How many hours/week do farmers actually work?

Location
Devon
Having read a few other threads where it seems some farmers ( especially livestock/mixed farms ) seem to work crazy hours and having worked no less than 11 hours/day the last two months ( only two half days off in that time!! ) trying to catch up on field work i am just wondering how many hours forum members actually work on their own farms/ for farmers a week/month on average thru the year??
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
100 plus August - October

30- 50 the rest of the year

Quite a lot of days off and holiday whenever wanted other than August-October
 

Tim W

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
Last year (to 5th April) 43 hrs
year before 39 hrs

That's with my own sheep (850 this year)---I then do a bit of occasional contracting etc which may put 4 hrs week on top
 

Daniel

Member
And after all that work you're still looking at a farming forum?! ;)

I reckon a baseload of 50 hours a week with peaks higher than that. more than the hours worked though its the tie of animals keeping you around the place weekends/bank holidays even if its only for a couple of hours each end of the day.
 

Jim Wale

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
around 120 give or take depending on calvings ect thats being stockman on a 220acre pedigree farm and running my own 120acre suckler farm, 6am-8am at home, 9am-7pm at work, 8pm-12pm at home 6 days a week then 6am-6pm at home on a sunday. In the middle of calving on both farms atm so busy but things do calm down for a couple of months in the summer, down to 12hr days, then back up to this when the cows come back in :sleep:
 
Location
Devon
And after all that work you're still looking at a farming forum?! ;)

I reckon a baseload of 50 hours a week with peaks higher than that. more than the hours worked though its the tie of animals keeping you around the place weekends/bank holidays even if its only for a couple of hours each end of the day.

Lol i try not to work sundays but went flat out today to get all field work that needs doing done before the rain ( hopefully ) comes in on tuesday as parking up now untill wen ( other that feeding up etc ) and as catching up with emails/paperwork etc and its a normal working day i thought i might as well be on here, after all you only get out of something what you put back in :)

Yoou are right about the animals, take tomorrow, if i have the energy then im going off sea kayaking for the day but have still got two hours work in the morn feeding/bedding/ checking stock and sods law a cow will decide to start calving when im about to drive out the gate!!
 
Location
Devon
around 120 give or take depending on calvings ect thats being stockman on a 220acre pedigree farm and running my own 120acre suckler farm, 6am-8am at home, 9am-7pm at work, 8pm-12pm at home 6 days a week then 6am-6pm at home on a sunday. In the middle of calving on both farms atm so busy but things do calm down for a couple of months in the summer, down to 12hr days, then back up to this when the cows come back in :sleep:

No offence but that is mental for so many months of the year!! how do you stick the hours and what about a life beyond the farm gate?? i know iv done mental hours the last month but no way in hell i would do it month in/out.. how old are you if you dont mind me asking?
 
Blimey you guys work some hours!

I'm currently a 8 - 5 man! ( hour for lunch to watch Bargain Hunt! ). 5 days as week!

Harvest and land work time, obviously work many many more - but it's only for 3 months or so, so easy to just keep going for a short period of time like that.
 

Jim Wale

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
No offence but that is mental for so many months of the year!! how do you stick the hours and what about a life beyond the farm gate?? i know iv done mental hours the last month but no way in hell i would do it month in/out.. how old are you if you dont mind me asking?

No offence taken, Im 21 hoping to be big enough at home in a couple of years that i dont have to work for someone else as well but it is the only way i can get a start in farming. Life beyond the farm gate is non existant atm but do get a life over the summer lol, you get used to the hours tbh
 
Location
Devon
No offence taken, Im 21 hoping to be big enough at home in a couple of years that i dont have to work for someone else as well but it is the only way i can get a start in farming. Life beyond the farm gate is non existant atm but do get a life over the summer lol, you get used to the hours tbh

Fair play to you, i worked long hours like you ( but no more than 100/week ) when i was your age for similar reasons ( thou it was all for myself ) but i burnt myself out after 4 years of it, couldnt/wouldnt do it now, looking back i should have made more time for myself on a personal level those years so if you can try and get a non farming related hobby/intrest ( one of mine is kayaking for example ) and get at least the odd weekend off every 2/3 months and get away from the farm/your job if poss.. time spent off is as good as time spent working sometimes when your doing the hours you are.
 

multi power

Member
Location
pembrokeshire
i do about 10 or 11 hours a day 6 days a week, more at calving time n quite busy to get done in that time, when i "retire" from here to farm at home i expect i will work more hours
 

jimmer

Member
Location
East Devon
being a herdsman on 250 cows plus followers living on site, as many hours as I want, and can get away with.... (wife and three kids )
no set times except milking,at least 80 plus evening checks, and odds and sods on weekend off (someone gotta check on the casuals)
 

Samcowman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cornwall
I do as a minimum 55 hours a week but that would only be a few weeks when the cows are in and arent calving and a maximum of over 100 but that would probably only be 2-3 weeks a year flat out in the summer. Probably averages at 70 something a year. Calving is technically more hours than I work as on call 24/7 depending if anything is calving
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,289
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top