Field Work: What Land Does to People & What People Do to Land

by Bella Bathurst

For many of us, Britain is countryside - drystone walls, stiles, sheep on a distant hillside. But farmers themselves often remain a mystery: familiar but unpredictable, a secretive industry still visible from space. Who are these people who shape our countryside and put food on our tables? And what does it take to pull a life out of earth?

From fruit farmers to fallen stock operators, from grassy uplands to polytunnels, Bella Bathurst journeys through Britain to talk to those on the far side of the fence. As farmers find themselves torn between time-honoured methods and modern appetites, these shocking, raw, wise and funny accounts will open out a way of life now changing beyond recognition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Agriculture, British Literature, Sociology, Environment, History

240 pages, Hardcover

Published April 29, 2021

About the author

Bella Bathurst is a fiction and non-fiction writer, and photographer, born in London and living in Scotland. Her journalism has appeared in a variety of major publications, including the Washington Post and the Sunday Times.

Her first published book was The Lighthouse Stevensons (1999), an account of the construction of the Scottish lighthouses by the ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson, and named one of the List Magazine's '100 Best Scottish Books of all time'.

Reviews

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite different from the current crop of rural writing/nature writing. Bathurst moves to a cottage on a hill farm, and then shadows and/or interviews people involved in most aspects of farming in Britain. boldly, she sets the tone by starting the book travelling around in the knacker's lorry. Later chapters include abattoirs, stock sales, vets visiting TB-infected herds, counselling sessions about succession, agricultural colleges ...

Bathurst does an impressive job of showing from the inside how very tough farming can be -- not a job you can switch off from at the end of the day, but something which rules every aspect of your life. In modern conditions, it can drive farmers to bankruptcy, depression, suicide. That said she does find happy farmers too! I thought she did a really good job of connecting to and empathising with people who might not normally get a good press from those ignorant of rural life, while still maintaining a journalistic approach. It says a lot about her that people like the vets, knacker's man, abattoir workers, and battery farmers were all happy for her to shadow them. She says herself that she lives next to farmers, but is not one of them, and she is clearly a good listener who respects her interviewees.

Also, she's a very good writer -- some beautiful descriptive writing about her and others' lives on the farm. A very good book about the real life of farmers.

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

'You’ve got an industry in need of new entrants, an ageing workforce, and there’s plenty of farmers who think you’ve got no chance unless you’re born to it. The only other job like this is the monarchy.'

RTC later. Took off 2 stars mostly because the writer is a bit — politically evasive, but I get that she's doing that as a way to 'respect' the farmers (I'm assuming). Also, I think I am a little bit too 'acquainted' with 'British' agriculture/farming to be impressed by any of the 'basic' observations. I expected the writer to touch on sustainability (esp. discussions of being (more) environmentally-conscious and such) and a bit about how all of it can be improved, but the book lacks that. So basically quite a narrow view of the industry. But she makes a few strong points about how 'incestuous' the business/industry is. She used the more animalistic term, 'inbreeding', but ultimately — same difference?

'‘We were just talking about farmers’ sons and daughters marrying,’ says Jack. ‘The level of inbreeding sometimes is so …’ – he tails off to general laughter – ‘and if you carry on that metaphor, what do you get? You generally get a weaker, failing line. You get line-breeding weakness.’ You also get very little diversity. It’s telling that if you search for ‘diversity in farming’ online, what comes up is not material on those from a minority background, but diversification. If you search further, all that comes up is information on how to start a llama business.'

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es fing gut an, aber im Laufe der Zeit wurde immer unüberlesbarer, wie unkritisch das Buch auch an den Stellen ist, wo es wirklich nahe gelegen hätte, auf die durch Landwirtschaft verursachten Probleme hinzuweisen. Stellenweise liest es sich wie ein Landwirtschaftslobby-Auftragstext. Das ist es sicher nicht, aber die Danksagungen am Ende klingen so, als sei die Autorin den beschriebenen Leuten halt zu freundschaftlich verbunden oder als habe sie zu sehr versucht, als Ortsfremde und Nichtbäuerin nicht unangenehm aufzufallen. Insgesamt ärgerlich, drei Sterne nur, weil es gut anfing und ich den Stil mochte.

