sale. This set of clippers caught my eye, so I picked them up and noted a four-watt lithium battery powered them.

The salesman pointed out that they came with two batteries, as well as a charger and stressed that they had two-hour running time for each battery, linked to a mere one-hour recharge time.

Being cynical, I assumed this two hours wasn’t tested while dagging something with half a midden stuck to its backside, but was taken by the ‘‘special show offer’’ of £270, as it also included a carrying case, comb and cutter. I considered the deal for all of about five seconds, and made the purchase there and then.

They arrived by post the following day, and any dirty lambs in the next batch of lambs to be brought in were treated to a short back and sides in the tail area.

After cleaning eight lambs, the battery showed no signs of slowing down, so we brought in another batch that were ready for dosing.

The battery has now dagged 20 lambs, and I’ve no idea how many more it will manage. Even handier than the lack of leads and accompanying 12-volt battery, is the flexibility of cleaning a sheep or lamb anywhere in a pen or yard.

I realise that some people have one central yard that is well set up with semi-permanent facilities, but for the likes of me with yards, pens and makeshift handling amenities dotted all over the place, this hand piece is just perfect. These clippers can be thrown on to the back seat of the pickup, and should be ideal when there are one or two dirty animals in a batch. Previously, I just couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of setting up the battery and connecting to it, just for a single lamb.

Caution

Perhaps I should sound one tiny note of caution. The machine is brand new, and hasn’t withstood the ravages of time. For all I know, it could buzz along fantastically for a few months, and then suddenly disintegrate into a thousand pieces without warning.

Actually, it comes with a one-year warranty, so if it’s going to blow up, it’ll most likely happen about 13 months from now.