Where are all the farmers?

[FiveBarGateOpinions]

I am looking for some ideas on where farmers hang out?

Nope, not for the reason you are thinking!

We are growing a community of farmers who want to take part in research, and while our own farmer contacts and showing up at events has got us to over 600 UK farmers we are hoping to get more farmers on board. We are a tiny agency, set up by farmers, on a mission to make sure that farmer research is done fairly, accurately and presented to the people who make decisions in a way that means farmers have a fair representation. By growing our community, we can make sure farmers are paid for their time spent on research rather than costing an arm and a leg to track them down in the first place.

I am hoping that in TFF there might be a few good ideas on how we can be seen by more farmers (because they are pretty hard to find!), and if you had any questions on what we do, please fire away...

 

[egbert]

I am looking for some ideas on where farmers hang out?

Nope, not for the reason you are thinking!

We are growing a community of farmers who want to take part in research, and while our own farmer contacts and showing up at events has got us to over 600 UK farmers we are hoping to get more farmers on board. We are a tiny agency, set up by farmers, on a mission to make sure that farmer research is done fairly, accurately and presented to the people who make decisions in a way that means farmers have a fair representation. By growing our community, we can make sure farmers are paid for their time spent on research rather than costing an arm and a leg to track them down in the first place.

I am hoping that in TFF there might be a few good ideas on how we can be seen by more farmers (because they are pretty hard to find!), and if you had any questions on what we do, please fire away...

Where are the farmers?
All together now....'outstanding in their field'

I'll get my coat

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

They are hard to find in this area because there aren't many left.
Those that are seem to be working all hours and would need some incentive to join your club.

 

[Spencer]

Not much spare time to “hang out”, farming and young family take president!

 

[Bury the Trash]

I am looking for some ideas on where farmers hang out?

Nope, not for the reason you are thinking!

We are growing a community of farmers who want to take part in research, and while our own farmer contacts and showing up at events has got us to over 600 UK farmers we are hoping to get more farmers on board. We are a tiny agency, set up by farmers, on a mission to make sure that farmer research is done fairly, accurately and presented to the people who make decisions in a way that means farmers have a fair representation. By growing our community, we can make sure farmers are paid for their time spent on research rather than costing an arm and a leg to track them down in the first place.

I am hoping that in TFF there might be a few good ideas on how we can be seen by more farmers (because they are pretty hard to find!), and if you had any questions on what we do, please fire away...

offer free beer lol

 

[topground]

Cash for answering questions, the answers to which require my depth of knowledge works here.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

I am looking for some ideas on where farmers hang out?

Nope, not for the reason you are thinking!

We are growing a community of farmers who want to take part in research, and while our own farmer contacts and showing up at events has got us to over 600 UK farmers we are hoping to get more farmers on board. We are a tiny agency, set up by farmers, on a mission to make sure that farmer research is done fairly, accurately and presented to the people who make decisions in a way that means farmers have a fair representation. By growing our community, we can make sure farmers are paid for their time spent on research rather than costing an arm and a leg to track them down in the first place.

I am hoping that in TFF there might be a few good ideas on how we can be seen by more farmers (because they are pretty hard to find!), and if you had any questions on what we do, please fire away...

Has it occurred to you to visit livestock markets....plenty of farmers there!

 

[gone up the hill]

I am looking for some ideas on where farmers hang out?

Nope, not for the reason you are thinking!

We are growing a community of farmers who want to take part in research, and while our own farmer contacts and showing up at events has got us to over 600 UK farmers we are hoping to get more farmers on board. We are a tiny agency, set up by farmers, on a mission to make sure that farmer research is done fairly, accurately and presented to the people who make decisions in a way that means farmers have a fair representation. By growing our community, we can make sure farmers are paid for their time spent on research rather than costing an arm and a leg to track them down in the first place.

I am hoping that in TFF there might be a few good ideas on how we can be seen by more farmers (because they are pretty hard to find!), and if you had any questions on what we do, please fire away...

Most farmers are fed upto the back teeth with people promising payment for doing surveys/ research etc only to find out it takes two hours and you get paid a tenner in total.

