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Beter Ways to Earn a Dollar
| Open Poetry #44 |
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Beter Ways to Earn a Dollar |
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LindsayP Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410Australia, Victoria 
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Better Ways To Earn A Dollar My father owned a farm diverse and I was bred upon the land We grazed a thousand head of sheep and milked the cows by hand, We ran a good-sized piggery too and a small poultry farm complete And tilled the hungry black soil plains and grew a fair amount of wheat. From back in the middle fifties for almost another twenty years, Farming had never been as good since the days of the pioneers, A few good seasons eased the strain and good times seemed to abound Excitement with a new car bought when wool reached a pound a pound. It was back in nineteen seventy-five that farming fortunes start to slip And I realized in the nick of time that I would have to abandon ship, Wages grew and expenses too and farming was a difficult path to foller T’was plain to see for the wife & me there’s better ways of earning a dollar. So for another twenty years or so I mixed farming with driving trucks And a lot of other farmers did the same to try and help improve their luck A woolgrower friend that in the end was literally down upon his knees, The best wool cheque he’d had in years & now the sheep have OVJ disease. For the last decade he’d been afraid that he’d never rise above the mire And now he hoped with a bit of luck that he might find a future buyer, The cost of shearing’s out of hand & all other costs the wool cheque swaller I’ve now got the bug to pull the plug , there’s better ways to earn a dollar. For a while dairy farmers did quite well & dairying seemed in a solid state But now they are all quite concerned as they see the industry deregulate, An old dairy farmer said to me, “ I think I’ll go and work for Mr Grollo”, Working every day for thirty years, there’s better ways to e dollar. Another old friend who’d always defend the advantage of growing all wheat But locusts took the first decent crop in years & at last he admitted defeat, He said with sadness to me he had to agree there must be easier pathways to foller, A farmer at heart, right from the start , now there must be better ways of earning a dollar . Black Jack O’Keefe for years grew beef, we thought he was doing well no doubt Confided to me after a beer or three he’s still paying for the previous drought. I’ve struggled for years, always in arrears & now at the end of my tether The beef jobs not as good as it rightfully should, we are far too reliant on weather So it now seems so many dreams are being eroded for the man on the land And although Jack has tried he’s finally denied his dream to finally expand, If I could give up the job & earn a few bob some other way in the working collar My very first vow would be give up the cows, there’s better ways of earning a dollar. My orchardist friends who largely depend on the market to sell all their fruit But the hailstones & frost have jacked up the cost and now they are near destitute, Those that survive will have to certainly strive & not give up the on going fight For the outcome is bleak when I read of last week of the danger of NZ fire blight. In these modern times the wage earner does fine with four weeks annual vacation, Twelve days rostered off, they live like a toff, enjoying a great sense of elation, Fifteen sick days each year without shedding a tear & still you can hear them all holler All public holidays as well, it beats the living hell out of farming for earning a dollar. Lindsay |
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| © Copyright 2009 Lindsay P Wilson - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Bill Charles Member Patricius
since 2000-07-11
Posts 10619highways, & byways, for now |
Linsay - what a great story about trying to live off the land. Very tough to say the least... BC |
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LindsayP Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410Australia, Victoria |
Thanks Bill, yes it is a hard life on the land especcially when we have so many droughts. Take care my friend. Lindsay |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
Farmers are a tough breed because they have to be... nothing's ever easy and for every blessing there's a blight... Well written, sir! *S* |
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Osprey Member
since 2009-04-12
Posts 249 |
That was simply a treat to read, Lindsay. It must be hard working the land, even when times are good; when they're not, it must be close to soul destroying. All the graft for little return. 'No work....no pay'. Now, there's half a world that hasn't even considered that scenario. A tip o' the hat to you for this, Sir. |
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LindsayP Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410Australia, Victoria |
Dear Ruth and good friend Osprey many thanks for your kind comments, they are always appreciated. Take care. Lindsay |
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SEA 
