Farmers suffering from lack of cash and overworked

[Cookiemonsterandmerlin.]

I had to laugh yesterday at a radio 1 report on sucide and stress in young farmers in the uk.

 

They said that some only earn 8 k a year for sure some on a welsh hill farm might but not in oxfordshire when on average they spend that on a new truck each year.

 

I would give my right leg to have a farm passed on to me no morgage etc sell a bit of land if things get tight for cash very unlikely.

 

Now I do feel for anybody that is suffering from stress and feels that sucide is the only option ,but I dont know if the average farmer should feel this way .

 

Now if the report said farm workers it would be a complete diffrent view as they have a hard life with little reward .

 

I had a young farmer approach me for work the other day as he said money was tight :o .

 

He has just converted and sold 4 barn conversion for over £4 million pounds :blink: .

 

I laughed, he said whats up, I said am I right in thinking you own your farm out right yes he replied and the four barns you sold I asked .

 

There was a short pause what you getting at ,well I said your asking me for work I pay roughly £100 a day and you have just sold four barns for over £4 million ,I cant see that you need the work myself .

 

He agreed I think that there is major problem in farmers trail of thought that farmers weekly etc convince farmers that they are overworked and hard done by.

 

I dont think so whats your thoughts.

 

I respect them and I have no problem airing my views with them face to face and have done on many occasions when I have heard them harping on about its a hard life.

 

Regards OTH

[Maidment78]

I personally feel that farming is a way of life and as such can not be compared to a normal job, the hours are very long and the chance of a day off are few and far between. (I looked after farm for 6 months when I was a bit younger than I am today and have never worked as hard since,,,)

 

Plus side is you spend all your time isolated from muppets that live in towns that the normal person has to deal with day in day out. I run a manufacturing company with 50 employees and have to say there is an amount of rose coloured glasses feel about the life of a farmer but all in all I can not say it is a bad life, hard maybe but not a bad one.

 

Everyone is underpaid and over worked, ask my staff, they are the most hard done by people in the world.

 

Just my thoughts,,,

[silpig5]

the land i shoot belongs to a very good friend of mine , we worked together quiet closely over the years

he openly says he has no concept of the cost of living

the house , trucks , fuel, heating, electric all go down to the farm which was owned outright by his father till it was passed to him .

the only thing he has to provide for him self is food .

 

yes they work hard , well for parts of the year he doesnt start early and is home by 6 .

but on his part the arrable farm he has pays for itself and some.

 

makes you wonder if city stress is differant to country stress ???do i get another landy or try a newfangled toyota ? stressfull choices :o

[MC]

Oh yes they have it hard,

 

Nearly every farmer around me all ride old rusty Raleigh shopper bikes and some of them even share one.

 

But then again there is also yellow flying pigs around near me as well.

[Cranfield]

It should be remembered that there are lots of "Farmers" and a "farm" can vary in size and complexity enormously.

I have friends with quite small arable farms (1000+ acres) where the cash flow of the business is a nightmare.

The seed merchants, chemical suppliers and all other operating expenses are supposed to be settled in 30days throughout the year, but the merchants who buy the produce pay in 60-90 days once or twice a year when he has a harvest.

 

If they run on Bank support (which most do) they are paying the higher risk rates.

Go to a Bank Manager and ask to borrow money against a crop you are planting that you don't know how much it will produce in tonnage, or how much you will sell it for and your revenue costs are variable.

Forecasting a profit number in those circumstances is almost impossible.

 

These Farmers aren't running around in the latest Range Rover, nor show any other trappings of wealth.

They drive the tractors themselves (and so do most of their wives), they work long hours and they worry a lot, as they can see their way of life disappearing.

 

Within 10-20 years most Farms will be owned by corporations, as we move towards genetically modified crops and animals and bio fuels.

The large oil and chemical companies will be tomorrows Farmers.

[FireDrake]

Well the farm i have our horses on is arable/cattle they do have to work a bit when cattle are calfing etc but on the whole from my point of view they have it easy. We pay them 100 pound a week just to keep our horses there he supply's stables and fields, there are another 4 people with horses so he gets £200 a week for doing absolutely nothing. Also i'm sure they get money off the government for "set aside" land etc again for doing nothing, they all run around in new range rovers etc have big houses and go on two or three holidays a year, yes its a way of life, wish i had it !! I work hard 8 hours a day for a pittance compared to them then go and look after my horses after work/before work in the winter they don't do hardly anything at a lot of the time through the year, yes they have the harvest and hay to get in but there only driving bloody tractors etc.

[Highlander]

Well I’m going to stick up for farmers (small family owned as opposed to farming company execs or large landowners). I also think the stress and suicide rate among farmers has a lot to do with the loneliness of the job which is more common in those far flung areas like rural Wales and Scotland.

 

Here in Suffolk where we’re talking mainly arable farming it’s reckoned that you need a minimum of 600/700 acres to make it pay. Many smaller farms with less acres are simply existing especially if they are tenants rather than owners and there’s precious few of those as even the larger concerns are often mortgaged to the max (have you checked out the prices of new tractors/combines etc). Do you consider you own your home if you’ve a large mortgae on it?

 

Many old farm houses/buildings are listed buildings which means you’ve got English Heritage on your back over maintenance which must be done by experts and NOT your average jobbing builder.

