Down on the Farm

'Field Work: What Land Does to People & What People Do to Land' by Bella Bathurst

So, from battle fields I went to farmers' fields!  Food production and the countryside is turning into a bit of a hot topic at the moment, thanks to Jeremy Clarkson's foray into farming and concerns over supplies and welfare following Brexit and during the Covid-19 lockdowns.  Consequently, 'Field Work: What Land Does to People and What People Do to Land' by award-winning writer and photojournalist Bella Bathurst seems quite timely.

Looking over the Hedge

When Bella Bathurst moves into a Welsh farm cottage, she finds her curiosity piqued by Bert, the aging farmer, and the stories he tells about his land and living.  Keen to know more about this often insular world, she sets out to interview a variety of farmers and other country folk key to raising and cultivating our food.  From Ian the knackerman, who collects (and sometimes despatches) 'fallen stock', to Richard, a senior civil servant at DEFRA, the government department that makes the rules, via slaughtermen, butchers, family mediators, auctioneers, online dating entrepreneurs and vets, she explores what it means to work the land in the modern world.  As well as Bert, she talks to several generations of farmers, all hoping to ensure that their way of life has a future.  For some, this means expansion or diversification, for others it means more subsidies, or finding new blood to welcome into the fold.  'Field Work' is a qualitative survey of today's farming world, highlighting the pressures and obstacles experienced by those in one of the UK's most challenging yet essential occupations.

A Way with Words

The first thing that struck me about this book was how poetically written it is.  Bathurst conjures scenes and settings vividly, whether countryside or counselling session.  Although she visits a butcher's and a slaughterhouse, she keeps the balance right, managing to describe without sensationalising or repulsing.  

Despite its writing style, 'Field Work' doesn't romanticise or brutalise.  Neither does it dehumanise farmers and humanise animals.  Instead, Bathurst uses her writing skills to present an open, considered and - I felt - reasonably neutral picture of what she witnesses, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions.  Whichever side of the fence you sit on, 'Field Work' will help inform opinions about animal welfare, wildlife and more.

Risks and Challenges

As someone with no direct knowledge of farming or agricultural work, I found 'Field Work' incredibly informative, sensitive and interesting.  It humanises farm life and food production by bringing it down to a personal level.  It's impossible to read the sections on the impact of farming in bTB areas or the foot-and-mouth crisis of the early '00s without feeling for the poor farmers involved - people who, despite their gruff exteriors, are described as making themselves scarce when animals must be killed, even though they know that's the creatures' fate from birth.  

I remember the horrific images of heaped carcasses on the news being burned due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.  Reading about it and its impact brought back so many memories and literally brought tears to my eyes.  Such scenes are so at odds with the light and chirpy Sunday-night snippets we're more used to now.

Digging Deep

Much like what we see of farming on screen, 'Field Work' only offers a slice of country life, albeit a muddier and bloodier one.  It isn't comprehensive.  What it does cover it covers brilliantly, but it's about depth rather than breadth.  It gives a picture of the particular agricultural culture in the parts of England and Wales visited, but there's little coverage of Scotland and Northern Ireland.  It would've been interesting to see how the perceptions and opinions expressed by the interviewees matched up with known statistics.  Also, part of the food chain was missing.  The large buyers (supermarkets etc) were noticeable by their absence, despite being a force that looms large over the industry on our behalf.

Overall

At the end of 'Field Work', I was left with two thoughts.  

Firstly, worry about how precarious and mysterious our food production is.  Concerns about the future of farming run through this book, not just due to changes in eating habits, but because it's such a risky business model and farmers are aging and not necessarily being replaced by a younger cohort.  

Secondly, I immediately wanted to read similarly works about other sectors and industries, and more by Bella Bathurst herself.  I look forward to exploring her back catalogue and hope that, if there aren't similar books out there already, that Profile has more in the pipeline.

Now, what next..? 

'Field Work: What Land Does to People & What People Do to Land' by Bella Bathurst was published by Profile Books in 2021.  This post is based on the hardback edition.

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You might also be interested in 'When I Had a Little Sister' by Catherine Simpson, which also reflects on the struggles of farming families.