If you want farmers on board you first need to tell them what you are paying them an hour to help you and what you expect in return.

 

[toquark]

Has it occurred to you to visit livestock markets....plenty of farmers there!

Or agricultural shows…

 

[Green oak]

On the arable side there’s no farmers. Just contractors and land owners.

 

[Yale]

Has it occurred to you to visit livestock markets....plenty of farmers there!

Generally the older generation. I send the old fella there, most weeks part of the year. Mart is 6 miles from us, in fact 2 near equally apart. I haven’t been there in almost 2 years to a sale, only backup, drop off and go.

 

[Hilly]

On the arable side there’s no farmers. Just contractors and land owners.

Certainly heading that way rapidly .

 

[bluebell]

Its a sad fact that its a declining industry, i think stats say over 7,000 agri businesses/farms have closed/finished in the last 5-10 years, with all the work, worry,stress, investment for pitiful profit if any is it no wonder? As some one who wrote recently in the farming press, "why would anyone, bother to try to grow crops, or keep animals with all the agro, latest being the long wet winter, flooding, high straw prices, TB testing etc etc, when they now can tie that land up in non farming paying schemes?

 

[bluebell]

Green Oak thats true in essex and many parts now of the home counties, non farming activities make the money now, biggest being cashing in on the house building boom? Or letting commercial, what were once livestock/ crop storage buildings?

 

[DrWazzock]

You are a nobody now unless you’ve 10000 acres and visit in a helicopter for 3 days of the year for a bit of shooting.
Your headed note paper needs to include the word “farms” plural or “estate”. You probably hang out in the south of France while your manager and two full time staff sweat their bollox off trying to keep the show going.
Either that or you are at the only livestock market left within 60 miles selling a few fat lambs you reared on your state pension. Can’t move there for mobility scooters and zimmer frames.
OK, I exaggerate but that’s the way it’s gone in Lincs.

 

[bluebell]

the other day i went to what was say 10 years ago a large mushroom farm, now its been turned into a commericial/industrial estate, with all the buildings being let out to small, meduim businesses, anyone on here near to rayleigh, hullbridge will know it well?

 

[bluebell]

Dr wazzock do you wonder, fear who in the near future will be keeping livestock in smaller numbers, will it end up being migrants?

 

[yellowbelly]

Can’t move there for mobility scooters

That's the reason most of us are on here and able to post now - we're waiting for our scooters to charge up.
Mine's nearly got enough to head off now

 

[yellowbelly]

Dr wazzock do you wonder, fear who in the near future will be keeping livestock in smaller numbers, will it end up being migrants?

Fudgin migrants are already keeping livestock - they've been 'keeping' some of ours for years.

Mind you they only keep 'em until the barbecue is over

 

[FiveBarGateOpinions]

Thanks for the advice all very helpful! Now for the answers;

1. We recommend a rate of around £100/hour most of our 121 research is about 10-15 mins long unless you have a lot to say and we have only had one farmer leave in 2 years...one in a box and one because he retired. We think £100/hour is fair for a professional, experienced respondent taking time out of their day to spend on research - happy to take advice on this though! Usually it will be around £20-£20 for a survey and that might be online or in person, for focus groups we recommend around £100-£150 for 1.5 hours and throw in bacon butties and coffees to keep energy levels up!
2. Most agencies charge a recruitment fee (for the time it takes to find the right people) plus incentives - we try and spend less time on recruitment and put the extra cash towards the farmers as it works better for all of us! No one likes working through a spreadsheet of numbers that don't pick up. so we email you about the research you might be interested in and you book a time that suits or do the survey online.
3. If you are in the community, we pre-populate lots of the answers to try and make it less boring to keep filling in the same stuff - you can edit it if you need to though.
4. Great idea on the agri shows and markets - but they won't let us recruit on their patch and you don't often get them hanging around in big groups anywhere else.
5. Most of our researchers are farmers wives/sisters/mothers/daughters working it around helping on the farm and have been for 30 years since we started farmer research, so we know what we are talking about and most of our farmers quite like the company and being able to talk about what everyone else has said.

Anything else I could be doing to get farmers to get involved? We don't have a massive