The Irish Farmers Journal's most entertaining reads of 2017

Some farmers were at the centre of extraordinary stories, starting with Meath suckler and sheep farmer Larry Fay.

In March, he, his tractor and his sheep became involved in an unlikely high-speed Garda chase.

There was also Liam Buckley, the Co Cork farmer who helped no fewer than 11 neighbours during a one-day marathon tour of his area with his generator. All were left without power after storm Ophelia in October and could not have milked had Liam not come to the rescue.

World records

In May, Co Cavan dairy farmer Patrick Shalvey broke a world record when he reversed a tractor and trailer over 20km for the RTÉ television show Big Week on the Farm.

Meanwhile, 42 women including Orla Browne (pictured below) were preparing for another world record. In August, they cut the largest silage load ever brought in by an all-female crew in aid of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

You like records? We had more this year. We found the largest field in the country in Co Meath, and were sad to hear of the passing of the oldest cow in Ireland in west Cork.

Twins and quads

In February, spring calving took an unexpected twist on the Co Clare farm of Tom Clair when Hereford cow gave birth to an extremely rare set of quadruplet calves. In Co Roscommon, the Tarmey family ended the seasons with five sets of twins from their 28-cow suckler herd.

Best-loved machinery

After that, it was soon silage time and we assembled the dream team of machinery combinations for this crucial time of the year. We also compiled a map of favourite tractor makes by county and – surprise – some visible regional differences emerged.

Irish farmers are not the only ones who are serious about their tractors. In June, we reported that the signing of rising soccer star Moise Kean to Juventus hinged on a demand by his father that he gets a tractor to work on his home farm in Ivory Coast. He did not specify which type, but the three-wheeled New Holland seized by gardaí in Co Tipperary in February probably wouldn’t do.

Do these stories make you think farming is all fun and games? Maybe you need a reminder of the top five worst jobs on the farm. Or you could take our quiz (we ran part one and part two during the summer exam season) to check if you would pass ag science in the Leaving Cert!