Farmers

K-2

K-2

K-2

Associate
Joined
4 Dec 2002
Posts
248
Location
Glasgow, UK
Are there any farmers here? Was just watching BBC news and they did a piece on farming in which a sheep/lamb farmer claimed to work a "20 hour day". This isn't the first time I've heard such claims from British farmers. The idea that a man well into his 60s is working 20 hours a day seems highly unlikely to me. Anyone here with any experience of the sector who could confirm/deny this?

I can also think of numerous examples over the years of farmers pleading poverty saying they barely break even at times which I also just do not believe. I suspect farming is actually fairly lucrative and they do pretty well financially. Again, no personal experience of it so happy to admit I'm wrong and would appreciate the thoughts of anyone who does have more of an insight into UK farming today.

Should probably add I'm not for a moment suggesting that farming is an easy job and I understand the hours are obviously long and the work itself probably quite intense/exhausting. I guess my point is that I don't believe they're constantly working the way they claim and that they are more than financially compensated for the job they have chosen to do.
 
You can buy a whole chicken for £2.50 and 4 pints of milk for £1. I think most farmers probably struggle more than you imagine they do.

The biggest issue is probably unexpected expenses like failed crops, disease etc. as most farms are operating on such fine margins.
 
It's possibly like the supermarkets vs the corner shop, the big outfits will profit and survive, the smaller struggle or go bust.

Cost of feed, fuel, disease, wages, weather, bad crop, equipment, vets bills, etc..
 
During lambing season I've known guys go days without sleep. It's non-stop. Can easily believe 20 hour days.
 
Don't think there is one answer to that - hugely varied on location, type of farm, season and whether things have gone according to plan, etc. being "on the go" doing farming tasks for 20 hours a day some days of the week I can believe but that won't be 20 hours of hard grit and that won't be every day.

One guy I know runs a high level of automation on his farm, keeps up with the latest Dutch techniques, etc. etc. works around 5 hours a day and is doing OK financially, not lucrative but very comfortable. The farms around us (3 farms within ~200m of us) are pretty typical of your average farm they are often working still or starting at like 3-5am and I see them doing 3-4 days where the same people are out there for like 12-16 hours working around the barns, etc. and they seem to be OK for money but I wouldn't say flush with it.
 
like any industry you will find a huge variance between have and have nots

economies of Scale type of farming location contracts in place all play a huge role and have a massive effect on the workloads and profitability of any business
 
When I used to help out on my uncle's farm as a kid (going back 25 odd years now!!), maybe not 20 hours, but 18 sounds feasible, up at 5am to do the milk round, then mucking out/feeding cows, then up to the fields for a few hours harvest/baling etc depending on season, 30 mins stop for lunch and a tea, more harvest/baling etc. until it was dark, back to the farm for dinner, back out for a few odd jobs around the farm, and then bed for me while my uncle was still in the sheds & barns repairing equipment etc.

Good fun as a kid getting to help out & drive tractors etc. but bloody hard work! Obviously no idea of the financial side as I was too young to get involved in any of that
 
Dis86 said:
During lambing season I've known guys go days without sleep. It's non-stop. Can easily believe 20 hour days.
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Ok, but how long does a typical lambing season last? It's not like they're doing 20hr shifts for any major length of time, surely?
 
The last farmers I got to know through work were hundreds of thousands of pounds into their overdraft. I assume this is only for a portion of the year but I don't envy them having that over their heads.
 
Thank you mods. Nice to see this community still values civility.

Unfortunately, in removing my quoted post (complete with unnecessary insult) I also lost my question to Dis. Dis86 - are you a farmer?
 
Skillmister said:
The last farmers I got to know through work were hundreds of thousands of pounds into their overdraft. I assume this is only for a portion of the year but I don't envy them having that over their heads.
Click to expand...

That sounds very strange to me. Was this something they merely claimed or did you actually see their bank statements?
 
K-2 said:
Not sure if serious, but just in case it got lost (multiple times) within the nonsense of this thread - are you a farmer?
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Not sure if serious as I replied directly to one of your quotes to answer that...I'll give you a hint, post 38.
 
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