Not just a ‘Farmer’s Wife’

I’m very proud to say that I am a farmer’s wife.  I met ‘my’ farmer later in life and gave up my twenty year teaching career in order to start a new life as a wife and stay at home mum on our mixed sheep and cattle property in South West Victoria.  I feel so lucky that I was able to make that decision knowing that I was not taking the easy option but with my eyes wide open to the hard work and reality of living a rural lifestyle.  I decided from the start, that if I was to enter into this life, that it would be a full partnership and that I would not just be taking on a supportive role, but also getting hands on and helping in the field where I could.  Farm life is very much a team effort; everyone has their part to play and while it’s not always easy, I have relished in this role. 

Many aspects of my life on the farm are the stereotypical ones; keeping the house running, caring for our son, cooking for the workers and shearers, going to town to do the ‘town jobs’, tending the veg patch and mundane bookwork.  Whilst these tasks are not very romantic, they are so important to ensure that everyday life flows on the farm. 

I’m a keen gardener and love to share what I’m up to as it grows.

Other jobs that I can now safely insert on my resume include; operating heavy machinery, raking and stacking hay, slashing thistles, confidently steering a hay feeder through narrow gateways, rouse abouting when needed, animal husbandry, weighing and documenting stock, being able to identify obscure tools and find them in the darkest depths of the shed, the ability to remove dirt and grease stains when doing laundry and the willingness to drop everything to help move field equipment or drag my husband out of a bog swamp with the tractor and heavy chains.  (That last one happens more often that you’d think during Victorian winters!). 

Full disclosure - my husband took this photo….

So, with that long list of daily tasks let’s be honest, being a farmer’s wife is not always easy.  The days are very long and we can find ourselves alone for long periods of time while our husbands are out in the field.  The farm and animals will always take priority over everything; social life, family life, holidays, celebrations, the list goes on.  And attendance at any of these events is determined by the weather, birth cycles of sheep or cattle, hay season, a broken down windmill or water pipe that just has to burst on Christmas morning as you’re about to drive out the gate.  I believe it’s very important that amidst all this chaos, we have an outlet that is just for us.  Something that sustains us and gives us joy.  I am NOT just a farmer’s wife. I am also a photographer.

Photography has always been a part of my life, mostly documenting travels or as a tool in my teaching career but it wasn’t until I started a new life on the farm that I realised photography was something that I could pursue.  Farm life is so varied.  There’s something different happening every day and so I’m never short of subject material. 

I just love showcasing the rural lifestyle; how farmers interact with the land, their animals and the machinery they use.  There’s a real romanticism about working dogs, cobwebby shearing sheds and harvesters in the golden evening glow, not to mention creating images of rural families working together, covered in dust and sweat.  The themes of hard work, connection and authenticity surround these images and the stories they tell are steeped in tradition and nostalgia.

I feel it’s important to document rural life; to share it with those who perhaps don’t understand it, or have a connection with it, but also to proclaim that rural life and agriculture should not be taken for granted.  That people and families who work and live on the land are proud of what they do, they are proud of their traditions and heritage and the fact that they are helping to grow the products that feed the nation. 

I LOVE this life that I have chosen.  I wouldn’t have it any other way but it can be isolating, intense and infuriating.  Amidst all the everyday busy-ness, it's true that we women can give all of ourselves to ‘the farm’ and supporting our significant others in this lifestyle, and there is the potential for us to become overwhelmed and consumed.  Photography has given me a new lens in which to view the farm.  To slow down a little bit.  To breathe.  To soak in the sunsets, sunrises and sounds of this place that I call home and to celebrate agriculture and farm life as more than just an occupation but a way of life to be treasured.  Being a farmer’s wife is an honour and documenting that life through the art of photography, is my pleasure.