Why are some farms such an eye-sore?

Question

Whenever I go out walking I pass farms where there is tons of rusting machinery, old cars and tractors plus all sorts of other junk. Why don't farmers get rid of the stuff - I know it'll cost them - but hey wouldn't it make the countryside look even nicer!

Answer 1

Hi,

Farming these days is not normally a high-income form of employment. many farmers, especially those who run smaller farms are facing severe hardships. In Europe the interference of EU imposed policies has caused many farmers to suffer huge losses. In several cases in the UK farmers have been told they MUST reduce the number of dairy cows they have by 50% or face very large and punative fines.

Stupidly, this applies to ALL farms, even where a farmer has just one milk cow...If he keeps it he faces a punative fine, if he gets rid of half he loses the cow anyway. All so the French can sell more milk in the UK.

This makes farmers, as much as anyone else, very conscious of the need to avoid spending money. So...if there is a piece of machinery which is no longer useful or functioning it is easier and cheaper to leave it in a corner of the farm, where it does no harm (except to your sense of order and beauty, perhaps?)

Also, many of the pieces of equipment you see, although possibly looking 'an eyesore' may actually be functioning and servicable. Ploughshares, for example, are often left apparently abandoned, but will be picked up, and put into service the following year at ploughing time.

Yes, some farms are in wonderfully neat order (stud farms, for horses, for example) and where the farm is highly profitable you will find neatness and order.

So spare a thought for the financial straits of the poor farmer before jumping in with criticism...it IS his land and not yours (and is your bedroom tidy?)

Cheers,

BobSpain

Answer 2

Many farmers are struggling to make a decent living, do you really think they are concerned about the dissatisfaction you have unless you‘re going to offer some form of assistance to prove viable in replacing their worn out utilities with shiny models just please you?

Do you buy your vegetables from this farm? Do you buy their meat, or even milk?

Most of this “rusting” machinery is still in good working condition, most farmers haven’t the luxury of buying new machinery or materials just because their existing model is looking its age. In the context of other items scattered around the farm as one of the above posters said “farming is a messy business” it isn’t a passing hobby, they haven’t the time to concentrate on the environmental appeal of their farm for you, they’re working.

Country life is just that, it isn't pretty and far too many city people have many romantic expectations when they venture in the country.

Answer 3

Farming is a messy business, many farmers can't spare the money and time to neatify their turf for the benefit of wandering bypassers, and old farmers know that you never know when you'll have to scrounge something from whatever you have around the place in order to fix something (either something the part was intended for, or something that no one else would dream could be used for whatever purpose comes up on an emergency basis).

Answer 4

aahh - this is a good question! My husband and I bought a 19 hectare hobby farm 18 months ago. We were able to buy it a bit below market price because it was one of the "eyesore" farms you are coplaining about.

Since buying our farm I think I can answer your question...

We have spent $40,000 on our property in the last 18 months undoing about 5 years of neglect. Five years is based on the occupancy time for the previous owners, who didn't have it very long, but bought it nice and tidy.

Bear in mind that we have a relatively small rural acreage.

If we were running cattle on our property we could make about $600 per head of cattle per year - difference in buying and selling prices (and these figures are generous!)
With that $600 we have to provide vetinary care, buy drenches etc, provide additional feed if the rains fail, transport stock to market, pay selling fees etc etc. The point of this is that there is precious little cash left over - oh, and the most importsant point is that we have to feed and clothe ourselves and our family etc. Let's gues we clear $300 per animal per year and say we spent that $40,000 over the past five years - we would have to spend $8,000 per year, which would mean we were growing 27 cattle a year just to stay on top of the maintenance of our property. Our little property will run about 20 cattle - you do the math!

We are fortunate in that our little place is a hobby farm, we moved here for the lifestyle, not the money, and we both have full time "real" jobs! I have come to the conclusion that we should all pay more for our meat and crops and give our farmers a little more return on their investment!

There isn't enough cash left over for borderline poverty stricken farmers to pay someone $100 to come and remove junk and equipment off their properties.

The other factor that has been a real surprise to me is that it takes so much time to stay on top of our modest little lot. There is endless work keeping the fences together, keeping the pastures in good order, inspecting the stock for general health etc etc. A full time farmer on generous acerage doesn't have the time to make things pretty!

a lot of farms are now uneconomic - our farm was once a working dairy, but there is no way we could run enough stock on our little property to even pay the operating costs, let alone make a profit and put food on the table. This is the price of economies of scale and free trade. The sad fact is that a lot of agricultural land that used to be put into productive use for the community is now falling into the hands of people like us who can afford to live here without relying on any income from the property.

As small and medium sized farms are becoming uneconomic farmers are having to get low paid unskilled jobs in rural townships and on other larger farms - while their farm is falling down around their ears they have niether time nor money to maintain it.

What you are witnessing is the demise of the small/ medium holding rural life. Next stop, well off people fro the city move in, make it nice to look at, but don't actually contribute anything to the production of rural goods. The result - more foreign imports to make up the shortfall in production of domestic goods.

Answer 5

Unfortunately farmers tend to be autistic instead of artistic.
More centred on making money for their selves.
Reference:- That old song. "You never see a farmer on a bike"

Answer 6

maybe they don't have the money.