Why do non farmers live in the countryside?

KatyMac

Got my silage done yesterday. (Yippeeeee) Lads were using a long trailer to take the unwrapped bales from field and (the horror of it) brought a very small amount of mud out on their wheels. It was very small, the fields were amazingly dry, but a woman who lives on opposite side of road was out taking photos and complaining of mud, noise, amount of tractors (3) travelling on the lane and anything else she could think of.

I cleaned muck up later with a brush and shovel and took pics to prove it, as she is the kind of person who would complain to the authorities.

My question is, why did she decide to build a house completely surrounded by farmland if she was going to be annoyed by ONE day of heavy work??
My blood was boiling when I heard she was photographing the lads as they were going about their business. Wonder how she will feel when the slurry goes out next week???

snowman707

KatyMac wrote: »

My question is, why did she decide to build a house completely surrounded by farmland if she was going to be annoyed by ONE day of heavy work??
?

because more than likely some farmer sold the site

henryporter

As the saying goes 'One swallow doesn't make a summer' - just because you cleaned up the road doesn't mean everyone does. I've seen plenty of roads left muddy by potato farmers round Louth in recent years and it's only when an accident occurs will something be done about it.

People are entitled to live where they like, and yes there are some people who get offended at how others carry on and maybe they have reason to - that neighbor of yours may have had a bad skid previously for instance.

The reason why a lot of people live n the country is because farmers were glad to take good sums of money of them for sites and because those people were forced to build/buy in the country because they couldn't afford to buy in the towns and cities in recent years. Others live in the country because they are from a farming background but now earn their living by working in towns and cities. I could go on, but all I'm trying to say is your generalization is not an argument, it's just a dumb 'them and us' rant.

harney

snowman707 wrote: »

because more than likely some farmer sold the site

A fantastic answer, had the question been more along the lines of how did she manage to build...

Rasheed

I can see both sides of the argument here bit the Op has a point. When you buy/build in the country, it comes hand in hand with big machinary, going at unsocial hours and maybe dirty roads.

I agree the dirty roads are a danger so a farmer should make every effort to clean these.

I could not move into town ans expect silence from 11 till 7. I should know that before I move there so I don't really get the 'farmer sold the site for big money' argument.

whelan1

in every walk of life you have people who like to complain about silly things whether its in the town or country, annoying as it may be ,we just have to put up with it unfortunately.....at least you can be prepared in your mind what you will say if the council do come out... you wont be put on the spot

NIMAN

I live in the country, and am far from being the farming type.

Very little would annoy me tbh, but re: leaving roads filthy, the farmers do not own country roads, and there is a lot of traffic from tourists and non-farming locals, so they should do everything in their power to leave them as mess-free as possible.

whelan1

NIMAN wrote: »

I live in the country, and am far from being the farming type.

Very little would annoy me tbh, but re: leaving roads filthy, the farmers do not own country roads, and there is a lot of traffic from tourists and non-farming locals, so they should do everything in their power to leave them as mess-free as possible.

i 100% agree, but it takes time to get orgainised to clean it up, would it not make sense to finish the job at hand and then clean the road....thats what we do anyway....

bear_hunter

snowman707 wrote: »

because more than likely some farmer sold the site

they could not have sold the site had the local authority not granted planning permission in the first place

a lot of irish people dont realise that one off housing in the countryside is very much an irish phenomenon , go to places like the uk and by and large , the only people who live in the countryside are farmers ,everyone else lives in towns

the irish approach has brought us any amount of problems from flooding issues to problems funding local services

btw , im not criticising people who like the idea of living in the countryside but we are quite unique in this country

Muckit

whelan1 wrote: »

i 100% agree, but it takes time to get orgainised to clean it up, would it not make sense to finish the job at hand and then clean the road....thats what we do anyway....

That's fine if the farmer is willing to accept the consequences. If traffic skid on it, it's the farmer and not the council that is liable.

Muckit

bear_hunter wrote: »

a lot of irish people dont realise that one off housing in the countryside is very much an irish phenomenon , go to places like the uk and by and large , the only people who live in the countryside are farmers ,everyone else lives in towns

You ever watch 'escape to the country'? :rolleyes:

ootbitb

NIMAN wrote: »

I live in the country, and am far from being the farming type.

Very little would annoy me tbh, but re: leaving roads filthy, the farmers do not own country roads, and there is a lot of traffic from tourists and non-farming locals, so they should do everything in their power to leave them as mess-free as possible.

I love that phrase or are you being deliberately ambiguous?:D

iverjohnston

Don't forget to take a few photos of her driving on the public road next time you have a chance! also take a few "before & after" of the slurry spreading!

