Giving something back...

My detecting pal and good friend had a call from one of the farmers wives the other day where we have a permission to detect with a plea of assistance.

It turns out that some expensive pieces of tagging equipment from 2 of their more mischievous Holstein Frisian calves had been lost in a few feet of bedding straw. Numerous efforts from staff with pitchforks had led to no avail so Roy was called in to the rescue with his trusty T2.

The collars in question are made from a very tough webbing material and have expensive microchips inside them, fortunately they are also fitted with a metallic D ring which is about the only thing on them liable to be picked up by the detector.

Roy said that surrounding the 2 dozen or so inquisitive young calves was also a metal fence and metal water trough not to mention the reinforcement that was also in the concrete floor.. Not the best environment from detecting you might wonder.

Despite the disheartening surroundings Roy gladly agreed to give the challenge a determined go and with boots and equipment suitably disinfected to mitigate cross­infection, the arena was entered, in the style of a seriously novice matador.  Amazingly, the first collar was detected and recovered with impressive efficiency, the metallic 'D' ring giving­off a quiet but distinctive note. The second one though, lay stubbornly hidden beneath the luxuriously deep straw bedding, effectively shrouded by the steel infrastructure around and below.  But the collar eventually succumbed to the dogged determination that all metal detector enthusiasts seem to have in abundance, together with a liberal dose of unrealistic optimism.

It's a great feeling to be able to give something back to the landowner who has given his trust to you to spend hours digging up his land and or as Roy puts it "It's nice to be of some tangible use to them and their business".

Who knows, the word might now spread throughout the farming community of Cheshire and our services may get called on again and if nothing else it will certainly help in continuing a good reputation with our current landowners..

Incidentally if you should be local and reading this and have the need to the recovery of any kind of metallic object please drop me a line as we would be only too happy to come and try to reunite you with it..

Enjoy the pictures below.

Below Roy seeking out the illusive collars

Below: One of the missing micro chipped collars...