The Christmas narrative, with its focus on the birth of Jesus in a stable, speaks volumes of the traditional role that farming plays in communities around the world.

Throw in the oxen, sheep and shepherds – watching their flocks by night – and it’s hard not to develop warm feelings for farmers and the animals in their care.

But Christmas is a one-off. Somewhere along the way, the farming industry has lost that day-to-day contact with the consumers they serve and provide for.

And we need to get that back.

The reality, of course, is that Irish farmers continue to play the important a role within rural communities today, as was the case generations ago.

And the same amount of hard work is required to keep the food coming and the animals looked after as would have always been the case.

In fact, many farmers would argue that the pressures on them today are greater than has been the case heretofore.

The truth is that the growing rural-urban divide has brought about a scenario within which the vast majority of people living in our towns and cities have no concept of the work, toil and effort put in on farms throughout the country.

So maybe it’s time for a farming Christmas story: The 2022 version.

Christmas on a farm

It’s 4.30a.m on Christmas morning on a farm. The alarm has just gone off and a farmer, let’s say, in their mid-30s, leaves the comfort of a very warm bed.

The farmer has left behind their spouse and two young children, who are no doubt dreaming about the presents Santa Claus will bring them.

Five minutes later they quietly opening the back door of the farm house and head out into the darkness. It’s cold and wet, and Christmas cheer is pretty thin on the ground. The first point of destination is the milking parlour.

The lights are switched on, the parlour is set up and the two all-important generator buttons kick-in.

A prayer of thanks is muttered and then it’s off to a cubicle shed to gather up 100 cows for milking. One cow, though, is very slow to get up – note taken.

Slowly but surely, the cows are milked. Each one stripped before the clusters are put on: Thankfully no cases of felon this morning.

But the cow that was slow to get up has a very sore foot. Again, note taken.

All of this takes 90 minutes – which stretches out to two hours with the washing down of the parlour and the rinsing out of the milking plant.

Given that it’s Christmas morning, the farm help who usually around is on holiday. So the cows are kept in a collecting yard while the farm owner scrapes out their shed and puts fresh bedding down on the cubicle mattresses.

After that, it’s feeding time. That could be another hour’s job. Meanwhile, the cow with the sore foot needs attention.

By now it’s full light and it’s a case of getting back to the farm house for breakfast and the opening of the presents with the children.

The show is not over

But switching off for the rest of the day is not an option. The calves and the rest of the youngstock need fed and attended to.

Each calf is individually checked for any sign of dullness or scour. It’s all time-consuming work. And the same principle holds, were the weanlings are concerned.

The farmer will probably get back to the comfort and warmth of the house by noon.

It’s then a judgement call as to whether Christmas lunch is taken then or should the afternoon milking be brought forward with lunch to follow thereafter?

Either way, the dairy farmer and their family members have no option but to put their working clothes back on and commit to another spell in the milking parlour.

There is a fundamental principle must always be adhered to. And it’s this: the needs of the animals always come first.

With this in mind, the aforementioned cow with the sore foot is looked at again. The decision is taken to put her in a straw-bedded pen for the night with the option of getting the vet the next day a distinct possibility.

All of this is taking place while the vast of the Irish public spend Christmas morning in their dressing gowns, drinking tea and coffee in their warm and comfortable homes.

Farming over the Christmas period

I picked a ‘hypothetical’ winter milk farm for the purposes of this piece. But the same ‘commitment related’ challenges confront all Irish livestock farmers on Christmas Day – and every other day of the year for that matter.

Thousands of lambs will be born on our farms in the run-up to Christmas. Each ewe and newborn lamb will need all the care and attention that farmers can give them.

And the same principle holds when it comes to calving suckler cows. It’s all about that all-embracing commitment on the part of the farmer to try and make things right.

I sense the general public have lost touch with this reality. And shame on our farming industry for allowing this to happen.

In my opinion, farmers are the most undervalued members of our society.

If dairy farmers were getting €1/L for their milk, it still wouldn’t be enough to compensate them for the time, investment and hard work required to produce the food in the first place.

Farmgate prices, across the board, have not kept up with inflation for decades. Meanwhile, the amount of support available to agriculture continues to decline in real terms.

However, this has not stopped Irish farmers from producing more food than ever before.

This is an amazing success story, one that fails to get its fair share of publicity.

Farming is a 24/7, 365-day commitment on the part of those involved.

And, particularly at Christmas time, I think it would be more than appropriate for the rest of society to raise a glass in the direction of their ‘farming colleagues’ for a job well done.