1chippy

If this woman is any way approachable, call over explain that you have to get work done and that you will tidy up the roads when finished. I both farm and work in dublin on occasion. they have awkward individuals in dublin too, but i always find when approached, explain whats going on and they usually are ok. A lot of these people will give a bit of lee way, when they feel slightly more important.

uriah

NIMAN wrote: »

I live in the country, and am far from being the farming type.

Very little would annoy me tbh, but re: leaving roads filthy, the farmers do not own country roads, and there is a lot of traffic from tourists and non-farming locals, so they should do everything in their power to leave them as mess-free as possible.

They don't, but when farmers had to pay rates on land, they paid rates on half the road along their land, and on all of the road if they owned the land on both sides.

Most farmers/contractors I know put up signs and cones when the work they are doing leaves earth/other debris on the road surface, and they clean up the road when they finish the job each evening.
Builders/Councils do the same.

looksee

As a townie who has lived in the country I think there are two sides to the argument. If you are going to live in the country you have to accept that there will probably be farming activities going on around you.

With us it was sheep getting into the garden - we put in a grid - cattle who had just been drenched jumping into the garden, and a bull left on the long acre between the house and the school. That last was a long time ago and we got no sympathy when we complained about it.

We didn't complain about any of the other issues, they went with the territory. The woman who complained was a silly bat, there are people like her everywhere. If she lived in the town she would complain about neighbours' cats or kids, or the rubbish lorry coming round too early.

At the same time you have an obligation to clean the roads, which you did, so no problem. Not everyone does, I have been on one very mucky road recently, not all that far out of town. Her complaining isn't worth getting worked up about though.

skydish79

How to people from towns and cities get planning permission for one of houses?

Do they not have to be local to the area within 7- 8 miles?

1chippy

its well tightened up on, most i know of bought cottages or houses already built.

frozenfrozen

would you have cleaned up if you hadn't seen her taking pictures? it's not your road.

johngalway

Some people expect you to clean your plate while you're still eating your dinner :rolleyes:

O.A.P

johngalway wrote: »

Some people expect you to clean your plate while you're still eating your dinner :rolleyes:

God I know a few like that.:)

Atilathehun

O.A.P wrote: »

johngalway wrote: »

Some people expect you to clean your plate while you're still eating your dinner :rolleyes:

God I know a few like that.:)

I'd wait for one of those close, hot, sticky days of August. Then I'd get out the slurry tank. Pig slurry if possible!!!

LostCovey

Atilathehun wrote: »

I'd wait for one of those close, hot, sticky days of August. Then I'd get out the slurry tank. Pig slurry if possible!!!

That'll teach her what you get if you buy a site off a farmer!

Sam Kade

KatyMac wrote: »

Got my silage done yesterday. (Yippeeeee) Lads were using a long trailer to take the unwrapped bales from field and (the horror of it) brought a very small amount of mud out on their wheels. It was very small, the fields were amazingly dry, but a woman who lives on opposite side of road was out taking photos and complaining of mud, noise, amount of tractors (3) travelling on the lane and anything else she could think of.

I cleaned muck up later with a brush and shovel and took pics to prove it, as she is the kind of person who would complain to the authorities.

My question is, why did she decide to build a house completely surrounded by farmland if she was going to be annoyed by ONE day of heavy work??
My blood was boiling when I heard she was photographing the lads as they were going about their business. Wonder how she will feel when the slurry goes out next week???

What a sad sad woman she probably sits inside her window all day looking for something to moan about.

If you put up warning signs while you are doing the job and clean the road after, running to the authorities won't do her much good. There is sweet f all she can do about the noise or the amount of tractors.

Atilathehun

LostCovey wrote: »

Atilathehun wrote: »

I'd wait for one of those close, hot, sticky days of August. Then I'd get out the slurry tank. Pig slurry if possible!!!

That'll teach her what you get if you buy a site off a farmer!

Exactly!!! You buy the site and all that goes with it, in terms of what daily life in the country generates.

If farmer buys a house in town, he buys into town life, the good, the bad and the ugly.

When in Rome and all of that!!!

haybob

I have to say I think a lot of this comes down to respect and consideration for other people but this is sadly lacking in Irish people in particular on the roads. Katy Mac did the right thing and cleaned it up however the woman in question seems overly officious.
Everyone not only farmers needs to realise there are other people who use the roads, I had a particular issue with cyclist myself for three Sundays in a row we were almost prisoners in our own home and made to feel we had no right to use the road outside my own house despite the road not being officially closed.
Last evening I was travelling with the family and met two tractors one with a baler one with a wrapper and the guts of 30 cars behind them, no excuses they should have pulled in the flip side of that I have often been caught behind nervous tourist on local roads.
All people need to have is a bit of consideration

magicbastarder

skydish79 wrote: »

How to people from towns and cities get planning permission for one of houses?

