Why do people do stupid things?

It has been a long time since I sat down to write you a blog post for which I apologise. My mind has been on other things and as you know summer is a particularly busy time. It is quite incredible to drive around the local area and see the vast majority of fields already harvested and farmers making preparations for the coming growing season. It is hardly news to write that we have suffered from an immense lack of rainfall, but this has nonetheless been an important headline for the countryside this summer. I believe that we haven’t yet seen the full impact and the nature of this winter will be quite fundamental for many livestock farmers.

There have been some new arrivals on our own farm in the last couple of months including just under 40 Hereford and Angus cross heifers and bull calves which are here for the summer from another local farm. We have more grass than others so it’s about sharing it around. We’ve also expanded the sheep flock a little, recently buying another 25 ewes (with some good looking charolais bloodlines in there). Elsewhere on the farm it has been harvest, harvest, harvest, with the sea buckthorn the only thing still in swing. The farm has invested in a new processing plant for this interesting crop which has taken up a lot of time in construction and making sure it’s up to food safety and hygiene regs.

You’re probably wondering why I’ve titled this post ‘why do people do stupid things?’ Well, amongst the busy times, there has sadly been a raft of unfortunate incidents resulting in the farm having to clamp down on access. The most recent mysterious happening was on Tuesday night when a particularly helpful individual decided to ram a car through not one, not two but three gates, breaking padlocks and bending the gates into new shapes. The weekend before somebody drove up one of the farm lanes, broke into a car, tangled themselves up in barbed wire and cut a fence, leaving livestock able to escape the field (thankfully they didn’t – sensible rams!). We’ve also had three incidents of fly tipping and an abandoned car. All of this in about three weeks. The mindless individuals who do these kinds of things don’t have any respect for the countryside, for other people or any understanding that they are creating far more work and stress for others who already lead busy lives with plenty of other things to stress about. I live in a ‘semi-urban’ area with a growing population on the farm’s doorstep. We therefore expect the odd thing like this to happen, but when it’s so much in such a short period of time enough is enough. Fort Knox must come up, which sadly means restricting access for the responsible many. However, at the moment there is no other way.

If you have had any flytipping or other rural crime incidents in your area please do comment about them below.