[Mark Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this was worth reading and evidently well researched, in the end it was a touch unsatisfying as I'm not really sure what it's trying to tell us? That farming is bloody hard work? That they face difficult choices - economic, environmental, ethical? That it's hard to make an economic success of it? That it's a round-the-clock non-stop occupation? And that it places unique and unrelenting demands upon family life, mental well-being? I don't think I'm especially knowledgeable or well-read in regards to farming and agriculture, but I knew all that already. With any non-fiction book, the ultimate measure of it - for me anyway - is what did I learn? What did I take away? Did it change or amend my thinking on anything? Sadly with this book I felt it didn't deliver in any of those areas, it simply re-enforced what I already know - and as I said already, I'm no expert by any stretch.
Overall therefore, just a little disappointing.

[Gareth Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A curious blend of memoir, social history and didactic pastoral, Bella Bathurst brings her luminous prose to shine a light on the reality of farming in Britain today.

She moves to a cottage on the 180-acre Rise Farm, a place neither pretty nor idyllic, but grimly clinging to tradition, as embodied by the aging, embittered old farmer, Bert.

The book is a record of life at Rise Farm and the lives of other rural characters who contribute to the little known but essential functions of British agriculture - the Knackerman, the lawyer, the slaughtermen, the Big Farm economists, the opportunists, the fatalists.

Beautifully written and strangely sad, the book explains how massively misunderstood is the price of wanting our farms to be picturesque yet productive, cruelty-free and yet able to provide us with cheap and tasty food.

And such writing...

"One little brown calf has detached himself from the rest of the group and is standing further down, watching the cars passing. His ears are pricked and his gaze follows us, all of us, approaching and receding. We're a herd passing on our way towards other herds - work, family, football practice - in our little tin boxes, encircled by the timings of our own lives. Around him the other cows graze on, indifferent to the road. But he looks interested, as if he'd like something explained to him.
What does he see? I wonder. I know what he is to us. But what are we to him?"

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farming is one of those things in life that most of us take for granted. Many people probably prefer it that way, opting not to think too much about the realities of food production. Bella Bathurst’s book provides a healthy dose of reality as she explores, as her subtitle puts it ‘what land does to people and what people do to land’. Concentrating on mainly small farms (mostly either livestock or mixed) in the west of England and Wales, she casts an observant eye over farms as homes, businesses and workplaces. That no punches are going to be pulled is apparent from her first chapter, ‘Fallen Stock’, in which she accompanies a knackerman on his rounds collecting dead and diseased stock. From there she moves on to the other harsh realities of the farming life: the debt, the suicides, the stress and strain on family and inter generational relations, and that’s before she gets to the threats to livelihoods presented by weather, disease and market forces. If that makes Field Work sound like a chronicle of gloom and misery, it’s far from that; the sense of continuity, of respect for landscape and stock, and love of place shines through on almost every page.

[Mitch Karunaratne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pandemic sharpened our focus on where our food comes from and reignited a respect for farmers. This book thoughtfully and with critical compassion and empathy shows us what that life is like for that elusive, mythologised and isolated group. From the knackerman, to the paperwork, from subsidies to succession mediation, from country based dating sites to large animal vet practices Bathhouse shows us what really goes in to our food production and the complex decisions that shape our land. Only thing I would have liked to see more of is a geographic spread of farms involved.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book refreshingly tells the story of those who live, work, and die, behind the hedges and stone walls of our farming communities. Bathurst understands why some farmers find it so hard to let go of the past, and others recognise that only diversification and modernisation will guarantee any sort of future for those who look to the land for a living. Sensitively and objectively written Bathurst provides both context, and hope, for the future of British farming in all its guises.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly wonderful. Bella Bathurst has a wonderful voice in this collection of essays, gentle and observant, sometimes richly humorous as well. I learned, and also I felt, deeply.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compassionate and interesting account of the people who work the land. Largely apolitical, but I think that works for this book

[Elias Marseille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtig boek. Met tranen in m’n ogen sommige delen gelezen. Geeft een fascinerend beeld van de agrarische sector en het platteland in de UK, waar ik momenteel doorheen fiets. Kan het zeer aanraden!!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

From YFC, Harper Adams and farm and rural estate accounts work, this account of the rural economy has opened my eyes to some of its harsh realities. You may need a strong stomach for some of the chapters, but the humour and wise accounts of a rural economy in the midst of change is not to be missed. #bellabathurst #profilebooks #bookabookshop

[Robert Tansey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into the jobs and lives in and around farming.

