"We feel fortunate" Aylesbury Vale farmer Daniel Hares tell us how rural life is changing during the COVID-19 crisis

Last week Daniel Hares and his family made headlines when they made a giant tribute to the NHS in one of their fields on Buckmoorend Farm. This week Daniel tells us what's been going on at the farm, and how the family has had to adapt for what could be months of change...

I have spent many a day feeling somewhat guilty in recent weeks. Without doubt the common question asked by customers in our shop or footpath users on our farm is how Covid19 has affected us. The honest truth is that it hasn't much. In the first few days I used to joke that we were already in a fairly isolated position anyway.

However as reality has dawned on how long we may have to endure this new way of living, and what the long term effects may be, my same response has become far more penitent.

I certainly feel like I'm fortunate in this situation. As a farmer I have livestock to tend and crops to oversee.

I have a bona fide reason to carry on with my work, and fortunately it cannot be done from indoors. We are approaching the end of lambing, so recently my days have started at 5am in the lambing shed, and ended there around midnight,with a plethora of tasks to be carried out throughout the day.

I have total sympathy for anyone who has a yearning to spend a weekend getting out and about.

I honestly don't know how I'd manage given the fact that I spend 365 days a year working outside. Especially with the stunning weather of late. There could be some hope for the claustrophobic though...whilst we grow cereals and rear livestock, other farms nationwide are desperately recruiting for farm workers to pick and pack fruit and veg.

There is a real fear that some of this fresh produce could end up rotting in the fields without the labour to harvest it.

So if you fancy the challenge, it could be your ticket outdoors!

https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/coronavirus-urgent-appeal-for-brits-to-work-on-farms