# Can you tell me about living on a farm? =)



## Lyra Laurant (Apr 21, 2013)

If you ever lived on a farm, any information about daily life would be highly apreciated! 
Besides...

I did not specify when and where the story happens, but it would probably be in the past (no GM food, neither machines or any high tecnology) and in Scotland (because I am using some Scotish tales as reference).
The story takes place on a family farm near a small village. It is important that they do really need a working horse because they have a huge debt to pay (something similar to the situation in _War Horse_, although my story is not about a horse).

I am having some problems to figure out what a family could plant there and in what time of the year would be the planting and the harvesting.
As I live in a tropical region, the rules I know here wouldn't apply there. Besides, I was raised in big cities and in a beach/rainforest reserve, and I don't want to do any mistakes about living on a farm.


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## Sam (Apr 21, 2013)

I've lived on a farm my entire life. No one is the same as another. There are animal farms, produce farms (barley, wheat, corn), and also dairy farms. Most of the year it's early rising, late nights, and hard work. Especially so a hundred years ago. If it's an animal farm in the summer, the animals will be out to pasture in the fields that aren't being cut for silage. They'll have to be moved perhaps twice or three times a week, to another field, depending on the number of animals owned. If it's winter, the animals will usually be in shelter and the aforementioned silage used as feed. That's also early mornings and late nights. Extra meal may have to be purchased to keep them fed through the winter. 

If it's a dairy farm, the friesians (the type of milking cow most common in Scotland) will have to be taken to a milking machine in the morning and evening. Most dairy farmers pay for their own equipment to avoid long journeys. I don't know what it would have been like in the past, but I imagine it would have been done by hand, a lengthy process from what I can remember of it as a kid. The animals will also have to be fed as the grazing cattle were. 

My experience with produce farming is too limited to offer any advice.


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## tabasco5 (Apr 22, 2013)

The time frame of your story will determine many factors such as the availability of certain types of animals, seeds, and tools.  I would recommend giving the question to an expert in farming that specific region.  That may be a professor at a local university or a historian, etc.  You may be able to find some good stuff on the google or perhaps find a good reference book on the subject or even fiction.  

The planting times will still be roughly the same if you are talking about planting seeds directly in the ground, so you can find that information pretty easily online.  You can learn a lot about methods from an organic gardening book as well (ie., composting, using manures, homemade fertilizer, etc.).

Sounds like fun.


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## Bloggsworth (Apr 22, 2013)

Where in Scotland? It may be a tiny country, but agricultural conditions differ widely from south to extreme north. You might find these useful:

Scottish Farmers & Farming History - Ancestral Scotland

http://www.sair.org.uk/sair33/sair33.pdf

Scotland in the 19th century: Section 1.1: Agriculture: General [ebook chapter] / J A Haythornthwaite, 1993

Agricultural changes - Jacobites, Enlightenment and the Clearances - Scotlands History


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## Lyra Laurant (Apr 22, 2013)

Sam, thanks a lot for the information! :biggrin:

Fenbields5, yeah, I'm doing some research on google, and I visited an organic farm last week - actually, a good surprise from a Biodiversity Conservation class I'm attending. That was really interesting and I got some useful knowledge, but many things there were directly related to our region and our rainforest. ^^'''

Bloggsworth, thanks a lot for the links!


If someone has lived in a produce farm, here I go with another [possibly silly] question to you: While the seeds you planted on a field are still growing, most of the work would be "taking care" of that field, or would you be already harvesting in another field and/or planting in another field? No break?


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## tabasco5 (Apr 22, 2013)

You would most likely stagger your planting days by a week or two if the growing season allows. This would cut down on the amount of harvesting you would do at one time and give you a fresh supply of produce to sell or consume and/or seeds from the crop. Staggering plantings also avoids putting one's proverbial eggs in one basket.  Aside from this, there is only so much work you can do once your seeds are in the ground, but it depends on the crop and size of the crop question. 

You could do this in one or multiple fields. It all depends on the setup (ie., how much fertile land you have, how much time and available labor you have, etc.).  Much of this relies on your character's situation in life and in the story.


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## Lyra Laurant (Apr 24, 2013)

^That makes sense! Thank you so much, fenbields5!


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