Personal ads to put wives back into husbandry

There was a time when farmers could just hum a little Wurzels’ tune softly in their beloved’s ear and next thing you knew, they were walking down the aisle together.

But how the world has changed. Rural romance has apparently been snuffed out by the lure of the big city: potential farmers’ wives are leaving the rolling fields behind and single agronomists are finding it increasingly difficult to find a mate.

But thankfully, there’s now a solution to all that: Nat Mags’ Country Living is launching a new lonely hearts column especially for farmers, called “The Farmer Wants a Wife”, which it hopes will link eligible young farmers with fine fillies willing to share a life in the haystack.

Apparently the magazine already receives mail from “singles who dream of finding a partner and a home in the country”.

The Diary looks forward to a masthead TV spin-off with Cilla Black cracking continuous “ooh-ar” jokes on Country Living Blind Date.