Non farming conversation

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
I seem to have reached a stage in life where the process of “meeting new people” always seems to end up with said people either wanting something for nothing or complaining about something.. all done in a very round about way.

Makes you reluctant to bother trying in the first place.
I much prefer it when people are direct. It means I can get to telling them ”no” much faster.
 
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I’ve found that since lockdown my conversations with non farmers have become a lot more blunt. Not necessarily in a rude way but in an honest way. If they don’t like what I say then tough, I don’t really care, but generally the conversation will flow nicely after the honest starting point.

I would also add that it never ceases to amaze me just how much of a drama non farmers can make out of the most pathetic things and it’s these people that will undoubtedly be most offended by my honesty!
 

glow worm

Member
Location
cornwall
No it’s the same for me as a suckler farmer. Always a few cows calving if I do go out there’s someone covering for me MooCall going off. Went to a funeral in May and vet rang to say her mobile had gone on the blink and gave me another number. She was wondering if there was any ceasars likely. Feels normal but you sometimes wonder how we got here
try to picture the following. MANY years ago, when we actually used to have a day away, we went to a posh wedding in Essex. Left milker on farm and a married couple, who knew nothing about farming, maning the phone and being our 'eyes'. So there I was, at posh reception, in posh loo, answering the phone to married couple, quizzing them re amounts of slime etc coming from cow who they thought might be calving!!! I leave it to your imagination what the reaction was from the other posh .. VERY non farming guests .. was in the loo!!!
 
try to picture the following. MANY years ago, when we actually used to have a day away, we went to a posh wedding in Essex. Left milker on farm and a married couple, who knew nothing about farming, maning the phone and being our 'eyes'. So there I was, at posh reception, in posh loo, answering the phone to married couple, quizzing them re amounts of slime etc coming from cow who they thought might be calving!!! I leave it to your imagination what the reaction was from the other posh .. VERY non farming guests .. was in the loo!!!
So much has changed. No seasons here now for us. Its all kind of rolled into one. Just been out looking at a heifer debating wether to go back at 1am or 2 am. Some folks never see any of this
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
Its very worrying but the problem is .. unless you are of a scale that can afford lots of staff, a dairy farm .. if you care about your stock .. can be a huge tie and and almost impossible to socialise between milking hours which for other people, is their working day. Evening events usually start before we've finished milking, a weekend, for others is generally time off, for us, more or less the same as any other day. You would be amazed how many professionals have expressed amazement to me that that cows have to be milked EVERY day. Don't get me wrong. I agree with you but are you a dairy farmer or one of the .. here is where I get into trouble!! ... less demanding sectors?

It's weddings when the biggest differences emerge. Been invited to more than one that's been too late in the day. One notable one was when the dairy farmers who had no staff or family to milk for them missed dessert at the wedding breakfast. Farmers like me missed speeches because had to go home to feed calves, and generally see stock. The Groom was urban through and through, but the Bride was a from a properly rural village, and had been a member of the YFC based in it, so should have known better.

I'd better not go into detail about an urban Bride's parents' dreadful attitude towards the dairy farming Groom's parents when they didn't stay the entire weekend at the 'oliday camp County Club where the wedding was held ~ on account of two herds needing to be tended, since the Groom would be on honeymoon.
(Yes, they had staff, but no herd managers back then.)
 

dowcow

Member
Location
Lancashire
None of my closest friends are farming, but a lot of them are now very well off. Luckily they either come here to visit/stay a while, or my parents can do everything so long as it isn't certain times of the year. Had a call to go meet up this week and there was no grass to be cut, sprayed the maize the day before I left and intended to be back before the rain was forecast to get some fertilizer on (the rain never arrived anyway) so I buggered off for a couple of days. We briefly talked about a bit of farming, and as usual they tried to persuade me I was wasting my life and would be much better off if I worked for them for a couple of years on bonkers money and live a life of leisure after that... I'm running out of excuses now.
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
I’ve found that since lockdown my conversations with non farmers have become a lot more blunt. Not necessarily in a rude way but in an honest way. If they don’t like what I say then tough, I don’t really care, but generally the conversation will flow nicely after the honest starting point.

I would also add that it never ceases to amaze me just how much of a drama non farmers can make out of the most pathetic things and it’s these people that will undoubtedly be most offended by my honesty!

No, you are getting older. Or should I say 'more mature'. It's one of the benefits of old age. We cease to care if people are offended as sometimes it's the only way to get their attention.
 

DRC

Member
So much has changed. No seasons here now for us. Its all kind of rolled into one. Just been out looking at a heifer debating wether to go back at 1am or 2 am. Some folks never see any of this
And why should it bother them. Many other folks work night shifts or are on call at any hours.
Not saying you are , but hate the way some farmers play the poor me, victim bit. If some of them weren’t trying to farm half the county or keep twice as many stock, then life could be a bit slower.
 
And why should it bother them. Many other folks work night shifts or are on call at any hours.
Not saying you are , but hate the way some farmers play the poor me, victim bit. If some of them weren’t trying to farm half the county or keep twice as many stock, then life could be a bit slower.
What I’m trying to get at is it’s only when you get out in amongst folks from other walks of life they can be amazed at what they thought was a job leaning over a gate chewing a bit of grass really is something much different.
 

Hilly

Member
I lonely of prefer to talk to non farmers
Spoke to someone on here recently who is milking alot of cows, but once a day. That's maybe one way forward for dairy farmers who are faced with the need to allow themselves and their staff more of a life than previous generations expected ?
i know a man who has Mounties , leaves calves on and milks once a day , gets good calves as well but he on the best of land .
 

Chae1

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
I always tell my wife when we go somewhere and she says you'll like him. I have enough friends I don't have time to meet and do things with the ones I have. So why would I want to meet anymore.

Other Parents at school gatherings are the worst. I mean they probably think the same about me, but can't stand most of them. There from another planet. Our area has a lot of good lifers who have moved to the country village so there children can go to the small country school, go for walks in the woods with the black lab in the evening. Met one on road out walking one Sunday dressed like a laird in all the tweed etc like a proper country gent. 🤦‍♂️ :ROFLMAO: . Nearly pi$$ed myself laughing. He does 9-5 in a office.

Was saying to my wife yesterday. We are the chavvy tinks! Roaring about countryside in our white x5 swearing at each other. Eating at McDonald's drive thru on a Sunday if we get away. Going on all exclusive holidays to ibiza.


Many of my friends are non farming. Most have a farming background so get it so to speak. Joiners, builders, mechanics, welders.
 
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I always tell my wife when we go somewhere and she says you'll like him. I have enough friends I don't have time to meet and do things with the ones I have. So why would I want to meet anymore.

Other Parents at school gatherings are the worst. I mean they probably think the same about me, but can't stand most of them. There from another planet. Our area has a lot of good lifers who have moved to the country village so there children can go to the small country school, go for walks in the woods with the black lab in the evening. Met one on road out walking one Sunday dressed like a laird in all the tweed etc like a proper country gent. 🤦‍♂️ :ROFLMAO: . Nearly pi$$ed myself laughing. He does 9-5 in a office.

Many of my friends are non farming. Most have a farming background so get it so to speak. Joiners, builders, mechanics, welders.
Our village is exactly the same. Full of dog walkers.
 
No, you are getting older. Or should I say 'more mature'. It's one of the benefits of old age. We cease to care if people are offended as sometimes it's the only way to get their attention.
Well I have started to listen to Radio 2 on the odd occasion....,! (And Mrs SS has just noted the speed of nose and ear hair is exceeding the growth rates on top of ones bonce!)
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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

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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/
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