farmer's wives

[peonyflower]

I am married to an arable farmer who is struggling with this year's harvest. Anyone else in the same boat?

No but tonightI spoke to a farmer in the same position.

It's a countrywide problem.

how is your relationship affescted?

I'm well out of it now, but used to work in agriculture. Just wanted to add my sympathy [squeezes arm].

Yes peony, we are in the same boat.
The next money coming in would be the sale of some cattle in November but the beef prices are down too.
Our barley was for malting then due to the wet weather it was to be for feed. It is still in the field unharvested because the ground is too wet to take the weight of the harvester.
My DH is severely depressed and there is little I can do to help.

thanks for your messages of support!
My husband has never been so depressed - hard to know what to say. Relationship fine as just need to support him through it - probably posted this in the wrong section (new to this mumsnet stuff but seems like I might be spending some time here from now on...)
We are getting some corn in (mostly wheat on our farm) but only expect to get about a third in the grain store and wonder how it's all going to impact over the next few months.
Most depressing part is spraying good crops (that were) with Round Up.
Husband in tears this morning....

Gentle Otter - really hope you get on the land before too long. The wait and lack of activity is all the more depressing isn't it?
Our combines are going very very slowly and travel with a shovel to dig themselves out of the worst bits.....unbelievable.

I think that there is good weather forecast for this week and when we went over to Fife today to get a spare part for the combine (why do they always break down the minute they come out of the shed?)- all we could hear were the sounds of combines going.
Several farmers have had to use CATS as treads and the state of some of their fields! It has truly been awful.

I fully understand how hard it must be for you just now trying to support your husband and doing all the everyday tasks as well.
Last week I insisted that my dh went for a sleep during the day (unheard of) and he slept right through till the following morning. I took the kids out and we painted the rusty bits of the barn then washed it all.

Keep strong and I hope that things will get easier. CAT me too if you like

There are some websites here that may be useful to you.

Thanks, I will have a chat with my husband this evening who will be reassured that he is not alone. Not that we would wish anyone else to be going through this!
Do you expect to get planted for next year? That's our major concern.

We were talking about this today and dh HAS to plant barley for the next four years - the reason is that we are bound by SEERAD rules - we are not allowed to put pesticides down nor plough so as the wild life get a chance. We get paid a nominal sum per hectare for agreeing.

We have hardly come across any farmers who are not deeply affected and everyone is terribly sad for the farmers down at the Borders who lost everything...even the road to his farm was washed away and he cannot leave at all - the bridge to his house was washed away.

My dh has wept too and cannot sleep. I have had a lovely Community Psychiatric Nurse up to advise me on how best to cope and how to recognise his symptoms. Farmers see depression as a weakness and it does not happen to them but to other people.

Hilary Benn really ought to be doing more but he is useless.
There are thousands of us affected and your husband is not alone but will feel alone.- we are at the mercy of the elements and perhaps next year will be better.

Peonyflower

Hi, yes were in the same boat. My husband is an arable farmer in the NE and does work also for farmers. Its a bottomless pit here. DH is depressed, can't help. Keep telling him that everyone is in the same boat. I gave him some rose wine, that seems to have done the trick - try it. Still got 800 acres of farmers wheat to combine - in September -unbelievable!!!

The latest we have ever harvested (barley) is November! We are up in rural Perthshire.

Oh dear. Wish it was better!
Just seems as though the weather has been awful for the last three years. We live very close to Gloucestershire which was flooded last year and it has been dark ever since (literally).
Really wish you all luck with your harvests and planting. I am optimistic that we will get it all done and maybe in a couple of years we will all be back to where we were heading.

OMG. November!!

OMG. November!!

OMG. November!!

oops. technical problems.....doh

Message withdrawn

Thank you

THE SUN IS OUT !!!!!

We are going to mend the combine this morning and see how it goes. Despite living on the side of a steep hill, the ground is like mush.
The barley is now a nasty greyish colour as it never really got to sunripen but we need the straw.
Everyone is looking for hay but no one managed to make any this year - it has all been bailed up for silage.

Gentleotter,

Hope you got the combine fixed ok. DH managed get on today,it only managed to rain this morning,so he managed to get some done this afternoon, and is still on now. The worst thing is,to top it all off, a couple of days ago, someone ran into the combine and it was written off,so DH and the farmer we were doing the combining for had to pitch in for a hire combine until the insurance pay out for the combine. DH decided not to sow rape now, will have to wait until spring. Cheesed off as I know I won't see him till xmas for sure.

More rain again today and the combine couldn't cope!!
Can't believe your combine was written off. Takes some doing?

Hi Peonyflower,

We too had rain this morning, but DH managed to get on this afternoon, still on now. Anyone who has a combine near us has had trouble. I don't think any combine has coped well in the shocking conditions. DH says he needs a tank,not a combine. Yes, the old faithful NH combine got written off the other day. Someone who works for a hunt near to where my DH was combining, ran into the combine in a pickup. He was lucky he wasn't hurt badly. Needless to say the pickup was written off and the combine was too. It's now at Manners combine breakers in Alnwick. NFU have decided to write it off, so DH and farmer had to chip in for a hire combine from APH to finish the work off. Still got atleast 600 acres of wheat left to do. Fingers crossed for us both...

Hi All,

Not a farmer but a single horsey mum surrounded by farms. My heart goes out to you, we are in Derbyshire also surrounded by part harvested fields with people working all hours to get crops in. Wishing you all good luck and some good weather.

Hello!

Today is the day! We did not manage to get the combine fixed yesterday but we should get it going today.
For the first time in months, we had real dust in the farm yard instead of ankle deep mud. The poor chickens had not had real dust baths for ages so were all fluffing about in the dust.

We have about 60 acres to cut today (our farm is not a large one) and my dh's mood has lifted visibly.

I truly hope the weather lifts where you are as it has such a huge affect on everything.
I'm so sorry to hear that your combines were damaged, charlichew. I hope you are able to get hold of another one.

Peony, keep kissing your man. It will work out ok and maybe some of the crop may be salvagable even if it is gathered later than imaginable. Some of the farmers round here have gathered bean crops in February! The seasons are all topsy turvy too.

Keep strong!

Thanks for your message Gentle Otter.
We are combining today and hope you got on OK with yours. Unfortunately we have around 800 acres to deal with but seem to have got through more than half now. The yield is pretty low and very slow going, I say positive things to my husband but it is plain to see that there is only about a third of the corn we expected in the grain store!
Onwards.....