Learn about farming changes

I was brought up on a farm in the countryside and can trace my family of farmers back 200 years.

Regarding the rural way of life, I believe that people who move from towns and cities into rural areas should be educated about how the countryside has changed over the past 100 years, for them to have a concept of how the rural economy has changed.

My grandfather told me that when he was a small boy almost all of the village used to help out at harvest time as well as other times, planting potatoes and picking sprouts and varieties of fruit.

Over the past 50 years, the mechanisation of farming has accelerated at an unbelievable rate. Not many people are required on a working farm these days, so the countryside has had to diversify labour into small industrial units to survive and to contribute to its fair share to the nation's GDP.

As for people complaining about milk tankers (Shropshire Star, December 18), how do people think milk can get to the dairy and then the supermarket?

My Uncle Phil had to sell up his small pig unit and move to Canada to make a living out of farming.

I remember that before he left some people complained about the smell of his pigs. What do people expect when they live in the country?

As for tractors, they are a vital tool for the farmer's job. As for lorries, they are everywhere and are also a vital tool in moving goods and produce.

Finally, the countryside is a living economy, albeit a little smaller than in our towns and cities.

Mark Norwood, Oswestry