I’m a farmer’s wife

[farmerswife100]

If this one will be of any interest?! AMA

Do you really put new born lambs in the bottom of the Aga? Doesn’t it cook them slightly???

I know very little about farming so likley have the wrong terminology. What type of farming do you do ?
Is Dh's farm a family farm ?
What is your most and least favourite thing about been a farmer's wife ?
Did you see that recent dating show love in the countryside and how true did it appear to you ?

When do you go on a holiday? And what happens to the farm when you are away? Does your DH miss the farm when you are away?

I worked on a farm as a student. I would challenge the description "farmer's wife" because if it was anything like the set up I worked in, both husband and wife worked hard on the farm. There were two DCs, one a newborn and DW looked after them but certainly did a lot of farming work as well.

So my AMA is:

Aren't you both farmers? One of you might work full time (more than!) and the other less so?

Do you know any farmers who actually listen to the Archers?

And if so is it actually a good reflection of farming today?

Do you have lots of cows?

I know the term "prepping" is a bit comical from a farming point of view - farming community "preps" as part of its every day work. That said, what preps do you have for bad weather ?

Yes, I was going to ask, are you not just a farmer?

I don't mean "just" in a negative way - my sister is one and it is bloody hard work!!

Do you have teeny baby goats? If you do, do you dress them in little pyjamas?

Do you really put new born lambs in the bottom of the Aga?

We aren’t sheep farmers, so I have no idea on that one! The plate warming oven would probably be quite cosy though...

What type of farming do you do?

Arable mainly, which is crops. Cereal crops mostly.

Is Dh's farm a family farm?

Yes

What is your most and least favourite thing about been a farmer's wife?

Most favourite... hmmm. I think probably the ‘perks’ - lots of open space, nice house as part of the Farm which we wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise, lots of farmers willing to pitch in and help out in an emergency.

Least favourite... probably the unreliability of it. Having to rely on good weather, never being able to just say ‘yes, the calendar is free, we can come to your wedding’ for example.

Did you see that recent dating show love in the countryside and how true did it appear to you?

We very briefly watched one episode but the main thing we took from it was how any of them had the time for all these dates and trips away!

When do you go on a holiday?

We don’t, really. There are only short windows in the year when we could go, but it’s unpredictable in advance. We have a holiday home in the UK which we can visit if rain stops play, for example. The last time we went abroad was for our honeymoon and we came home early because harvest was ready to begin.

And what happens to the farm when you are away?

There are enough of us to cover for one another (because we don’t have many animals) unless it’s during a busy time when it’s all hands on deck.

Does your DH miss the farm when you are away?

Yes, massively. Gets very twitchy and ends up watching Farm YouTube videos in the middle of the night! Or stopping on the side of the road to chat to local farmers if he sees them in their fields...

Aren't you both farmers?

No, I do very very little on the farm really. Occasionally add a crop walk into a dog walk that I would be doing anyway, maybe move vehicles from one yard to another, cook for farmers during harvest. That’s it really, other than generally keeping an eye on fields etc while out and about. I work (very, very) part time in a separate job, but I do a lot in the house because DH just physically isn’t Home enough to share the burden. I could work full time elsewhere if I wanted, but then we’d be hiring help at home and I enjoy being at home so it seems silly to. I’d hate to go out to work and miss the buzz of the Farm.

Re: the Archers. We both listen to and enjoy it, and do feel as though it’s a good representation of farming.

We have about 40 cows, so not very many at all. The Farm used to be a dairy many years ago, but there just isn’t the money in it for the amount of work required. The cows we have now and are just kept on land unsuitable for crops, and sold for beef. They are very low maintenance really (deliberately, because they aren’t our main source of income)

DH is desperate for goats! We are considering them. I will probably be escorted off the Farm if I go anywhere near them with clothing

I think I’ve only ever heard the term ‘prepping’ in discussions on here about zombies?!

For bad weather - hmm. There is only so much that can be done. We have a drier so we can harvest wet crops, but that is a last resort. Last year every single crop went through the drier I think...
The rest of the year, there is a bit more leeway with weather, so crops might go into the ground slightly later but it doesn’t stop play completely. Rain is the worst one. Well, and snow. Frost can be quite useful for ground work.

Sheep farmer here. We have a Rayburn, not an Aga but definitely put lambs in the warming drawer (with the door open) if they're very cold. Others just get put next to it in a box.

Not happened for a few years since we started using a different tup.

See id argue that you are a farmer. Even if you're not on the combine you're feeding, watering and washing those that are. My dh and dh are farmers and there is no way they could do their jobs without a mother/wife/daughter backing them up.

Thanks farmers wife. I’m a townie and I’m now greatly comforted that I haven’t wasted the last 30 years listening to a load of twaddle!
If you have time- is the farming community at all convinced by Goves plans for agriculture?

That makes me feel a lot more important than I am Silver

I suppose I see ‘Farmer’s Wife’ as a role in itself, and the one you describe. The Farm would still continue to work without me, but it’s made slightly easier for them with me there. DH would eat kebabs every night and live in a filthy house (which is pretty much how he lived before I came along!) but the Farm still ran perfectly well, it’s just not a particularly pleasant way to live.

No question, but I do have the farmer wants a wife in my head. Thanks for that

is the farming community at all convinced by Goves plans for agriculture?

Ha, is anyone convinced by any of Gove’s plans?

Change in general is pretty scary, and no one really knows how it’s going to pan out. None of us are filled with confidence, though. The subsidies we receive as part of the EU are a massive part of our income. We work hard for them, and we will definitely struggle without them. I can’t see how the UK will sustain that.

Thanks for that. I listened distractedly and it seemed he had some good ideas, but time will tell.

How did you vote in the Brexit referendum?