- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Too be honest, if I had a full time job outside of farming the last thing I’d want was any number of livestock. 10/15 suckler cows and a bull would probably be my limit. they take up every single second if you let them. But it’s what you’re happy with! It’s our lives, we only get one shot so make it a happy one!
Although my happiness is being tested this morning by the black cow that managed too get her water trough off the wall overnight and has flooded 3 calving pens.
Hats off to anyone running a farm along with a full time/part time job.
There's 2 of us here doing 80 sucklers taking calves to 15month and lambing 600 ewes, running 140 ewe lambs and then marketing all the other lambs. We do all our own work in hand except specialist (which is basically just the vet work and PD'ing cows and scanning ewes).
Yes, there's days/weeks we have plenty slack time and I do think I could do the odd day at market or something else - and plenty comments on here make me feel like I don't work hard enough. But I feel pretty tied to the place for 8 months of the year.
But I've got the evenings to myself - I play a sport once/twice most weeks through the winter. I make a point of doing as little work at weekends as possible so I have proper days off/down time... not that there's been much to do/go with covid last 2 years
I'm not rich but I think I've got a good work-life balance and am happy (mentally and physically). There's more to life than running yourself in to the ground
