20.12.2020

Farming then and now

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In the last 60 years the life on farms in South-Tyrol has changed significantly. Until the late 50ies all the work on the field, on the meadows, in the farmhouse and in the byre was done by hand. Horses or oxen were used as draught animals to plough the fields, bring in the hay and in forest work. Farms were mostly self sufficient and got nearly all of their food from their own animals and garden. They used a lot of farming tools that nowadays are found in museums or in old barns. Most of them fell into oblivion, although our parents and grandparents can still tell us a lot about them.
Why was there such a massive change?
Not even a century ago there were many people living on a farm: the farmer and his wife, his parents, farm girls, churls and nannies. The so-called servants only got very small wages, but free board and lodging. Nowadays only the farmer and his family work on the farm and it´s very common that the farmer has a full-time job outside the farm. Some farms in South-Tyrol offer agritourism in order to combine work and family life better.
Farmers need a lot of machinery to fulfil all the work on their farms. The most important machine for agricultural needs is the tractor.
But what is better? Farm life then or now?
Back in the old days the word "stress" was mostly unknown. The work was undoubtedly much more physically demanding compared to today's farm work, think alone of the acres of grass they had to scythe. Today farmers have more pressure in fulfilling their works on an everyday basis and also farming has become very bureaucratic and needs constant training in the world of digitisation.
There are many that praise the "good old days", but whoever enjoys life to the fullest, respects the nature and sees the beauty of his surroundings can say:
"I'm happy to live here and now!"