They too serve, who plough our lands

“For the sweat they put into farming, farmers get very little rewards.”

Amidst the pandemic, there is one group of unsung essential workers - the farmers. They put food on our tables and keep us moving. Living in rural England, I regularly witness how much they contribute to our existence. Whilst, the country has almost come to a standstill, I observe life going on as normal in the fields.

During my daily walk as part of my exercise, I see  farm machinery ploughing the fields, yet others sowing, and am hopeful of also seeing the mighty combine harvesters  bringing

in the crop in the future- a sign that everything will be all right. I see hedgerows that form beautiful chequered patterns on the fields, and verges on the sides of the fields faithfully managed, so that wildlife can thrive. In my walks, I often see pheasants, quails, hares, and rabbits. The scene could be almost from a Constable painting, only with modern implements, set to the tune of Gerald Finzi’s ‘Eclogue’.

Life can be often tough for the farmers. In the last two decades, diseases like BSE, foot and mouth disease, and bovine TB have wreaked great havoc on UK farmers. Farmers are also frequently victims to adverse weather situations like floods and dry summers. To top it all, is the lack of profit in farming. For the sweat they put into farming, farmers get very little rewards. An independent study showed that farmers make more from subsidies than from profit.Whilst, they may appear to be a steely bunch, several studies show that farmers worldwide are at severe risk for mental health disorders.

Farmers not only provide the food we eat, they also manage wildlife habitats. Farmlands constitute the majority of our countryside. They are stewards of what makes our country ‘green and pleasant’. We really need to support them during and post-pandemic.

References:

1. https://fullfact.org/economy/farming-subsidies-uk/

2. Research trends in farmers' mental health: A scoping review of mental health outcomes and interventions among farming populations worldwide. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0225661