Do they not have to be local to the area within 7- 8 miles?

this is ireland. planning laws are a challenge, not a guideline.

Farmer Pudsey

haybob wrote: »

Last evening I was travelling with the family and met two tractors one with a baler one with a wrapper and the guts of 30 cars behind them, no excuses they should have pulled in the flip side of that I have often been caught behind nervous tourist on local roads.
All people need to have is a bit of consideration

I agree however having pulled in once to let traffic off where I had not got a good clear view behind I'd be very slow to pull in again as a lot of other driver will not let you out and if they see you as they come around a corner they will speed up. I only had about a mile to go and did the decent thing I be slow to again I keep the boot down and leave them wait another 3-4 minutes.

Figerty

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

I agree however having pulled in once to let traffic off where I had not got a good clear view behind I'd be very slow to pull in again as a lot of other driver will not let you out and if they see you as they come around a corner they will speed up. I only had about a mile to go and did the decent thing I be slow to again I keep the boot down and leave them wait another 3-4 minutes.

Didn't a fella get put of the road for that last year? The lad driving the tractor wouldn't pull in and went about five or six miles without pulling in even though he had plenty chances.. Probleb was there was a squad car in the queue...
If I recall properly the tractor driver was a bus driver or at least drove for a living, He brought a bad attitude to court and the Judge nailed him.

brian_t

Figerty wrote: »

Didn't a fella get put of the road for that last year?.

‘Arrogant’ tractor driver disqualified . . February 20th, 2009

An interesting court case that was held in Castlebar last week will strike a chord with any motorist who has ever been stuck behind a slow moving vehicle. Before the court was a farmer who created a long line of traffic in his wake as he returned from a local Mart with his tractor and trailer.

Garda John Daly told the court he came up behind a line of traffic travelling at 15 to 20 mph shortly before 2pm on July 19th last. More vehicles began to back up behind him so, at every safe opportunity, he overtook cars in front of him until eventually he managed to stop the tractor and trailer. ...........

Garda Daly said there were at least six locations along the route where the defendant could have pulled in to let traffic go by and, when asked him why he hadn’t done so, he replied that he was ‘entitled to be on the road the same as everybody else’. ...........

Disqualifying the farmer for one year, Judge Mary Devins said she was accepting Garda Daly’s evidence and, in her opinion, the defendant’s arrogance was palpable. On the day in question, he considered his business to be far more important than anyone else’s and he was still convinced he did nothing wrong. He was as entitled as anybody else to be on the road but he did not have the right to force other people to drive at 15 mph and to cause a dangerous back-up of traffic..

http://www.munster-express.ie/opinion/tales-of-the-tellurians/%E2%80%98arrogant-tractor-driver-disqualified/

kerryjack

the planning laws were too relaxed in this country but farmers have only themselves to blame, every one in this country are only a few generations away from the land, and they get a few euro together and they come back and buy a parcel of land for mad money and build a house on it, its very hard for a young farmer to expand and compete with these people in an auction .they should be a law brought in that you need a herd number to buy a plot of land in this country , there is a lot of talk about expansion in the dairying, but its impossible if we cant get our hands on land near by.
OP as for the lady i would say try and keep on the right side of her

Sam Kade

kerryjack wrote: »

the planning laws were too relaxed in this country but farmers have only themselves to blame, every one in this country are only a few generations away from the land, and they get a few euro together and they come back and buy a parcel of land for mad money and build a house on it, its very hard for a young farmer to expand and compete with these people in an auction .they should be a law brought in that you need a herd number to buy a plot of land in this country , there is a lot of talk about expansion in the dairying, but its impossible if we cant get our hands on land near by.
OP as for the lady i would say try and keep on the right side of her

Anyone can rent a bit of land build a crush and handling pen on it, if it doesn't have one already and get a herd number. Having a herd number is not a God given right.

Not every farmer took advantage of the Celtic tiger to sell sites.

20silkcut

kerryjack wrote: »

, there is a lot of talk about expansion in the dairying, but its impossible if we cant get our hands on land near by.
her

Boo hoo stop moaning. Just cause you have a herd of cows and a milk quota does not make your cause for land acquisition more valid than others.

haybob

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

I agree however having pulled in once to let traffic off where I had not got a good clear view behind I'd be very slow to pull in again as a lot of other driver will not let you out and if they see you as they come around a corner they will speed up. I only had about a mile to go and did the decent thing I be slow to again I keep the boot down and leave them wait another 3-4 minutes.

