Things you will only ever have experienced if you have lived with a farmer

[Scrowy]

These pesky beggars are everywhere at this time of year. In the washing machine. In every pocket and vehicle footwell and today in the sink

That and the ever pervading smell of particularly pungent silage.

Love this meme!

Brilliant georgie

Between the age of 5 and 21 I think there was never a time wen I didn't have a piece of baler twine in my pocket for emergencies.

I have lived in a town for the last 30 years but DS1 just did his DofE silver practice expedition and the advice to take a spare pair of boot laces and a ball of string could have easily been replaced by 'take some baler twine just in case'

I wasn't so concerned about Dad wearing bailer twine on our wedding day, more that he didn't turn up in his wellies (even though he did promise to hose them down )

We rented on a farm for a while between fleeing our last flat and our new house being finished.

The farmer was a wee with guy who reminded me of a terrier. Such a character.

We still affectionately refer to him as "The Brian"

I use the bands on my shotgun.

I used to be able to make a very nice plaited slip lead for calves/lambs/goat kids out of baler twine. Dad also repaired an elderly chair that lived in one of the polytunnels by making a seat like a woven twine one out of baler twine.

One advantage of my upbringing is that I'm never short of a 'skill you have that no one knows' thing to put down at work ice breakers.

Sex on a tractor

How trucking??? And why...!?

I've seen that a few times Georgie, never fails to make me chuckle. Especially as that is quite a tame example!

Sex on a tractor my mind is boggled, your tractors must be much cleaner and water tight than ours!

Yep bands everywhere in this house too - except it's my fault not dhs

Nice to get my own back for the various bits of tiny metal which seem to make their way into the washing machine though.

He'll get his own back later in the year at harvest when we seem to become a second store for the grain - and the utility room becomes a skating rink of rapeseed!

Young and enthusiastic once upon a time Milking parlours, hay barns and tractors all in a standard day!!!!

"This Farming Life" has been brilliant, and we know one of the families on it!

My OH like to boast about his conception rate - that can raise a few eyebrows at non-agricultural gatherings.... I also spend my life rescuing big thick needles from the garlic pot in my kitchen God knows why he feels the urge to put them in there.

Agree about This Farming Life wonky.

'Farming' programmes are usually about someone with 6 rare breed sheep making feta cheese or doing jam for farmers markets off 3 acres.
This has been actual real farming which is great.

Thank you for the rec for 'This Farming Life' - catching up on it now and it's wonderful!

Brrr it's been a cold day in the lambing fields today.

Looking forward to catching up with tonight's this farming life with a cup of tea :)

Ive never lived with a farmer or on a farm , but spent a most of my 1960's childhood summer weekends on farms as part of my parents being keen members of the (old style) the camping club ( tents) .. Mum always said there only had to be one cowpat in a field and i'd fall in it.. actually it was great and i learnt to drive a tractor , help with milking and birthing calves and with t sheep sheering ( no health and safety in those days)..

We do live rurally now and a couple of years ago, we ended up having to get the gas board in because we thought there was something seriously wrong with our boiler ( the stench was horrendous). They couldnt find anything but charged us ££s for coming out anyway.. A few days later we took a walk over the fields behind us and there on the farm gate was a notice apologising for the fact that they had only just realised their manure pile had caught alight and had been burning for well over a week.. ..

How is your lambing go, Scrowy? I'm feeling all nostalgic watching This Farming Life... Only get to muck about on a farm for a couple of weeks a year now.

Not too bad but the weather could be better. Looks like a rogue tip from next door must have got in as we are getting a few texel crosses rather than the mules we should be getting... not a disaster but not ideal!

I saw someone comment moan today about farm subsidies. Always makes me want to point out that firstly it's not the farmers that are being subsidised but the cost of food for the general public, and secondly if farmers have it so cushy and get all this money for nothing why doesn't everyone do it? Hmmm...

Tup not tip. Wouldn't have minded if I hadn't already notice the autocorrect and re-corrected it. Blardy phone must have insisted I couldnt possibly have actually meant tup!

Great and now it's hailstoning!

I don't know why anyone would think animal farming (dairy or meat) was cushy. Wtf. It's bloody hard work!
I'm afraid I can't share my funniest story on line as it will out me

Ooh Owl now you must! Just change a few details.

Truckingalong

Good user name!

No one who had anything more than a passing aquaintance with farming could think it was cushy, surely? Maybe those farmers who have diversified into glamping are doing too good a marketing job with the cute baby animals and fun tractor rides ?

CMOT - yes, plaited baler twine for lead ropes (and, on occasion, head collars) would be on my list. Also holding together cars/horse boxes as well as holding up trousers / securing the bottoms of trousers against rats when clearing barns.

I genuinely think people who aren't connected to farming don't really understand just how much work goes into producing their food.

I mean obviously they do if you actually ask them directly to think about it and will usually say farmers work 'very hard' but day to day when they buy a packet of frozen peas or bacon, a chicken or a leg of lamb there isn't an awareness of how cheaply they are getting that food considering the 20 hour days, year long effort that has gone towards producing it.

If you ask those same people the straightforward question of whether farmers should receive subsidies most will answer no. If you ask them if they would be prepared to pay much more for their food in replacement of subsidies most would have to think very hard about their answer. I don't blame them, but I do think education about food production, the value of food and food waste is extremely poor in this country.

We are mass producing food in a way that is not always very good and I genuinely believe that better education about food and farming in this county would go a long way to partially resolving other issues around obesity/diabetes and could have a really positive impact on the country general sense of wellbeing (okay perhaps that is a bit far fetched!)