Farmer's Diary: What a week that was: how important Barack Obama�s win was to many Americans was brought home to the Farmer by a phone call. This lady, an American living in Scotland, left a message on the Younger Investment�s answer phone.

What a week that was: how important Barack Obama's win was to many Americans was brought home to the Farmer by a phone call. This lady, an American living in Scotland, left a message on the Younger Investment's answer phone.

Through tears of joy she said: "Today I am proud to be an American for the first time in my freekin' life. I haven't slept much and I've been crying a lot."

That was very touching, and I can understand her pride. In the US, Obama has achieved what has so far been impossible in his father's homeland of Kenya.

In Kenya there are two dominant tribes. The Kikuyu, the farmers from the mountains, are the dominant tribe. Obama's Luo people are the fishers who originate from around Lake Victoria but have spread far and wide.

The Kikuyu and their allies have always provided the presidents. Then last year a Luo got the most votes in the election but the Kikuyu president would not budge.

So, well done Uncle Sam. Even the Farmer is nearly proud of you.

Then on Thursday the Bank of England did something of real importance - to farmers that is. They cut what used to be called "bank rate" (and that is now called "interest rates") by at least three times as much as expected. If these were normal times it would mean a great deal to farmers who borrow so much of their capital. But these are not normal times.

Bank rate is the rate at which the Bank of England will lend to commercial banks. If the Royal Bank of Scotland wants to borrow it can get money at 3%. The Royal Bank will then add a bit to that and lend it out to the farmer. Sadly the bit that they add has just exploded. Instead of bank rate plus 1%, farmers are being asked for anything up to 6% extra. Even the soundest farm businesses are being asked for an extra 1% so that finance will only be a little cheaper.

What a treat that is compared with what it cost in the Farmer's day. In 1973, John Allan offered to sell at what he needed to see him out. His son did his sums on paying 10% for borrowed money. It could be done but the sums did not look good.

The Farmer had hardly moved in when the bank rate rose to 15%. The banker, thinking him a poor risk, charged 3.5% more than that and the sums became hopeless.

The bank rate peaked at 18% which, with it com-pounding monthly rather than once a year, meant that the Farmer had to pay almost 23%. The sums became whatever comes next after hopeless.

I don't want to say any more about Trumptown, except that one of my main arguments against the proposed golf resort is not as strong as it was. I was dead against the Trump boast that he would bring jobs.

The north-east is one of the most fully-employed areas in the world. The only way he was going to get his resort built and staffed, I argued, was to bring the labour with him in which case, where would they stay? There is still little sign of people waiting for Donald's jobs, and yet, the way things are going nationally, we might be glad of some of them, after all.

Trump isn't going to bring anything to Scotland except his idea. It will be built by British builders with British cement. He will likely borrow British money to finance it. So, why do we need him? If we need a satellite town and a multi-storey hotel on the Menie sands, why don't we build it ourselves?

At any rate, the decision has been taken. It will be interesting to see if it works out. I hope it does but I know many who are doubtful. They have a vision of an American four-ball, with tweed plus fours, brogues and yellow bonnets, standing shivering on the tee while the haar rolls in from the North Sea.

And the week ended with the Glenrothes by election. The result was good for the Farmer's new career as a pundit.

I hope you remember back at the beginning of August when Gordon Brown was at his lowest ebb with David Cameron 20% ahead in the polls and the sharks in his own party debating when he should go and who should cast the first stone.

It was then that the Seer of Ardo told you that all was not lost for the Big Man, however richly he deserved his come-uppance.

If he would just say a lot less and less often, and bide his time, with inflation already beginning to subside, he could still shock them all.

Who will write him off after retaining the Glenrothes seat they all said was lost?

Finally, I am grateful to John Beck of Portpatrick for a timely antidote to what I thought was my success as a speaker at the Wigtown Book Festival. John had been at Castle Douglas Mart and had overheard two of the buyers. "What did you think of Charlie's talk at Wigtown then, Andy?"

Andrew Sproat feeds a lot of cattle on the carse land at Baldoon on Wigtown Bay and on this evidence, he is a master of the "tak doon". "It was a complete waste o' an efternoon," he replied.

"There was nae bar. He sang twa stupid songs and spoke a lot o' s***e in atween."

He likely kent my faither.