Farmers' wives are industry's '˜most under-used asset'

THE farming industry's most under-used business resource may be its women, a seminar at the Great Yorkshire Show heard.
Christine ThompsonChristine Thompson
Christine Thompson

New ideas for diversification, as well as vital technical and financial planning, were coming increasingly from farmers’ wives and other female members of the agricultural community, a member of a leading support group said.

But their ideas often met a wall of resistance from men reluctant to change their ways, said Christine Thompson, the general secretary of the Ryedale Show, who is also vice-chair of the Institute of Agricultural Secretaries and Administrators.

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Sage advice like, “We’ve always done it this way”, and “We tried doing that once before” was still too often the order of the day, she said.

Mrs Thompson, whose family farms 600 mixed acres rented from the Helmsley Estate, at the foot of the North York Moors National Park, said: “Ladies nowadays have just as much input as their husbands. And in a lot of cases, the new ideas for diversification come from the women.

“But there is more to it than that. We are part of everything, and it’s a case of getting others to recognise that fact.”

She said resource groups like the Yorkshire Rural Support Network, a partnership of statutory and voluntary agencies, were essential, given the isolated nature of farming.

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People need support,” she said. “You run yourself ragged if you try to do everything yourself.”

She said the role of the traditional farmer’s wife had been transformed in the last few decades.

“For my mother’s generation, it was a lot of hard physical work - hired labour that needed feeding.

“Now, with the technology, there are fewer farm workers and wives have taken a more active business role. And women expect a career of their own these days.”

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She said training units were now in place for farmers’ wives who wanted to expand their knowledge.

“There are some very intelligent people coming through, and the funding that is now available will give a lot of them the kick start they need. But no-one can do it alone.”

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