Farming throws off macho stereotype

Far removed from the nursery songs of the farmer wanting a wife, a Women in Agriculture event – organised by Scotland's Rural College for Friday - will lead calls for much more to be done to encourage women to step out of the shadows and take the reins.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy Fergus Ewing MSP will also launch plans for Scottish Government research into women working in farming industries at the same event and look at what impact women are having on the sector.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show 83 per cent (137,000) of the UK’s agricultural workforce is male, while 17 per cent (29,000) is female.

However research in 2015 by industry magazine the Farmer's Guardian suggested that the number of women coming into farming or related work had increased by 26 percent in the last three years with many women – more traditionally relegated to background roles – becoming farmers in their own right.

Although the majority surveyed said more women were now farming than a decade ago, almost nine out of 10 said more still needed done to encourage women into agriculture.

Scott Walker, chief executive of the National Union of Farmers, said: "It's an industry that's thought of as being male dominated and we need to change that image.

"Actually a lot of farms are run by women or are operated largely by women as part of a joint farming enterprise.

"Others work in all sorts of jobs that service farming or the agriculture industry.

"We need to better highlight the diverse range of jobs that are available."

He claimed that while there were many barriers to working in farming, including intense financial challenges, those did not need to be gender specific.

"We need to look at promoting positive female role models," he added. "If you've got the talent and you're prepared to work hard, there should be no reason why anyone can't go into farming."

MSP Fergus Ewing said that results from the Scottish Government research, which will be headed up by researchers at Queens University, Belfast in collaboration with the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, would inform government policy to help drive equality in agriculture.

"Scottish farming is an area where people’s contributions are not always publicly recognised or fully understood and acknowledged," he added. "In particular, the contribution that women make to agriculture and the wider rural economy is not always visible.

"We need to better understand the role of women living and working in the agriculture sector, to identify the challenges they face, and consider how we can create opportunities for more women to choose careers in farming.

"We believe women have an increasing contribution to make to the rural economy and I would like to see more women in agricultural leadership roles.

"The findings of this research will help ensure we can put in place the right support to achieve that vision."

But Marion Tilson, who runs Wedderlie Farm in Berwickshire with her daughter said neither she, nor her mother who ran the cattle farm before her, had found any barriers to being women farmers. "There can be a perception that they won't cope with the heavy work, but many of us do especially with the help of the machinery available now," she said.

"The work is very diverse. You need to be good at dealing with people, at sales and there's lots of admin and paperwork for farmers to do now.

"Financially though, I've never felt it tougher. You're working 24 hours a day seven hours a week.

"I would imagine that a lot of women – as well as men – would quite like weekends off.

"But I do it because I love my job. It's very rewarding."

The Royal Highland Show, which runs from 23-26 June in Ingliston near Edinburgh, expects to attract almost 200,000 visitors this year.

The iconic event is billed as the biggest celebration of rural life and showcases everything from prize-winning livestock and Scottish food and drink, to traditional rural skills and farm machinery.