WATCH: Recruitment is a ‘challenge’ in the Highlands says Inverness-shire farmer
The challenges that the farming industry face and the realities of life working the land for a living can be challenging at times. But how much can we really know without experiencing it for ourselves first-hand.
To get a true insight into the challenges farmers face, we sent our reporter, Annabelle Gauntlett, along to Farm Ness to see a little of it for herself.
Annabelle spoke to those at the ‘coal face’ working hard to put Highland agriculture on the map, and keep it there.
From the vagaries of the weather - which this year has certainly not been ideal - and the threat of illness or disease striking crops or livestock, to the human challenges such as ever-changing subsidy frameworks, supermarket price pressures and the impact of Brexit and new trade deals.
There's certainly a lot of a farmer's plate and these difficulties can sometimes work as a deterrent for those looking to enter the industry.
Donald Fraser, who runs and owns Farm Ness, said: “Recruitment is a challenge and maybe some sort of structured scheme could help a lot.
“Very few people from outside farming come into it. My dad always used to say ‘farming is a way of life’ and I hated that as it’s a business and you need to try and generate a profit. If not, what’s the point of it, you’d be better off working somewhere else.
“I think that phrase is used quite a lot because it is one of those jobs where you are never fully switched off because there’s always something that goes wrong, especially with livestock, and it normally happens at exactly the time when you don’t want it to happen.
“But, if you’re not in it, then it’s quite a shock to get into it.”
When talking about the difficulties they face on the farm, Donald said: “At a certain time of year we definitely work stupid hours and it’s just not good for us and it’s definitely not good for attracting people into the industry.
“I think if you talk to any farmer, they would want more staff and for people to pay more staff. We work on pretty slim margins, so having that extra man in the team probably doesn’t happen and so we just end up working even harder at the peak times of year.”