The lad I'm on about wasn't on the road for 3 or 4 minutes and the road is relatively straight with plenty of places to pull in granted there were places for overtaking and I suspect the couple of cars directly behind were tourists, he should have been aware of the traffic behind him and pulled in, I'm a farmer myself and we aren’t the only ones guilty of holding up traffic truck driver, caravaner those campers vans, TOUR BUSES etc etc etc

KatyMac

Funny how we went from muck on the road to bad driving!!
The lady in my original post and I have a long history. She complained to Guards about cattle that she thought were mine going into her garden. Needless to say they weren't mine, but she is convinced I was being smart and we have a love/hate relationship ever since. I told her to be sure the Guards got the tag number of the cattle and they'd be able to find the owner - she wasn't impressed.

Rasheed

KatyMac wrote: »

Funny how we went from muck on the road to bad driving!!
The lady in my original post and I have a long history. She complained to Guards about cattle that she thought were mine going into her garden. Needless to say they weren't mine, but she is convinced I was being smart and we have a love/hate relationship ever since. I told her to be sure the Guards got the tag number of the cattle and they'd be able to find the owner - she wasn't impressed.

God help you living beside a woman like that. Anything since from her about the road? As someone else said, it's a good dose of slurry reality that one needs.

lakill Farm

Rasheed wrote: »

God help you living beside a woman like that. Anything since from her about the road? As someone else said, it's a good dose of slurry reality that one needs.

Can you blame her giving out about cattle in the garden? its farmers duty to fence there animals in and cattle can do some damage to lawns and flower beds.

2 previous cases. (my auld lad is off a dairy farm but we lived 15 miles away. 10 years ago a neightbours bullocks ploughted our front lawn out. they were stone mad. So farmer comes up and says to us can he let them settle for 5 mins and he fix all damages. He set up to move them and all was fine. Came back that evening with tractor and trailer of top soil to fix the place. Dad said tip a bit of soil out and myself and dad fixed it up ourselves. reason the cattle broke out, someone had robbed his battery fence

my aunt ( dads sister) had 3 occassions in 3 weeks where cattle broke in from a farmer 100 yards away. twice he didnt fix the place or say sorry or anything. lawn in **** and **** on tarmac etc. 3rd time the cattle came in, she shut the gate and called the gardai. Lad ended up with €1,800 landscape bill to fix the lawns and warned about cattle breaking out.

What im saying is it work both ways and everyone needs to work together.

Des1

Why do non farmers live in the countryside?

What a narrow minded question. Your thread title is an insult to the farming community and serves to portray us a shower of redneck yokkles. Stupid question.

Rasheed

lakill Farm wrote: »

Can you blame her giving out about cattle in the garden? its farmers duty to fence there animals in and cattle can do some damage to lawns and flower beds.

2 previous cases. (my auld lad is off a dairy farm but we lived 15 miles away. 10 years ago a neightbours bullocks ploughted our front lawn out. they were stone mad. So farmer comes up and says to us can he let them settle for 5 mins and he fix all damages. He set up to move them and all was fine. Came back that evening with tractor and trailer of top soil to fix the place. Dad said tip a bit of soil out and myself and dad fixed it up ourselves. reason the cattle broke out, someone had robbed his battery fence

my aunt ( dads sister) had 3 occassions in 3 weeks where cattle broke in from a farmer 100 yards away. twice he didnt fix the place or say sorry or anything. lawn in **** and **** on tarmac etc. 3rd time the cattle came in, she shut the gate and called the gardai. Lad ended up with €1,800 landscape bill to fix the lawns and warned about cattle breaking out.

What im saying is it work both ways and everyone needs to work together.

Oh Jesus I'm fully with you on the destruction that cattle cause in a garden, it's desperate!

This woman that the OP has the misfortune of having as neighbour seems to have it in for the OP.

Some farmers do take the piss with bad fencing/ dirtying the road but most are responsible. While it may be some townies dream to live in the country, the reality is that farmer make a living too. This may cause the occasional dirty road or mad cattle breaking in but thats country life!

On another note, English neighbours we used to have got very annoyed at the noise our calves/cows were making during weaning. They got very snotty when we tried to explain that it was only for a few days,while we fenced fields away from the house for them, threatning all sorts of solicitors etc. Some people are just hard to reason with.

Qualitymark

It's nothing to do with living in the country. It's to do with living beside a workplace. If you're in the city and you have a factory or a shop next door, you have a right to expect them to keep their workplace clean and noise-free. Same in the country.