[Misha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough book to get through. It simply took a long time and was very dense. Each chapter began with a narrative but quickly spun off into what seemed like nothing more then a vague collection of facts/ a series of events that basically emphasize how hard farming is and the struggles that farmers deal with today. Theres some really interesting stuff about how farming has changed over time as well as the monarchial aspect of passing down a farm but it was extremely repetitive and a lot of it seemed just to be a following of the authors thought process. The narrative portions are very interesting, I'm a big sucker for knowing the down and dirty of what an industry is like and the specific details, but something about the format made the book extremely slow to read.
All in all the book really just emphasized that farming is hard. It was an extremely well researched book and very fact dense, but the stuff I learned seemed more common sense. I don't really know how to describe it well. For me personally, nothing seemed to really draw me in and I left fairly indifferent. I think it would have benefited from a style more like Caitlin Doughty's 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes', maybe a bit more narrative and small picture rather then big picture, because I feel like the book is also torn between showing how different and individual farming is but also trying to show lots of big picture data- maybe for a researched thesis paper it might work but for a book being read for pleasure it dosen't work very well. I cannot however in good consciousness rate this book less than 3 stars simply because it is extremely well written and well researched, and those alone deserve a decent rating.
I would reccomend the book to a casual reader who is vaguely interested in farming and has a lot of free time. I would not reccomend it to a die hard reader because this is NOT the type of book you can binge. It will absolutely FRY your brain and you will be ITCHING to move on at the end.

[Ben Hawkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bathurst is a fantastic writer whose prose had me hooked from the first page. The book provides an engaging, informing and somewhat emotional overview of the lives of modern British farmers and how The Land impacts both Farmers and the broader Public, whilst outlining the interdependencies between those three entities.

I found Field Work to be an thoroughly enjoying read and a thought provoking insight into the people and places from which our produce comes from.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book expecting to be irritated by yet another writer renting a rural cottage and then making money from telling us all what ‘real’ country life is like. I am glad to say, in large part, my expectations were not met, and that, despite living in the countryside for 63 years, and working outside in it for 47 years, there was plenty for me to learn (some of it not pleasant) about farming and related jobs. Bathurst writes well and managed to retain my interest throughout.
As always, I have a couple of quibbles. I know that much of the research for the book was centred around the Mid Welsh Marches, and there are not huge numbers of employees, but given that the book cover claims that she journeyed throughout Britain for information, the lack of perspective of the employed workforce is strange. Workers get 2 paragraphs, one of them derogatory. Also, she falls too easily for the perennial complaint about too much bureaucracy from farmers, and she uncritically accepts the notion that they are the guardians of the countryside, despite plentiful evidence that suggests otherwise. (I do, of course, accept that many farmers care deeply about the countryside, and that for some, keeping heads above water is a struggle).
Finally, I appreciated the witty double meanings of the books title and chapter headings!

[Julie Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our local village 'green' book group are reading this for our April book and delighted that the author will be joining us for the discussion.

Luckily I thought the book was rather excellent (phew).

This is a pretty graphic and eye-opening description of the realities of farming and the people involved. She covers the killing of livestock and the processes at the abattoir in full gory detail but very compassionately.

I certainly wondered to myself why on earth anyone would want to join the farming world unless you were born into it, and even if you were born into a farming family it seems a very daunting career choice. The benefits don't seem to outweigh the downsides but if it's in your blood, and it does at least offer an entry to land ownership, it seems enough are still making that choice.

Having some knowledge of one of the farms in the book made it even more fascinating. The author is very empathetic and understanding of the characters and pays them all much respect.

Thoroughly recommend to fans of English Pastoral and anyone living around farmland to get a good understanding of what goes on the other side of the hedge.

[David Cutler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not quite as engaging as her previous book The Lighthouse Stevenson’s but still very much recommended.

