How many hours/week do farmers actually work?

[Douglasmn]

Well firstly I'm not claiming to be at all busy, pushed or hard done by...so thereby not creating any drama about it. Secondly it's not two people full time here, not by any stretch of the imagination. As I said, I'm in training for a new job and farming time on the side. With our current set up we could easily do those numbers with 2.5 full time...and still easily take holidays, unscheduled time off and generally enjoy life.

 

[Beef farmer]

But calling fellow farmers drama queens? People aren't all blessed to have a set up like you talk of, so have to work with what you've got.

Well firstly I'm not claiming to be at all busy, pushed or hard done by...so thereby not creating any drama about it. Secondly it's not two people full time here, not by any stretch of the imagination. As I said, I'm in training for a new job and farming time on the side. With our current set up we could easily do those numbers with 2.5 full time...and still easily take holidays, unscheduled time off and generally enjoy life.

 

[Douglasmn]

But calling fellow farmers drama queens? People aren't all blessed to have a set up like you talk of, so have to work with what you've got.

I think there are some farmers who are drama queens and who unnecessarily create extra work. Can you honestly say you don't know of anyone like that? "Some" being the key word though. Definitely not all. Also, you can improve on what you have got without spending mega £ to do it. We don't drive fancy cars or have excessively big and over horse powered machinery. Instead money is spent on things that actually improve the set up...good quality cattle handling systems and things like that.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

The problem is with farmers they love buying iron with the blind notion that it saves them work, straw choppers and diet feeders being prime examples

 

[Douglasmn]

The problem is with farmers they love buying iron with the blind notion that it saves them work, straw choppers and diet feeders being prime examples

Ok have to say straw chopper does make life easy here! Not just for bedding, but cut down our straw requirement by half so can now chop lots more straw. Also makes mucking out and muck spreading easier.

 

[bert]

The problem is with farmers they love buying iron with the blind notion that it saves them work, straw choppers and diet feeders being prime examples

Got to agree, run around in a brand spanker of a tractor because its 5% more efficient then spent all day mucking out a loose box by hand, I feel many are guilty of

 

[gone up the hill]

The problem is with farmers they love buying iron with the blind notion that it saves them work, straw choppers and diet feeders being prime examples

Straw choppers have many advantages, health and safety being the Number 1 as many farmers/ staff now work on their own for long periods of the day and bedding up cattle by hand is dangerous and if you do barley beef bulls then its a total no to going in and bedding them up by hand..

Diet feeders maybe a different story..

 

[nick channer]

All I no is my alarm went off 5am this morning and I walked in door 10 mins ago
Similar yesterday and same tomorro...
To be honest same till it pours with rain.!
There's plenty to do this tine yr snd def not enough hours in day.
All arable is a holiday camp 9 months yr.
Good if u can get it

 

[gone up the hill]

All I no is my alarm went off 5am this morning and I walked in door 10 mins ago
Similar yesterday and same tomorro...
To be honest same till it pours with rain.!
There's plenty to do this tine yr snd def not enough hours in day.
All arable is a holiday camp 9 months yr.
Good if u can get it

Do you take any holidays in the quieter times ( ie actually go away ) ?

 

[Hilly]

Straw choppers/blowers are a waste of money imo save straw my arse, and at 10k upwards you would need too.

 

[DrWazzock]

I could fill the year just trapping and shooting moles, never mind all the other backlogs of machinery needing attention, buildings and roofs needing repairs, drains, overgrown hedgesetc etc.

 

[nick channer]

Do you take any holidays in the quieter times ( ie actually go away ) ?

Few Shootin trips
Weekend away with kids
I cannot stand sittin on a beach for a !
Kids come to work with me pretty much every day
They comin foraging tomorro and were sat in the triple mowers with me yesterday.
They love every min of it.
We don't really get a quiet time at all.
Soon harvest is done tgen every day out deliverin what we have gathered.
Days not as long mind but still 6/7 a week

 

[Douglasmn]

Straw choppers/blowers are a waste of money imo save straw my arse, and at 10k upwards you would need too.

Well all I know is that here we're using less than half of what we used to, and the cattle get a nicer bed at the same time. Also benefit of easier mucking out, less muck to actually handle so less time spreading the stuff too. Can get good quality second hand straw chopper for way less than 10.

 

[Gulli]

Straw choppers/blowers are a waste of money imo save straw my arse, and at 10k upwards you would need too.

£140 for the last straw chopper I bought for the cubicles

Plenty of work to do fixing dads 'breakdowns' at the moment but I'm not that busy compared to a few friends with real jobs

 

[AvonValleyFarmer]

We are a livestock farm, 300 cattle and about 400 sheep, me and one other, both work 50 hours a week for most of the year, 8-5 with an hours lunch Monday to Saturday, then 2 hours on Sunday. Work more at lambing and calving obviously. Try to take a few holidays each every year. We have got a good efficient system that works for us and allows us to both take time to enjoy other things in life. Which imo is very important for sanity and well-being.

 

[Darren]

Got to agree, run around in a brand spanker of a tractor because its 5% more efficient then spent all day mucking out a loose box by hand, I feel many are guilty of

I know of just the farm!

 

[Hilly]

Well all I know is that here we're using less than half of what we used to, and the cattle get a nicer bed at the same time. Also benefit of easier mucking out, less muck to actually handle so less time spreading the stuff too. Can get good quality second hand straw chopper for way less than 10.

You must have have been doing something seriously worng before, I ve tried them and tried them no straw saving if your honest and all that straw up the walls etc all you need is a loader.

 

[Alf]

I work zero hours a week . But I am doing something 12 / 14 hours a day 7 days a week , because I want to and enjoy it . Not because I have to . Farming ect is my life my interest my hobby and my living . Work it is not imo . If it was work or a chore I would be 8 to 5 . But thankfully its not

 

[Douglasmn]

Haha ok I guess I must've been. Not sure exactly how. Used to roll out bales everyday, now chop bales everyday and just seem to be able to use less. Muck is undeniably better quality now too.

 

[Henarar]

You must have have been doing something seriously worng before, I ve tried them and tried them no straw saving if your honest and all that straw up the walls etc all you need is a loader.

I use one for the cubicles and I think it does save straw in there as they don't drag it out so much, In the lose housing we use round bales spread with a pick, everything is bedded everyday and I can't see how a chopper would save much and you have to pay for the thing and the diesel and have a tractor to drive it, I did try the teagle for the lose housing, it done the job but I couldn't stand the mess and dust in with the cattle,