Farmers’

Fields

The car sped off in a cloud of dust and exhaust,

leaving the farmer coughing in the driveway.

The air f inally cleared but tears of frustration

kept spilling down her cheeks, speckling the

dry dirt.

The man in the car had come to explain what

subsidies would be available for the next

season’s crop. 

“Organic.” He had said, clipped and f inal. “The

customers are demanding it”.

Uncomfortably he glanced at the wildf lowers

bordering the farmers f ields avoiding her eye

Will you still offer the Rewilding Top Up

Scheme The farmer had asked Its just

starting to f lourish the f ields are alive with

pollinators and nesting birds

The man had sniffed

Well of course the amount we would pay you

for an organic harvest would be much more

than the state subsidy for your wild crop I

know the company used to fund a wild crop

topup but were stopping that We just cant

afford to fund wild crops and organic crops Im

sure youll understand

The farmer had swallowed hard Yes she

understood the challenges of competing

demands painfully well The requirements for

different subsidies were often contradictory

and they were always changing Trying to

remain prof itable was like running up a sand

dune in snowshoes

But this wild f ield you have does look lovely

maybe you could keep it and do organic too

The farmer had a bit of anger at the irony The

company couldnt afford to fund two crop

types but maybe she could

The man had chewed his cheeks and handed

the farmer a wad of documents Ill be off

then all the informations in there If you need

anything let me know his offer had fallen

limp and empty like a dead bird hitting the dirt

Blood thundering in the farmers ears she

wiped her eyes and strode to the shed She

climbed onto the mower turned the key It

spluttered in protest and didnt start She tried

again more gently insisting It choked to life

spitting petrol fumes into the shed and out

into the garden This morning it had been a

wondrous ecosystem teeming with life The

farmer had been proud of it Now it looked like

a sea of weeds a space of wasted potential If

they were paying for organic crops this year

so be it The farmer was desperate for her

son to have more choices than she had To lift

him above the pile of hay inherited from her

parents

The f lowers nodded goodbye to the setting

sun the bees kissing them goodnight in their

f inal nectarsweep The farmer gritted her

teeth and the mower ploughed through the

f ield like a knife through fog She winced at

the sickening crunch of twigs thinking of the

ground nesting birds A f lock burst into the sky

their cries echoing the agony of their shattered

nests and defenceless chicks still too young to

f ly

Then a piercing cry The farmers son hurtled

towards her arms f lailing

Mama mama What are you doing Stop

Please stop

She killed the engine and crumpled into the

earth tears soaking the soil

I cant keep up its impossible One year were

urged to plant for pollinators the next its all

about organic crops The climateconscious

buyers dont realise our struggle We take

these subsidies for our survival theyre meant

to help the land but they end up harming it

Her son wiped her cheek his touch tender

I know how tirelessly you work Mama and

how much you love this land

If only theyd trust us ask us instead of

dictating from concrete towers We want to

nurture life within every inch of soil and yield

productive sustainable crops But we cant do

it alone We need understanding solidarity and

support

I know we need their money The bees and the

nesting birds dont have a voice though They

need us

The farmer pulled her son close breathing the

scent of wildf lowers and honey

My angel youre right If we stop listening and

protecting those closest to the land then were

no different

Farmers say the greatest threat to sustainable

food production isnt climate change its

politics Listen to them trust them Empower

them as guardians of the land to keep the

delicate balance needed for a regenerative and

resilient future

Ellie Domigan

Ellie Domigan hails from New Zealand where

biodiverse nature reserves make up 30 of the

country and the Whanganui River has been granted

legal personhood With a background in law

psychology philosophy and poetry she is enlivened

by interdisciplinary pursuits and believes the world

needs deeper connection to ourselves each other

including those morethanhuman beings and time

itself to embody our ancestors wisdom and act as

true stewards for our unborn future

wwwlinkedincominelliedomiganb738b3106