Working hours

[ajd132]

I get up around 7, get out of bed around 9............

I don't worry bout' nuthin.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Some days I do 18 hours and somedays 3 hours

 

[bobk]

I do whatever it takes , certainly don't go looking for work.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I do whatever it takes , certainly don't go looking for work.

I always find work looks for me

 

[bobk]

I always find work looks for me

But as you don't return calls who cares.

 

[ARW]

fencing is 7.30 till 5.00 this time of year, when it gets lighter we work till 5.30
Hedgecutting man is currently doing 8.00 till 6.00, but he feeds up at another farm at 6.15am

Harvest work is just weather dependant

When im hedgecutting at back end i work 6.00am till 6.00pm that way i get a good day in and im home for tea!

We dont do to bad, alot of the lads who are on for me have there own farms so after work we all have our own jobs to do but we are sensible and flexible

 

[Derrick Hughes]

But as you don't return calls who cares.

That women never told me anything

 

[kfpben]

I think working hours is a huge issue for farming, especially dairy. My previous job was assistant manager of a large AYR calving dairy business working 80-100 hours every week of the year. After two years and a couple of instances of falling asleep at the wheel and the onset of the early stages of depression I had to pack it in.

Many dairy roles should really be two people's jobs. How we pay for extra labour in the current climate is another matter.

Very long hours at lambing, harvest etc. I have always found easier to handle as once the job is done their is a natural end point.

 

[Ali_Maxxum]

During winter try to be working somewhere by 8am and finish at 5pm. However due to lots of um, general 'life' related things; family stuff, caring for elderly, couple of bereavements, wet weather, running around for odd stuff, paper work, dealing with legal and financial stuff, etc. The working hours are very variable.

A lot of people don't seem to realise that other people have other things going on in life other than just work and go home for tea. If only it could be that easy....

Seem to be keeping going without really realising now the nights are drawing out a bit more. Due to a lot of frantically worried customers thinking their hedge trimming isn't going to get done. Trying to keep many things ticking over and keep everyone happy is pretty hard going. That's when the stress and fast food sets in....

Summer hours are as you'd expect.... when it's not raining!

I'm looking forward to spring, I can normally go at a nice pace and the general feel of everything is better. Happy farming

 

[Douglasmn]

I never work long hours on the farm(except a week or so at harvest). Never have done and never need(ed) to. Don't understand how any farmers can be that busy. Just what is it that you people do!? (Serious question) Animals don't need spoon fed, and except that odd bit of spray and fert, crops don't need much attention either. I always think I must be doing something wrong because all I hear about is other farmers being busy, but I never am. Start a real job next week and will be doing the small amount of farm work during the time off after that. All that said, everything I do is with the mindset "is this the absolute most efficient way of doing this" which probably contributes a fair bit.

 

[Spud]

6.30 til about 6 here, then usually a couple of hours in the office after tea. Spring planting time 6am to 8pm, cereal harvest 7am-9pm, taty lifting 6am-8pm. We try to make maximum use of daylight. In practice its a lot more flexible than those hours suggest, a 'standard day' (for staff) is 7am to 5pm, with half an hour for dinner. I could spend a lot more time in the office than I do.

 

[Davy_g]

I work 90 plus hours a week wile I'm in the oilrig. I consider being home on the farm my time off and not work. Can easily still be busy 12 hours a day. Saying that when it's quiet I start repairs, breaking cattle or DIY.
What would I do without the farm, hate holidays, no interest in golf or fishing - would end up in the pub a lot!

 

[Douglasmn]

Can other average size farmers please explain what they're busy with all the time? I'm genuinely interested. For me (550 ac farm) I can basically sum up the main jobs as follows: 180 day winter feeding cattle about 3 hours a day total to include all jobs, 2-3 days a year with the spinner, 5-6 days a year with the seed drill, 15 days a year with the plough, 2 days a year muck, 2-3 days a year silage, 2 days a year washing cattle courts, 3-5 days a year combining, 1-2 days baling, 1-2 days carting straw. Odd jobs like fencing and working with cattle in the pens etc as well. A lot of time spent keeping machinery spotless and well serviced and making sure the yard is always tidy and clean sheds. Today for example...putting up a new bit of fence which will give me something to do. Without that it'd just be the basic cattle feeding and then wondering whether to wash the tractor or sweep the workshop followed by a long lunch and early finish! Everywhere I look I see massive tractors capable of huge work rates...what are you people doing for 12+ hours a day!?

