Farmer writes: Why do we work such long hours?

I was listening to the radio last week and the presenter was talking about the fact that some managers in companies were having to work 50 hours per week and how difficult they find this.

I thought to myself that they are lucky as this is probably only half of what most farmers work.

On my own farm, I am just finished the spring-calving and lambing season.

I calve all of my spring cows and sheep within eight weeks, which makes for two very busy months. During these two months, I work at least 18 hours every day, seven days a week.

Indeed, there were days when I had to work the whole day (24 hours). This amounted to over 120 hours per week every week for two months.

I am quite sure that there are a lot of farmers working the same hours and probably even more.

I am very lucky to have good help from my family (my wife and sons). It must be very difficult for anyone who has to go through all this on their own.

When the last cow calved, I was relieved to think that I would have a full night’s sleep. But it didn’t work like that as that night my neighbour called me to help him calve a cow.

Family

Now that it’s all over you quickly forget and soon wonder what all the fuss was about. But, reflecting on it all, I question why we work such long hours. Perhaps the answer is simple – we just love what we are doing and we consider the cows and sheep to be part of the family.

Some people ask me why I would want to cram so much calving and lambing into such a short space of time. And to be honest (when I’m in the middle of it all), I often ask myself the same question.

There are lots of textbook answers about even batches of stock, which all simplify management and I agree with all of these.

But the one thing that stands out for me is to be able to get it all wrapped up and then relax a little.

Sell

I used to calve cows for 12 months of the year and lamb sheep for five months. I have to say it was nice to have stock to sell all year round. Having said that, I could never relax as I was always watching for a cow to calve or a ewe to lamb. Now we all work hard for two months and then it’s over and you can move on to other things.

I spoke at a local farmers’ group meeting a couple of weeks ago and we touched on the subject of the hours that the farmers work. They all related stories of never being able to switch off and always being on call every day of the year. But it was not something that they wanted to complain about and they were happy to be healthy and able to do this.

Maybe the managers who are complaining about working 50 hours per week should take the same attitude as these farmers and be thankful that they are fit and able to work.

Robotics at livestock event

Two live demonstrations will be featured at the Livestock Event, taking place at the NEC Birmingham on 8 and 9 June.

The first is a herd of 40 cows, milked through a Lely Astronaut A4 milking system, with a Lely Vector automatic feeding system used to ensure that the cows have continual access to a mixed ration.

The second demonstration is of loose housed beef finishing cattle also fed by a Lely Vector feeding system.

According to Livestock Event director Matt McKnight, robotics now account for over one-third of new parlour installations, while for beef farmers, he said that robotic feeding is starting to be successfully taken up in Europe.

Against the backdrop of low prices, the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers is providing every UK dairy farm with the opportunity to book a free ticket prior to the event. Go to www.livestockevent.co.uk.

Game Fair set for Shane’s Castle

The weekend of 27 and 28 June will see the 2015 Irish Game Fair and NI Angling Show at Shane’s Castle in Antrim.

The fair is organised with the support of Tourism Northern Ireland and Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council and expected to attract a crowd of over 25,000.

Visit www.irishgamefair.com to find out more.

‘Wellies to work’ day

Local charity Rural Support is calling for supporters to take part in the first ‘‘Wellies to Work Day’’ on Friday 5 June.

The aim is to raise awareness of the charity and the services it offers to people living in the rural community. Supporters are asked to upload selfies of themselves wearing their wellington boots to work on the Rural Support Twitter page (@RuralSupport), with the message Supporting @RuralSupport and the hashtag #WelliesToWork. The most creative selfie will also win a pair of Hunter wellington boots, courtesy of corporate partner, Simple Power.

Rural Support chief executive Jude McCann said: “With mounting pressure on farmers and new challenges facing the rural community, the need for our services is greater than ever. We are launching this campaign to make more people aware that help is available through our dedicated helpline on 0845 606 7 607. We urge anyone from the farming and rural community who is struggling to cope to avail of this valuable service and speak to our highly experienced staff and volunteers.”

O’Neill clarifies rules on hedges

In response to a written question from Green Party MLA Steven Agnew, Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill has confirmed that under cross compliance, farmers must not remove landscape features without prior written approval from DARD.

That includes dry stone walls, ditches or sheughs, hedgerows and earthbanks. Each application is assessed against a number of criteria, including the environmental quality of the landscape feature, the diameter of any trees and field size, the Minister said.

She also maintained that where approval is granted DARD will require farmers to undertake mitigating actions.

“Mitigating actions include planting/building a ‘like for like’ length of hedgerow or stone wall elsewhere on the farm, or planting a specific area of trees,” confirmed the Minister.

No consensus on climate change legislation

Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has acknowledged that he does not have the support of colleagues around the NI Executive table when it comes to introducing legislation on climate change.

It is an important issue for farming, given that agriculture accounts for 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in NI. Outlining his support for legislation in a reply to a MLA question, the Minister said that it would provide additional long-term commitments to reduce emissions in NI. “However, I do not currently have the support of my executive colleagues that will allow me to pursue and introduce Northern Ireland climate change legislation before the end of the current Assembly term,” confirmed the Minister.

ROC payments worth over £85m

A breakdown of the Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) payments issued to the renewable energy sector over the last six years highlights the increased interest in renewables over the period.

In 2009/10, the value of ROCs issued amounted to £32.7m, but by 2013/14, this had increased to £85.6m.

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