An almost unrelentingly bleak description of farming in Britain today from a year of observation, mainly in Wales. Although bleak it is admiring too, though it could hardly be accused of being sentimental.

You are going to need a strong stomach for the sections on livestock which are as graphic as could be on slaughter and the life of the vet. I found it a bit of a relief when we moved to agriculture.

There is a lot about the effect on families through generations and an interesting interlude about the role of a mediator in farming life.

The one, strange omission, is any reference to the impact of climate change.

[Hattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half is better than the second. I loved details near the start about what farmers see (vertical) vs non-farmers and thought competing land uses in Britain was expressed super well.
It starts off feeling like an ethnography. The ideas and writing are careful and there are clues that the field work has been done really well.

The knackerman section, butchery, succession meeting, and Bert were drawn clearly and then thoughtfully concluded.

Overall, the book is about meat + dairy farming. I would have liked to know a bit more about horticulture and arable, but the sections on this didn’t feel so alive.

[Sara Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the sort of book I would normally be drawn to, but read for an environmental book group I drop into occasionally. It’s not a book I would say I enjoyed - among other things it visits an abattoir, and a farm being tested for bovine TB with the threat of the entire herd being culled - but the author was compassionate and took pains to experience every part of the farming process and I learnt a lot about what seems like a very precarious way of life. That we all get to live with a relatively stable supply of food while the suppliers live in such a precarious way seems to me an indication of how broken our society is.

[Josh Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Reads a bit disjointed, drops you in the middle of things, the names and places and lists all get a bit too confusing. Not the most engaging style, feels a bit…cold? But some bits were so engaging I couldn’t put it down.

Some really beautiful stories, reads like a collection of vignettes rather than a cohesive narrative. Tries to present ‘as-is’ rather than create an argument, which feels a little inconclusive and intangible. Tiptoes around issues such as diversity and prejudice, although they are mentioned.

Not sure if I would wholeheartedly recommend but it was an interesting read, if a little bleak.

[Snorki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of chapters about different aspects of farming life in the UK today, from the sheep farmer struggling to make a living, to mega-farms, abattoirs and vets. It’s an honest but rather sad picture of people devoted to the land and their lifestyle, but being destroyed by the quest for ever cheaper food, mass-produced in as efficient way as possible. There are moments of hope - so many people who want to preserve their way of life and farm their animals and land responsibly, but also a sobering reflection on reality today for so many involved with farming.

[booksnek quirbledonk · Rating 4 out of 5]

My respect for farmers has increased. The titbits of (dry) humour sprinkled throughout made it an enjoyable read (SO to the sheepdog called 'Come Here'). The part where a knacker is shadowed I found especially interesting. Overall a great insight into British farming.

"Listening to them, I think they talk about the cows in the way large organisations talk about their employees- background, performance, output, characteristics. Admittedly, most organisations do not eat their worst performers, but the mindset is similar."

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a 4, but last 50 pages a 5. Many issues the same in the US: struggle to keep a small to moderate farm profitable and diverse vs big, monocrops, modern plowing and fertilizing that depletes the soil- all to produce cheap food. All produces anxiety with marginal monetary return for many farmers. Interesting about the young ag. students and their ideas for the future.

[James Cary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing to hear a writer actually taking the time to listen to the actual voices of those who have worked on the land for decades. It descends into pity and tragedy a little too often for my taste, feeling sorry for farmers rather than understanding why this is a true joy for them, despite the challenges. Worth a look, though.

[Sammy Dickinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting glimpse into the lives of farmers. It simply isn’t long enough to show the depth of their lives, but I suppose that’s the point. It takes a generalised approach, covering a lot of ground but in varying detail. It serves to show how much more there is to farming than meets the eye - this in itself is valuable.

[Mark Bowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enlightening and thought-provoking book. It reminds me (again) just how few people are involved in the important business of feeding us all, while most of us are just pratting about at essentially unnecessary work.

[Rosalind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read and interesting chapters focusing on different aspects of farming, and days that the author has spent shadowing various people. But as per other three star reviews, no revelations in there.

[Dave Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, but made me a little wistful for the 'good old days' and sad at the thought of where our farms are heading.

[Olivia Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! First ethnography since uni, so enjoyable