The Broken Furrow
The Tale of a Welsh Farmer in Canada
Published on 21. October 2025
Book
Hardback
210 pages
978-1-0383-4637-7 (ISBN)
Description
If a plough strikes a rock, the furrow-the trench in the earth made by the plough-is broken. The otherwise straight line is disrupted, an imperfection you can't hide. In competition ploughing, a broken furrow is catastrophic.
From his childhood in wartime Wales to his years working across Canada, author Jeffrey R. Thomas has experienced many rocks in his life. His memoir, The Broken Furrow: The Tale of a Welsh Farmer in Canada, is full of them. Maybe the first was when his father abandoned the generations-long tradition of passing down the family farm. Or when Jeffrey emigrated from Wales to Canada as a result. But no matter what life-and nature-had in store for him, Jeffrey persevered. He had to. That's why Jeffrey and his growing family moved to Ontario to Manitoba to British Columbia-and back and forth-following where the opportunities took them, whether it was sheep farming, trucking, or sales. But after years of riding the highs and lows, Jeffrey retired-sort of.
Detailed and expansive, The Broken Furrow is more than a memoir about farming and rural living. It's a story rich with history and adventure, an ode to all the incredible people Jeffrey has met in his long, perfectly imperfect life.
From his childhood in wartime Wales to his years working across Canada, author Jeffrey R. Thomas has experienced many rocks in his life. His memoir, The Broken Furrow: The Tale of a Welsh Farmer in Canada, is full of them. Maybe the first was when his father abandoned the generations-long tradition of passing down the family farm. Or when Jeffrey emigrated from Wales to Canada as a result. But no matter what life-and nature-had in store for him, Jeffrey persevered. He had to. That's why Jeffrey and his growing family moved to Ontario to Manitoba to British Columbia-and back and forth-following where the opportunities took them, whether it was sheep farming, trucking, or sales. But after years of riding the highs and lows, Jeffrey retired-sort of.
Detailed and expansive, The Broken Furrow is more than a memoir about farming and rural living. It's a story rich with history and adventure, an ode to all the incredible people Jeffrey has met in his long, perfectly imperfect life.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
435 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0383-4637-7 (9781038346377)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Jeffrey R. Thomas is a retired farmer, competition judge, sheep shearer, salesman, and produce clerk, among many other jobs he's held over the nearly nine decades of his life (but who's counting?). For many years, Jeffrey was an active member, including president, of the Western Ontario Lamb Producers Association and Lower Mainland Sheep Producers Association. He continues to be a part of Chatsworth Community Outreach, which supports those in need.
With the encouragement of his children, and all the free time COVID offered him, Jeffrey began writing his memoir, The Broken Furrow: The Tale of a Welsh Farmer in Canada. This is his first book.
Jeffrey lives in Chatsworth, Ontario, with his wife, Sheila, and their two dogs, Iyla and Scarlett.
With the encouragement of his children, and all the free time COVID offered him, Jeffrey began writing his memoir, The Broken Furrow: The Tale of a Welsh Farmer in Canada. This is his first book.
Jeffrey lives in Chatsworth, Ontario, with his wife, Sheila, and their two dogs, Iyla and Scarlett.