Working down on the farm

In the 1840s, nearly one in four British workers were farm labourers, but mechanisation has drastically reduced their number. Today, nearly all farms are still family businesses and most get by without much help, particularly in sectors such as livestock grazing and cereal cropping. In total, 60% of agricultural labour is provided by farmers and their families. However, the harvesting of soft fruits and vegetables, largely done by hand, is still very labour-intensive. Seasonal migrant workers have been used since the 18th century, when travelling gangs of Irish people would help with the harvest. The seasonal agricultural workers scheme, bringing workers from eastern Europe, was introduced in 1945. But it was only in the 1990s that British agriculture reached its current level of dependence on casual employees – totalling about 15% of farm workers, most of them migrants. This is down to the rise of the big supermarket chains. They have pushed down prices and margins for farmers, who in turn feel obliged to offer the low wages, long hours and short contracts that British people mostly do not want. The Government wants new technologies introduced to make farms more competitive. But is the British farmer – average age 59 – well placed to do so?