'I spent 24 hours as farmer - food we should all eat, robot and chainsaw injury'
Driving through the country lanes of Somerset, I've never felt more like a city girl. My car struggles to get up the narrow, muddy hills and my nose quickly adapts to the strong smell of manure at 8am. It's a world away from my comfort zone at a desk but I'm excited to take it in - cow poo and all.
As soon as I come face-to-face with farmer Josh Gay, he takes one look at my ankle wellies and gold hooped earrings and laughs, so I have a sneaky suspicion I'm not going to be cut out for farm life. Still, I'm here to learn what it's like to live as a modern-day farmer, and Josh is just that.
Josh's favourite animal on the farm is the cows because 'they all have personalities' (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)At 28-years-old, he is already running the family business at Newton Farm, and he's passionate about regenerative agriculture and embracing new ways of working. His team of four are all between the ages of 16 and 30, representing a new generation of farmers in a career that typically lacks interest from teens.
"It's harder to attract new people into the industry because we can't match wages that supermarkets can - especially if they're unskilled," Josh explains to me. Josh is the fourth generation of the Gay family to proudly run the mixed farm, following in the footsteps of his parents, Hugh and Celia - and his passion is infectious.
There's no time to relax on the farm and we quickly get to work building new fences (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)"I always wanted to be a cowboy when I was younger. Then when I turned 16, my parents asked me if I wanted to take over the farm one day," he says, giving me a tour of the barn. As we get up close and personal with the cows, Josh tells me they're his favourite animal because "they all have personalities" - and I can see what he means.
Furious chimp launches bottle at girl filming him leaving her bleeding at zoo
While I'm enjoying meeting a sow that's about to give birth to piglets, it quickly becomes apparent that we've got a lot of work to do. There's a frozen pipe, broken machinery and fences that need building at the farm shop, so we grab a chainsaw and ear defenders and climb into his tractor.
I wasn't great at using the machinery but I got stuck in with sweeping the barn (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)"I've knocked myself out before and put a chainsaw through my foot - but I've still got all 10 toes. Dad only has nine," Josh tells me, revving up the power tool. Looking down at my frozen feet, I'm hopeful that I'll return home with a full set today - though we've got a while to go.
At this time of year, Josh tends to work 8am to 6pm, and wakes up at 4:30am once a week to go to the abattoir. During lambing season, which is his favourite time of year, he can work as long as 5am to 11pm, and recalls once falling asleep in the hay. But when he does make it home in time for tea, he'll shower and join the rest of the nation watching Love Island - how could he not with farmer Will on the show?
Josh's hours change with the seasons and sometimes he'll work 5am-11pm (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)As the morning passes, it becomes apparent that I'm not cut out for lifting logs, but I'm more than capable of tidying the barn, so he hands me a broom. Josh tells me that "every single day is different" and there's always a new skill to learn - which is so important for the future of farming.
"Farmers need to be able to adapt as things evolve. It's easy to stay in the past but you always have to move forward with the times," he explains. "It's a lot more scientific than people realise - not just growing crops but rearing animals. We look at energy within the food composition, dry matter, soil health and micronutrients. It's really not just shovelling in a field."
There is a lot of science involved in farming and growing sustainable produce (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Talking about modern engineering, Josh tells me: "There's lots of robots that will do picking, feeding and milking and I do think there's a place for them in farming. "Robots solve a labour crisis but there's always things you can't do with a machine, so it's better to not rely on them." While there's no robots at Newton Farm, Josh does have workers Liam, Tom and Paige who make up the extra members of the Gay family.
Around midday, I'm tasked with herding sheep from one field to another, which sounds like an easy task but proves to be otherwise. Stella the sheepdog is still in training and she's not much use - but then again, neither am I.
It's not an easy task herding sheep but I give it my best shot running through the village (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Walking at a fast pace and shaking a bag of dry food, I shout out "come on, let's get moving" to the sheep. They stare back at me quizzically and find every excuse to go AWOL, cheekily escaping down lanes and refusing to follow me in an orderly fashion. But we finally get them where they're meant to be, and I get rewarded with a lunch at the farm shop - a part of the day I could definitely get used to.
"It's very important to eat local. The UK is only 60 percent food efficient, meaning if we were to lose all our imports, we'd be out of food by August," Josh says. "It's even more important to eat seasonally and stop expecting farmers to have strawberries and avocados all year round when they're not available. Right now, purple sprouting broccoli, carrots, lettuce, squashes and pumpkins are all seasonal."
All the proof you need that I definitely don't have the skills of Doctor Dolittle (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Josh explains that the farm is insecticide-free and they produce their own fertiliser - which all helps towards a sustainable future. Talking about a disconnect between food and farms, he tells me that we should all have to study agriculture in school like students in New Zealand do.
Scientists plan to ‘de-extinct’ the Dodo and release it back into the wild
In the afternoon, we head back to the barn to weigh the calves and check they are all healthy, and I find myself stuck in the middle of the pen with no way out. "You're not scared of cows, are you?" Josh shouts over the constant mooing - if I wasn't before, I could be now.
Josh thinks we should all eat with the seasons and shop locally to help support farmers (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)When our final task is complete, I've racked up nearly 30,000 steps and I'm absolutely shattered. Though looking out at the sunset across the farm, I feel accomplished. Before I get into my car, I have one last question for Josh - and I'm almost certain his answer is going to be 'no'.
"You could definitely be a farmer. You showed the right willingness to get stuck in and you weren't afraid of much," he says. "Every farmer needs to have grit, good work ethic and drive. Looking after the livestock is really important and has to be a priority too." Despite his enthusiasm, I drive back down the country roads feeling a tad thankful that I won't have to put my wellies back on the following morning - but it sure was a lot of fun.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
