Tractors are so big these days… I regularly hear this when discussing farming or in response to advanced warning that Clinton Farms will be harvesting or silage making.

But haven’t all vehicles got bigger? Tractors, like most cars and commercial haulage vehicles, have grown in size, increasing in power and efficiency but also with improved driver safety and comfort.

No one would expect a dentist to undertake a procedure with 1950s equipment. Farming innovation saw traction engines then tractors taking over tasks traditionally undertaken by farm-horses. Modern tractors are equipped with large diesel engines. Instead of providing speed the tractor gearbox converts high-speed revolutions into power enabling tractors to pull heavy loads. Many tractors use hitches, allowing virtually any implement to be interchanged and a power take off (a rotating driveshaft at the back) allowing attachments to be both pulled and powered.

Unlike Jeremy Clarkson, farmers will choose the right size of tractor for the job. Compact tractors are still used for moving small loads and yard work where they need to manoeuvre in tight areas.

With farming being one of the few industries where the price of the product is not dictated by the cost of production, but by how much the consumer is prepared to pay for it, any small savings from productivity is very important. Farms are bigger and modern tractors need to cover a lot of ground. Tyres are bigger, providing grip and a large surface area to stop them sinking and compacting the soil they work. Cabs are high-up, giving good visibility and covered, improving safety, comfort and protecting the driver from the weather and keeping dust and other irritants at bay.

The simple answer, tractors are big because they have to be. Bigger tractors allow farmers to prepare the ground, plant, till and harvest faster and more efficiently. Less time in the fields, less fuel consumed and less individual vehicle movements on the lanes of Devon. Annoying as it might be that harvest coincides with the summer holidays, remember farming continues to shape the Devon landscape and those who produce much of the food we eat, won’t be taking a holiday till the harvest is done!