 

[exmoor dave]

Can other average size farmers please explain what they're busy with all the time? I'm genuinely interested. For me (550 ac farm) I can basically sum up the main jobs as follows: 180 day winter feeding cattle about 3 hours a day total to include all jobs, 2-3 days a year with the spinner, 5-6 days a year with the seed drill, 15 days a year with the plough, 2 days a year muck, 2-3 days a year silage, 2 days a year washing cattle courts, 3-5 days a year combining, 1-2 days baling, 1-2 days carting straw. Odd jobs like fencing and working with cattle in the pens etc as well. A lot of time spent keeping machinery spotless and well serviced and making sure the yard is always tidy and clean sheds. Today for example...putting up a new bit of fence which will give me something to do. Without that it'd just be the basic cattle feeding and then wondering whether to wash the tractor or sweep the workshop followed by a long lunch and early finish! Everywhere I look I see massive tractors capable of huge work rates...what are you people doing for 12+ hours a day!?

Are you calving cattle or just finishing?
But otherwise arable?


Dairy is generally a twice a day tie to milk, plus all the other work in between.

Lambing indoor or out is a all-day job,
Generally the more you put in the more you get out, particularly if the weather is shite.

Assuming you're not a hill farm, bare in mind there is often big areas to cover to check or feed out side stock.


Don't judge others til you've walked in their boots!

 

[rob1]

when I had cows I was doing around 100 hrs a wk and did that for 20 years, was burnt out at the end, now I try and do around 60 hrs a wk this time of year and up to 90 during the summer months, but I do try and take time off to spend with the OH and also with my grandkids one day a month, mid 50's now and want to start to do less and shifting lots of small bales of hay is harder now than 10 yrs ago,

 

[Gulli]

Can other average size farmers please explain what they're busy with all the time? I'm genuinely interested. For me (550 ac farm) I can basically sum up the main jobs as follows: 180 day winter feeding cattle about 3 hours a day total to include all jobs, 2-3 days a year with the spinner, 5-6 days a year with the seed drill, 15 days a year with the plough, 2 days a year muck, 2-3 days a year silage, 2 days a year washing cattle courts, 3-5 days a year combining, 1-2 days baling, 1-2 days carting straw. Odd jobs like fencing and working with cattle in the pens etc as well. A lot of time spent keeping machinery spotless and well serviced and making sure the yard is always tidy and clean sheds. Today for example...putting up a new bit of fence which will give me something to do. Without that it'd just be the basic cattle feeding and then wondering whether to wash the tractor or sweep the workshop followed by a long lunch and early finish! Everywhere I look I see massive tractors capable of huge work rates...what are you people doing for 12+ hours a day!?

Clean out, feed, bed up, feed calves, spread muck, spread slurry, check stock, electric fencing, moving sheep, fixing stuff, making stuff, hedge laying, tree limbing, sawing up firewood.

Don't do all of it everyday and can do the basics in a couple of hours if needs be. But I tend to spread it out so I can get more done. The cubicles can be done last as they have lights so can do it in the dark. Electric fencing isn't much fun in the dark however.
Plus the fact I quite like being outside so why rush?

 

[4course]

bookkeeping form filling and other industry inflicted paperchasing fills a bit of most days or if left becomes a nightmare and takes longer in time spent than harvesting or sowing I reckon

 

[Douglasmn]

Are you calving cattle or just finishing?
But otherwise arable?


Dairy is generally a twice a day tie to milk, plus all the other work in between.

Lambing indoor or out is a all-day job,
Generally the more you put in the more you get out, particularly if the weather is shite.

Assuming you're not a hill farm, bare in mind there is often big areas to cover to check or feed out side stock.


Don't judge others til you've walked in their boots!

Not judging anyone just asking what other people do!

 

[DRC]

Not judging anyone just asking what other people do!

I'm with you on this . Obviously every farm is different, but can't see what folks are doing 90 hrs a week for. I guess some are more driven by work and maybe that's why I'm not farming 1000s of acres.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Not judging anyone just asking what other people do!

I agree, what the hell are they doing for all that time,