Farm children working hours

fgc325j

Member
I would be wary of them putting work before academic work. By all means encourage some farm work, it never hurt anyone, but not at the expense of doing their homework or revision. None of us can possibly know what the world of work/farming will require of us in future years. The more rounded their academic focus, the better placed they will be. The farm will always be there and formal education does eventually finish.

Sometimes , from youngsters i've spoken to over the years, they consider their "education" finished when they can
read the tractor reviews. And i've ceased to be amazed at the number of farmer's who think that the only reason
to keep animals is to get a subsidy cheque, which is then spent at the machinery dealers. If, at some point in the
future you will only recieve farm support by signing up to an enviroment scheme, which limits your stocking rate,
the Sh*t will hit the fan.
 
Often working on the farm at home leads to division into "The animal person" and "the tractor person" and never the twain shall meet as intense rivalry/jealousy spreads between the two and they end up as busy fools. Sadly, being the best milker or tractor driver in the county doesn't really look like a very good long term prospect for a youngster on a family farm without a bit of outside business experience although both trades can pay well if used to advantage away from the home farm.
Has anyone else ever listened to a farm kid telling everyone how busy they have been working getting ready for the local show, starting at 5am, halter training, etc? Well sorry but with few exceptions, that is just a bit of a hobby and shouldn't really be classed as hard work any more than polishing up the old Fergie is hard work. :)
 
Sometimes , from youngsters i've spoken to over the years, they consider their "education" finished when they can
read the tractor reviews. And i've ceased to be amazed at the number of farmer's who think that the only reason
to keep animals is to get a subsidy cheque, which is then spent at the machinery dealers. If, at some point in the
future you will only recieve farm support by signing up to an enviroment scheme, which limits your stocking rate,
the Sh*t will hit the fan.

That game is over. Long gone.
 

7610 super q

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Does anyone have the figures on how many kids die on farms in the UK every year?

Kids, a 70 hour working week and machinery do not mix well.

If your business needs kids wages to be viable, you're in the wrong job.

Or is it just me :scratchhead:
Oh well, 16th Century prices, 16th Century working practices.
Shouldn't we get 21st Century prices for our produce ?
Or is it just me.:scratchhead:
 

multi power

Member
Location
pembrokeshire
Not sure how relavent this is but none of my family have the first idea of how to get out of bed in the morning, be anywhere on time or meet targets/deadlines and so as a teenager I never learned these things either, definitely held me back
No need to be having a teenager doing 70 hours a week but I think it's good if they can learn to get up in the morning and be punctual
 

Hilly

Member
Not sure how relavent this is but none of my family have the first idea of how to get out of bed in the morning, be anywhere on time or meet targets/deadlines and so as a teenager I never learned these things either, definitely held me back
No need to be having a teenager doing 70 hours a week but I think it's good if they can learn to get up in the morning and be punctual
My Dad did National service, always said it taught him self discipline among alot of other useful stuff, He thinks everyone should do National Service.
 
Farming is its own worst enemy for encouraging family to step aboard the farm ship some times. Working kids all the hours they can during their summer holidays is ludicrous. Some of the best memories I have of my teen years is of bike riding with the group of friends I had, was big into the bike game, jumps, downhill racing, drops, north shore, you name it. I also did a lot of work during my teens, but enjoying myself was number 1.

What it is with the younger generation nowadays is that we're more switched on to the fact that there is life off the farm, and that life is too short to grind yourself into the ground like the old buggers that have been nowhere and done nothing.

Life's too short, you need a life as well, even just for a few days you come back fully re-charged and raring to go again. Hugely appreciate it is difficult with stock which is why I'm glad we aren't farming any more.

I went and worked at a few different places and went off doing my own thing quite a bit, the money was nice but soon made me realise how much better it was at home really. However this also allowed me to see how other people do things and bring the ideas home with me and make some changes, all for the better!
It really needs careful handling bring children up on a farm and into the business, making work long hours at young age could cause resentment in later years
 

Dead Rabbits

Member
Location
'Merica
Looking back my dad was kind of an ass. He started getting me up at 2:30 am on weekends and summers when I was 8 or 9. I wasn’t happy about it. Usually about 4 hours after school every day. So pretty quick I was around 40 hours a week. At 15 I started getting up before school as well and the hours went up accordingly. At 16 nobody could handle me anymore and I did what I wanted, as long as I was there for work. I had my own money, paid my own bills, and bought my first truck. It didn’t kill, damage or stunt me, but it was unpleasant at times.

I probably missed 10 days of school in the 12 years i went. Going to school was like vacation! I could sleep, read, socialize, torment teachers etc for 8 hours a day.

I definitely think how I grew up had a huge influence on me and I have no ill feelings towards my father about it. I do admit it may have been more than necessary. Being pushed hard does show you that you can go farther than you thought. Even now my cruising speed it still faster and longer lasting than most around me. It makes life easy
 

Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
No wonder the industry is on the way down...

In my youth boys who wanted to go farming with their old man would often begin to skip school to work on the farm when they were 12. By then they were proficient tractor drivers, could milk the cows, raise the calves and had at least a general idea where the family business should be headed.

The school leaving age was 15, and the 'whipper in' (truancy officer) would generally turn a blind eye in such situations, particularly if the boy was desperately needed on the farm, as was often the case. A former Beef Farmer of the Year, now farming over 1,000 acres, began his farming career in just such fashion, as did countless others. He started out on a poor, rented, place of 60 acres, with no money and little prospects, and has founded a modest farming empire through his own efforts. He is still at it, 40 years later, and has just bought another farm.

These 'boys' were, to all intents and purposes, young men: they got up at 5 am to milk the cows, then did a full day's work, then milked the cows again.

Now let us examine today's young entrants - they receive every consideration, sleep late, and are mollycoddled. They think they know what work is, but a lowly immigrant Pole or Bulgarian would put most to shame. (Which, of course, is why such are often hated).

They will found no farming empires.

[And before anyone asks, I was delivering milk and veg retail when I was 8, could do a full day's work on a tractor when I was 11, would load hay bales by hand back in the day when 20,000 bales were needed each Summer. I subsequently succeeded in practice because I was willing to do three men's work when my colleagues would be sleeping in on weekends, going on holidays, and generally providing the reasons why the UK's productivity record is falling off a cliff while everyone else on the planet is working harder.]
I could not like this enough, all this shite about needing sleep is rubbish! I would be up at 4 to get some fishing in before bringing the cows in for milking. We are doing todays generation no favours by following the trendy ideas promoted by many educationalists
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
Does anyone have the figures on how many kids die on farms in the UK every year?

Kids, a 70 hour working week and machinery do not mix well.

If your business needs kids wages to be viable, you're in the wrong job.

Or is it just me :scratchhead:
Dont be so negative.
i carted all the harvest aged 13 in 76, it was great.
there were plenty folk keeping an eye on me.
kids should only work for about 6 hours max per day, and be supervised.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 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

  • 1,291
  • 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