‘I am not just a farmer’s wife’

Being a mother, rearing calves and running a dairy vending machine are some of the many jobs one farmer does to help her farm stay afloat.

Chloe Marsh, from Eweleaze Dairy in Dorset, has been speaking to the BBC about life on the family farm.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs data shows that the number of female farm holders is about 15% but trending upwards.

The 32-year-old married into a dairy farming family in 2018 after leaving a graduate job in finance.

Being called a “farmer’s wife” is not something that bothers Chloe.

“It has all manner of meanings and everyone is different but I think they are a master of all trades,” she said.

“They can do everything from looking after the sheep to the cows, cooking meals, delivering meals out to the staff.

“Many may have a job off the farm to try and sustain the farm or they run a diversification like me.”

In 2020, Chloe started a milk vending machine in the Dorset village of Martinstown.

The shed, at the bottom of the entrance to Eweleaze Dairy, also has an ice cream and local produce vending machine.

The dairy used is from the cows that live on the farm that Chloe and her husband, Thomas, are running with his family.

“It is very much a family thing and I needed to slot into Thomas’ family so I am working really closely with his parents who are my in-laws.

“Which I have been ok with, I get on with my mother-in-law really, really well but I know others do struggle because working with families is really tricky.”