Farmers look on bright side
Teagasc have been told by 90% of those surveyed that farming is a good way of life, and 93% appreciated being in charge and being their own bosses.
However, a combination of low incomes and feelings of isolation resulted in farmers considering their career a poor choice for young entrants.
It’s good to see that farmers are unaffected by the stream of pessimism about the future of agriculture from their organisations and from opposition politicians.
Farming is too challenging a business for negative thinking.
Farmers seem to be making the best of what they’ve got, judging from the survey.
Perhaps the general happiness in Ireland which surveys indicate is rubbing off on farmers.
In recent years Ireland has been ranked between first and sixth in the world for happiness — hardly surprising in a wealthy, democratic country which has developed economically.
In 2004 the international Economist magazine named Ireland as the best place to live in the world.
In the World Values Survey life satisfaction index for 2004 Ireland came second overall.
The Dublin-based European Foundation for the Improvement for Living and Working Conditions has reported that Irish people are considerably more optimistic and more satisfied with life than the average European.
But it isn’t all sunshine.
There are signs of stress in the Irish workplace.
In the 2004 Quality of Life in Ireland Report by Amárach Consulting, for which 1,000 adults were interviewed, the proportion of people who think that the pace of change in Irish society is too fast has almost trebled since the mid-1990s.
Between 2001 and 2004 the proportion of the population in this survey who said they “often” suffered from stress rose from 9% to 14%.
Those reporting stress “sometimes” rose from 32% to 36%. Half the population in 2004 reported stress “sometimes or often”, up from 41% just three years previously.
Almost half of all workers said they would like to retire before the age of 55.
Figures for stress are likely to be much lower if only farmers were interviewed — one of the advantages of being their own bosses is that they have more control over the pace of their life. Nor do they spend many hours on the road commuting to work — a likely cause of the stress many are reporting.
But what about the very many farmers who now combine agriculture with off-farm work?
They have the best and worst of both worlds, and many question if part-time farming can be continued indefinitely.
Optimistic part-time farmers will be glad to know their situation is not as bad as that of the Japanese “salary-man”. Japanese is the only language with a word (karoshi) used to describe sudden death from overwork.
But they should be aware of the danger signs — turning to booze to relieve stress, not sleeping properly, unsatisfactory sex life. All three are increasing in the UK, according to a poll of 2,000 people aged 16 or over.
They are being advised that stress can be a vicious circle. Sometimes, the more people feel stressed, the more they do things which put them under greater pressure, and it can be hard to find the energy to take a step back. Think clearly about what’s happening, and then consider what they can do about it.
