7. Farming 1977/79

Another part of farming, at the end of the 1970’s, that was soon to start changing on most farms, was the number of full-time staff that they employed. Where men were concerned, you could put them into three groups. 16-25, 26-54 and 56-65 years of age.

My age group, 16-25 year olds were still learning. There were far more aspects to farming then, than today, with all the different crops grown and various animals that needed looking after. You would start your learning process by being put on probably the oldest tractor on the farm and be given simple jobs, such as rolling fields, either before or after crops had been planted, and be given jobs with the older farm workers, some of which, to a youngster, were very basic and boring but had to be learnt.

The 26-54 year olds were, as you would expect, the ones that kept the farm going. These were the men that drove the combines, drove the newest tractors, did the ploughing, sub-soil cultivating, discing, planting, spraying and fertilizer spreading. These men, without question, when the time demanded it, would work all the hours necessary to get a job done, and in many cases would be very happy if they finished their harvesting or corn planting before the neighbouring farm.

The 55-65’s, in a lot of cases, were happy to take more of a ‘back seat’ when it came to doing field work. Most of this group had spent 40 years on the farm, their work far more manual than today, and in many cases had taken its toll on their bodies, joints either worn out or full of rheumatism and arthritis. Most of the time doing a 40 hour week was enough for them, or an extra hour a day when harvesting potatoes and the odd Saturday morning. Most of the ones that I knew of this age would rather be at home tending their gardens than working long hours in the fields. Not all this age group would follow these lines, some of these men would be foremen or farm managers, and dare I say, more intelligent than most farm workers.

The change that soon came into effect on most farms was that when men retired, they were no longer replaced.

The term ‘ignorant peasant’ has been used for centuries in referring to farm workers. The truth is that most farm workers were not very well educated. The main reason being is that the majority of farm workers came from families who had been farm workers for generations. They lived in ‘tide cottages’, houses that belong to the farm. From an early age they would go to work with their fathers or grandfathers and help in any way they could. Their mothers often worked on the farm and during holidays would be in the fields with them. As soon as they were old enough there would be paid work for them to do. For a lot of these lads there was no other job they wanted to do and could not wait until they were old enough to leave school and work full time on the farm.

Terry Marsh

Originally published in the Monkton News (March 2025).