Since Michael has made it known to the world that he is restoring his grandfather Charlie’s tractors, we’ve received lots of positive feedback. People have been calling into our Farm Shop to recount their memories of the big win and stories revolving around Charlie and what a character he was. Other people have been leaving messages oozing with goodwill on our Facebook page and tweeting 140 characters of encouragement as well. You can really feel that the local and wider community is behind Michael and wishing him all the best in his endeavours.

The media also tagged onto the story and an article was written about Michael and the tractor in the Irish Times, along with a video on their website, followed quickly by a feature on the RTÉ Six One News! Arising from the unexpected media coverage, which has helped enormously to highlight to the general public and the wider farming community what an insurmountable task Michael has set himself, we have now received several offers of sponsorship, which we are hugely grateful for. Michael hopes that some or all of the tractor restoration would be completed by a vintage restoration expert and with sponsorship secured these hopes can now be facilitated.

Lots of progress has been made with the 'Tractor Project' in terms of sourcing parts, talking to vintage experts and Michael even has found and bought a set of tyres for the D40L. Yet, sometimes it feels like nothing has been done and the clock is galloping along at ninety miles an hour!

Since my last blog, lambing is now nearly completed with just a few ewes dragging their heels. No rest for the wicked though and Michael is now discussing taking up his silage ground. So with the constant flow of pressing and urgent farm work there has been no time for any physical restoration of the D40L or D15 tractors, however with the D40L tractor on the road to being restored Michael has turned his attention to finding the plough. When competing in the qualifying matches for the World Ploughing, Charlie used a modified Pierce plough. The apple didn't fall far from the tree in respect to Michael, as he has altered every machine he owns to his exact needs for as long as I have known him! Much to Michael’s delight, he has been able to find the original Pierce plough and he is confident that it is the exact one because you can see the modifications that Charlie made.

While the Pierce plough is in fierce rusty condition, it can be restored to its former glory. However, the elusive Kverneland Hydrein 2 furrow match plough is another story! That cheeky plough is like a lost jigsaw puzzle piece, hiding somewhere at the back of a shed or half fallen into a ditch only waiting to be found and given the chance to make the picture complete. Michael even had the opportunity to talk on the Today FM Ray Darcy Show to appeal to Ray's listeners to help in the search for the plough. Thank you so much to Ray and Jenny for their help! I have included a picture of the Kverneland Hydrein Special 2 furrow match plough here so please, please, please have a quick look at your old plough and see if it's our missing jigsaw piece!