 

Sure many arable farmers do OK but they work 24/7, 365 days a year which is why many younger family members are very reluctant to take on the business and often sell out once they inherit. And nowadays you need to be a jack of all trades to be successful as a farmer, a farmer in the field, a commodities broker and management guru in the office and a maintainence man in the workshop etc etc.

 

Sure there can be the odd bonus such as barn sales/conversions but the return on investment of doing barn conversations over the last few years is minimal i.e. 6.5% or thereabouts and hardly worth considering given the input needed. Once done you’ve also lost it unless the barn is off home farm!

 

When all is said and done it’s the way of life that keeps them all going, that and the fact that for many they know nothing different. As in all walks of life the grass is always greener and someone else is always better off than you...who said it was fair!

[al4x]

I'm yet to see a farmer drive a new Range Rover, I think the report mostly focussed on farm workers a lot of who are on basically minimum wage. The Green Eyed monster has rose tinted glasses on over the hill sadly, the last couple of years farmers have made money, before that a lot were loosing money every year. Yes they can include a lot of living expenses in it but the reason they top themselves will be the size of business overdraft they are forced to run and prices are dictated. When I first worked on a farm about 19 years ago Wheat was over £100 a tonne this year a mate sold a load early at about the same and had been lower not much in that time has stayed the same price.

Yes some make a tidy living and are born into owned outright farms but an awful lot have rent to pay and work bloody hard especially in mixed farms

[Browning]

Well the farm i have our horses on is arable/cattle they do have to work a bit when cattle are calfing etc but on the whole from my point of view they have it easy. We pay them 100 pound a week just to keep our horses there he supply's stables and fields, there are another 4 people with horses so he gets £200 a week for doing absolutely nothing. Also i'm sure they get money off the government for "set aside" land etc again for doing nothing, they all run around in new range rovers etc have big houses and go on two or three holidays a year, yes its a way of life, wish i had it !! I work hard 8 hours a day for a pittance compared to them then go and look after my horses after work/before work in the winter they don't do hardly anything at a lot of the time through the year, yes they have the harvest and hay to get in but there only driving bloody tractors etc.

 

Come and take over from me pal, lets see if you last 6 months. You have absolutely no comprehension of what real farming

life is all about. Damn townie I'll bet. :o

[al4x]

how's your range rover these days Brownng :o

[guest1957]

It's interesting what Highlander says about commodities trading. I originate from a farming family (though the farm didn't pass to my father, but a cousin), and from the people I know it is evident that those who make it work really well are those with the facillities to store produce and make it available to the market at unusual times of the year. This leaves the farmers who are unable to store produce suffering as the prices fall with the harvest glut, so it really is a mixed bag and it is also worth remember there have been some exceptionally difficult years for farmers not that long ago.

[al4x]

most can store these days, its a big catch 22 as to what you sell and when, keeping it longer can mean better prices but depends on the world markets and influx of crops from abroad. Farmers have to watch the bigger picture and even then the crop is in the field and can be ruined by weather loosing any potential profit. The original poster can go out for the day charge £1k to trim 3 leylandii trees and no risk. Farmers have to cultivate, plant fertilize and spray and then hope it all turns out well in the end, in practice weather, fire and disease and all sorts can turn a profit into a big loss

[agusta]

The farmers round here must be doing something right, the one opposite me has just bought a brand new Range Rover Sport and BMW X5 - not to mention the farming machinery (he likes a tractor upgrade every 18 months :o )

[MJN]

But then again there is also yellow flying pigs around near me as well.

 

That's no way to speak about my car !

[FireDrake]

Come and take over from me pal, lets see if you last 6 months. You have absolutely no comprehension of what real farming

life is all about. Damn townie I'll bet. :o

Not a townie i'll do it standing on me head :blink:

[al4x]

so you do 14 hour days most of the summer 7 days a week?

[FireDrake]

Actually do around 10 hours a day every day mon/fri all year round in all weather some days longer if you take into account travelling time to/from place of work which can be anywhere in the country. :o

[soreshoulder]

i reckon if you told the farmers that let you shoot your views about their cushty lifestyle you wouldn't be shooting there anymore :o

[al4x]

wow thats close to 14 plus a day 7 days a week :o

 

some I know do a lot more, its the only industry I've done well over 100 hours a week in

[FireDrake]

Well as summer only last's a fortnight you don't do a lot of hours do you :o

[wymberley]

Hang on chaps, slow down. I'm still trying to get my head around Cranfield's quite small arable farms of 1000+ acres. Isn't "quite small" and "1000+" a contradiction in terms?

[Browning]

how's your range rover these days Brownng :o

 

The 59 reg has gone, the tyres were getting worn down and ashtrays full so I had to chip it in for a new one.

[cole890]

if you are thinking that they have a cushty life then you clearly do not have a clue what your on about. i tried and failed for that matter lasted a little over 2 years milking cows. little money, long hours.

 

fair play to them doing what they do is my opinion!

[Browning]

Actually do around 10 hours a day every day mon/fri all year round in all weather some days longer if you take into account travelling time to/from place of work which can be anywhere in the country. :o

 

Bloody hell I wish I could work those hours.......

[Bleeh]

Let's not forget livestock farmers who don't have a bunch of money hidden away in Harvesters and land.