Will’s World: In defence of Joe Stanley – and farm childhoods
© Lee Boswell Photography You know that feeling when you see something happen, and immediately wince in sympathy? Someone banging their shin hard on a trailer hitch, perhaps.
A harassed-looking parent dealing with a toddler throwing an almighty tantrum in a busy supermarket.
A driver backing their new BMW into a concrete bollard (OK, I admit to mixed feelings on that one).
See also: Opinion: Children working on farms belongs in the past
About the author
But as a columnist, there’s nothing that makes me anxiously grit my teeth more than seeing a fellow writer express an opinion on a controversial subject, knowing full well that they’ll receive a hate-filled social media pile-on as a result.
It’s a lamentably sad indictment of the times we live in that so many in our society have lost the ability to disagree agreeably, let alone appreciate the damage that this unthinking behaviour can cause to mental health.
I feel this especially keenly when the person in question is a friend, as was the case recently when I read the article Joe Stanley wrote in FW about children on farms.
I adore Joe. He’s eloquent, thoughtful, self-deprecating and charismatic, as well as being an incredible advocate for our industry.
When he says something, people in power listen, and I’d humbly suggest that we need more people like him in agriculture.
If you didn’t see the piece in question, or the comments under it on FW’s social media pages, have a look and you’ll understand where I’m coming from.
Prevention but no cure
Of course, it’s completely fine to disagree with Joe’s argument that children shouldn’t be operating heavy machinery or be a source of free labour on farms.
But hurling abuse at him for having the temerity to raise the extremely difficult subject of children being killed in preventable farm accidents is deeply unnecessary.
Did I agree with Joe on this occasion? He certainly made me think.
One of my main motivations for becoming a full-time farmer at the grand old age of 15 was that I knew I’d one day have a family of my own, and I wanted my children to have a farm childhood, with all the associated freedom, space and sense of adventure it brings.
Early learning
By helping their parents out from an early age, many farm kids gain invaluable levels of practical experience and knowledge, and I often think about how fortunate we are in this regard.
Even if they don’t choose to be farmers themselves, they’ll hopefully take those things with them on whatever path they decide to follow.
There’s also the childcare argument. With most parents being in full-time employment, what do we do with our kids over the school holidays?
Abandon them to the TV, smartphone or tablet, and the resulting brain-rot they incur?
Or encourage them, when appropriate, to be with us outdoors. And it’s not as if many of us could afford childcare with farm incomes where they are.
But with all that said, the thought of one of my daughters being hurt – or worse – in a farm accident is one of my nightmares, and I don’t how any of us would ever recover.
Tractors and machinery are at least twice as big and powerful as they were a generation ago, with far less operator visibility.
With all of us under increasing pressure, can we honestly say farms are a safe place for our children to be now? I’m not so sure.
I don’t have the answers, but I do thank and respect Joe for raising this thorny issue.