A farmer’s daughter - My Farming Life

A F armer’s Daughter
Early memories
Home was a one-up one-down cottage, with the toilet up the garden, in the corner of a square brick built farmyard. There was a wagon hovel, a stable, a barn, pens for livestock, a cowshed and a feed store. She remembers sitting on a sack on the crossbar of her father’s bicycle, going down to the village. It was a mixed farm with a few dairy cows, store cattle and sheep. She remembers how they ground corn for feed, mixing layers of straw, corn, chopped mangolds and molasses every 2 days. She and her brother both helped on the farm.
Farm workers
Mangolds were grown like sugar beet then 2 ladies from the village came to chop the tops and throw them into a cart. At the farm they were heaped and covered with straw; a mangold clamp. For potato picking about 10 women would come all day to work. Uncles worked with Dad as partners until later years. She can remember the horses on the farm who were “pensioned off”.
A career
She joined Young Farmers after she learned to drive, and did a secretarial course with a range of qualifications. Farming itself would have been too physical so she became a secretary with an estate agent and auctioneer. Later she became secretary for a Land Agent on a local estate. An interesting job dealing with correspondence, accounts, and the estate office. The estate began to take on holdings which became vacant to farm themselves, so she became experienced in the agricultural side of the work, and set up as a Farm Secretary. The Farm Secretary
She was one of the first Farm Secretaries and originally found contacts from Young Farmers and through the ADAS representative. At the start there were no computers, although the estate had a cash machine. She took a typewriter, calculator and office stationery to the farms. Sometimes there was a farm office, but sometimes she worked on the kitchen table. She usually worked independently at each farm and work increased as legislation increased. She was involved with developing 5 year plans for farms to access grants. Land areas were measured to qualify for European funds.
New measures and training
Legislation forced some farmers to get onto the internet. They had to become IT-literate to manage stock records for movement and traceability. She would sometimes train farmers without them knowing, and kept up to date through the farming press and through the Institute of Agricultural Secretaries. She felt like part of the family and her confidentiality was valued.
End of interview。