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 2000-01-18
Posts 22676with you |
farmers are a rare breed anymore it seems...and it's very sad to me.  this tugs on my heart... |
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ethome Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858New Brunswick Canada |
Sad isn't it Lindsay? To make a living off the land has become so hard and has been turned over to big business and politics leaving the small man to struggle. Very tastefully done my friend. Eric |
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Earth Angel Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215Realms of Light |
Hello, LP! Living off the land is easier than making a living from it! Farmers are a breed all of their own! ~ Unfortunately, they appear to be a dying breed. A sad story ~ well-told! Love, Linda |
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Pilgrimage Member Elite
since 2001-12-04
Posts 3945Texas, USA |
Ah well, they'll miss you when you're gone, and they have to haul in everything they eat from China. Of course, you'll be hauling your drinking water from the South Pole pretty soon, or you won't have any. I enjoyed this poem, it moved fairly smoothly for me, and where it didn't is probably the difference between your accent and mine. And it rolled so well that it seemed upbeat despite the subject matter. Thanks for the treat. Nan (Pilgrim variety) |
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WTBAKELAR
since 2008-09-09
Posts 1089Utah, USA |
My respect for your ability to tell a story goes way beyond the fact that you turn them into poems. You are very tallented and loved by all here. Pray for rain. Tracey. |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
Enjoyed...James |
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LindsayP Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410Australia, Victoria |
Dairy farms especially have become the whipping boy of the big Supermarket chains. Milk paid per gallon to the dairy farmer has dropped thirty per-cent in the last twelve months and costs thirty per-cent more in the Supermarkets. Nearly all other facets of farming are in much the same boat with few exceptions. Norma and I are very thankful that our farming days are over. I am not whinging, just a plain statement of facts. To Sue, Eric, Linda, Pilgrimage, Tracey and James, If I had had such friends as you kind folk when we were dairyfarming it would have been a lot more enjoyable. At one stage Norma and I milked 150 cows night and morning, seven days a week,365 days a year for five and a half years with only one week off in all that time, but those were the days when you really could make big money off the land and we certainly had no complaints. God bless you all and a very sincere thank you for taking the time to read my tale of woe. Lindsay |
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Margherita Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236Eternity |
Oh, gosh, I am impressed by what you said in your last reply, dear Lindsay!!! 150 cows, milking them morning and night every day. Can't even begin to imagine how your backs hurt. Very captivating story, though sad in its evolution. Things change and yet the Earth is grateful for those who resist, by cultivating it with love and respect. Fear is part of farmers' life, there are so many threats. But what a feeling when everything blooms and grows well. Love and my compliments. Margherita |
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2islander2 Member Ascendant
since 2008-03-12
Posts 6825by the sea |
interetsing story Lindsay, no doubt about farming as a hard labour and work, better do something else, a friend farmer of mine leave his job 8 years ago after depression and tentavives of suicide...Now he has jobs from time to time, meet a new girl and seems happy... thanks for the poem. yann |
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LindsayP Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410Australia, Victoria |
Dear Margherita and my good friend Yann Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and taking the time to send them. May the sun shine upon you always. Take care. Lindsay |
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Honeybunch Member Rara Avis
since 2001-12-29
Posts 7115South Africa |
Lindsay - I went looking tonight for one of your "funnies" to cheer me up. Didn't find that but did find something to make me grateful for ... my life. Your farming days were obviously difficult and tiring ones but - hey, you did it! Isn't that a great feeling? Enjoyed the read and look into the life of a farmer. My parents tried it once but in no time at all they were back to "civilization" and an annual vacation. Helen |
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LindsayP Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410Australia, Victoria |
My dear Helen, Thank your lucky stars that you're not married to a dairy farmer because it's all work and no play, although it does have its brighter moments. I know it's not the sort of poem to cheer you up so I'll post a funny one right now that will give you a laugh. Love to you dear Lady and God bless. Lindsay |
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