City dwellers think that the countryside is some peaceful calming place where they can go to restore their soul.
This was as true for me as it is for many people who live or have lived in both cities and farms.
However once you have lived on a farm your view may change slightly.
Above is the view from our previous house on a farm in the Cambridgshire countryside. It is a beautiful place and fascinating to live on a fully working farm. I didn't do any farming by the way. I just lived there.
You may be wondering where this is going but bear with me for a minute and all will be revealed.
Many city folk imagine living on a farm to be some kind of rural idyll and to be frank it is but there is more going on than you might expect.
Farming in developed countries means that the most advanced technologies are used way before many other industries. I discovered this myself while teaching ICT in a countryside school.
All of the students from the farms were highly skilled in the latest technologies.
The use of GPS controlled tractors was common as was the use of drones for farm and crop inspections.
The photograph above is of a country road that crosses the farm. It gets damaged by the heavy tractors that use it and has to be regularly inspected. This inspection used to be done by physically walking the road and taking a look at it. This took a long time and was inefficient.
Drones can do this same job in literally minutes. The same applies to drainage ditches as seen below.
Another vital thing that farmers have to keep an eye on is the fields and crops. To inspect a whole farm used to take a team of people many days. The same inspection can now be done in as little as an hour depending on the size of the farm.
Above we see the field just after it had been sown with seed and below a few months later the crop is growing nicely.
There are also times when security is a concern. There is an active crime wave going on in the UK with many farm vehicles costing over £1 million each being stolen. Drones have been used to keep an eye on farm equipment for a few years now.
It was not unusual to hear a car or two creeping around the farm at night.
Small copse of trees where the badgers live below.
The farm road below showing tractor damage.
View of the farm buildings
I liked the reflections in the image below so puddles do have a use lol.
Living on a farm is pretty cool but when the farm is working at 4 a.m. it can be a little noisy. We have to remember that a farm is basically an open air food factory.
It may look quaint and picturesque but it is a business and a very high tech one at that.
Finally for all you #urbex enthusiasts I spotted this old abandoned building on the edge of the woods. Apparently that little wood is the burial ground of the plague victims in the 14th century.
Living on a farm was fascinating. I hope you enjoyed this story and the photographs from the drone. It was an amazing experience and one that I would recommend you to try if you get the chance.