It sounds as if the OP should find a tactful neutral person to help negotiate, and go and make friends with his (I assume "his") neighbour. Ideally, country life, and city life, should involve co-operation, mutual help, friendliness and give-and-take, on both sides.

pakalasa

Qualitymark wrote: »

.... you have a right to expect them to keep their workplace clean and noise-free.......

How do you keep a farm noise-free?....:D

Graces7

Atilathehun wrote: »

I'd wait for one of those close, hot, sticky days of August. Then I'd get out the slurry tank. Pig slurry if possible!!!

This kind of attitude does not help anyone, frankly. Deliberately provoking.

Qualitymark

pakalasa wrote: »

How do you keep a farm noise-free?....:D

You don't start up heavy machinery at 5am (unless it's absolutely necessary, and then you warn your neighbours), for instance. I'm not talking about the natural, normal sounds of animals and farm work, of course!

Sam Kade

pakalasa wrote: »

How do you keep a farm noise-free?....:D

They could meet half way the op could buy her neighbour some ear plugs

Sam Kade

Qualitymark wrote: »

You don't start up heavy machinery at 5am (unless it's absolutely necessary, and then you warn your neighbours), for instance. I'm not talking about the natural, normal sounds of animals and farm work, of course!

So I'll ring my neighbour's at 4.55am to warn them that I am about to start my tractor.

Graces7

Interesting thread.

I have lived among farms some 30 years, mostly sheep farms. Give and take is vital, especially as I had critters of my own.

Have helped at shearing times etc etc. Kept an eye on lls sheep etc. Watered them in dry weather and rounded them back in when they got out. Neighbours do that.

When we moved to cattle country two years ago, there were many different aspects to get used to. I did ask a few things here, but got insulted too many times to carry on!!!
Which is self defeating for the farmers, as it is learning and talking that helps every situation. The deliberately antagonistic suggestions here will exacerbate every situation.

And they were not what I have encountered face to face, thankfully. And were not what I had encountered in previous houses either.

Slurry was one issue; I needed to know eg when etc, as I have allergy problems. My question was not a complaint yet it was taken as such. Puts folk's backs up when that happens.

Now i know to close doors and windows and wear a mask when this is happening and that is fine. NB I live where I do as allergy issues and noise issues are far worse in towns, and here also I have more control and more peace and privacy ....I use the wee small hours well and sleep early as I need to.

it is simply a case of getting used to a situation. Seeing if anything can be changed and if not getting used to it.

Other issues that arose were crowbangers; this has now been sorted by the Gardai as they were being left on all night. We tried every other avenue of appeal to no avail; probably the all night thing was deliberate!! NB they are illegal now and they don't work anyways.

Cows in the garden also sorted; an extra fence up.

They belong to our landlord which helped greatly!

It is no use being antagonistic; had the OP been less so with the woman, things might have eased.

You get further with honey than with vinegar.

If anyone speaks to me like that they get as good as they give and more!

Noise issues can indeed he helped by ear plugs, but I worked this out for myslef. I know the farming seasons and rhythms here now. Love watching the teams with the sileage.. who needs TV...

Know too that the cows will be noisy for three days and nights after separation; knew that before I came here though, and the same with sheep.

But to a townie expecting utter peace!!!! That can be devastating...

Graces7

Sam Kade wrote: »

So I'll ring my neighbour's at 4.55am to warn them that I am about to start my tractor.

Silly comment.

NB our ll is usually still "in the bed" at 8.30 am so the early hours are peaceful here.;)

Qualitymark

Sam Kade wrote: »

So I'll ring my neighbour's at 4.55am to warn them that I am about to start my tractor.

Well, you could, for instance, start a password-protected local Facebook page where people could post up: "I'll be working with a slurry spreader from 4am tomorrow".

Qualitymark

kerryjack wrote: »

the planning laws were too relaxed in this country

<snip>

they should be a law brought in that you need a herd number to buy a plot of land in this country

What a great idea! And in the name of reciprocity, of course, no one with a herd number in the family should be allowed to live in any city, or to buy any land or property in any city.

ZETOR_IS_BETTER

Sam Kade wrote: »

So I'll ring my neighbour's at 4.55am to warn them that I am about to start my tractor.

No Sam thats just disrespectful,

I would personally knock on the door to tell them

Sam Kade

Graces7 wrote: »

Silly comment.

NB our ll is usually still "in the bed" at 8.30 am so the early hours are peaceful here.;)

Which compliments the silly suggestion.

Your what is still in bed .