I can never quite tell whether family lies at the heart of my experience of the farming life, or if it is nature. Perhaps it is both.
Our farm is approximately one hundred acres set in a beautifully rolling corner of Wiltshire, just outside Chippenham heading towards Malmesbury as the crow flies. We have about 50 cows and some chickens. Originally, we were dairy farmers, but now we raise beef cattle.
The farm has a large ancient wood. It is very special as they are in such decline, they only cover 2.5% of the UK land area today. The plants and wildlife that inhabit our little corner of Wiltshire are important as they haven’t been disturbed for hundreds of years, and it is one of my happy places as it is so peaceful. In the spring, it turns into a carpet of blue when the bluebells appear.
We haven’t used chemicals or fertilizers on the farm for a long time as they are so damaging for the biodiversity of the soil and the long-term effects on the environment and our food. At the moment we are going through a transition stage as my parents are retiring and I will take over the running of the farm with my sister so we will look into registering as organic in the future. We want to work with nature and not against it.
From a young age, I’ve always had plenty to do on the farm, what with all the everyday jobs, feeding the cows, silaging and hay making. My sons Teddy, aged 15, and Maxi, aged 13, have just started driving the tractors so they are becoming quite useful – and they love it!
My grandmother grew up in the early 1900s and used to tell me wonderful stories of the cart horses and the adventures she had. She inspired me to write down the memories I have of my own childhood, and in a way, she is one of the largest influences on my decision to write a series of farm stories for children.
Writing about fictional children Teddy and his young sister Lara, and the adventures they have with their own Granny and Grampy, is a way of sharing that joy with other children – although I imagine it paints quite a clear picture of farming life when the first books in the series feature adventures with a quad bike getting stuck in the mud, and sledging in deep snow ...
Happiness comes from being close to nature, they say! And on a farm, there is plenty of that. At least I’m honest about the mud.
I do think it is important to learn about nature and wildlife from an early age, so children grow up respecting the environment and learning how to look after the countryside.
It is my hope that by writing about life on the farm, I’m reaching those who don’t always get to go outside and enjoy nature as I did when I was young and still do. I would like children to be able to transport themselves into the fun of the countryside. I hope it encourages them to play outside in their gardens and learn how important nature and animals are.
At the core of it all is the farm, of course. As a farmer, a wife, a mother and someone who also works in cyber security, I usually write in the evenings when all the jobs are done. I steal away to sit in the wood or in my favourite spot under an oak tree in the field to get inspiration.
It isn’t hard to find. My grandparents moved to Hillside in the early 30s. They had a Channel Island dairy herd and also ran a local milk round. We still have some of the lovely glass bottles with the family name on. They also had some beef cattle. My parents then gradually took over the running of the farm and due to government schemes at the time introduced Friesians to gradually replace the Guernsey and Jersey cows. They have always bred their own calves to join the herd, so we never bought any cows in. We gave up dairy several years ago when my father started to retire, and we began the transition to the next generation.
There are generations of memories here. Farming is hard but such a lovely way of life. There is always a job to do but it never seems like work.
Stuck in the Mud and Sledging in the Snow by Joanna Collingborn with illustrations by Anna Platts are out now. Published by Crumps Barn Studio, crumpsbarn.online
