Chatting A Bit with Emma Lander

Emma Lander is not your typical farmers wife. A journalist who has a love for pink, glitter, make up and fashion you may think that life on a farm would not be a natural habitat for Emma. But this Farmers Wife & Mummy is very at home in wellies with her six dogs, numerous farm cats, four goats, hundreds of sheep, ducks and a flock of chickens! Samantha Hobden caught up with Emma recently in Haynet’s Chatting A Bit Series to find out more about this glittery rural blogger:

Your passion for farming life comes through very strong with your writing . Were you brought up in this environment as a child?

Not at all. I was born in a city and lived in a town. I went on a school trip to a farm and that is as close as I got.I think my husband’s passion for farming rubbed off on me and I was hungry to learn about it. I still ask a lot of questions and, as far as I am aware, it doesn’t annoy him and he is pleased to answer them.

What was your childhood ambition? Was it to always work within an area that was countryside based?

I wanted to be a vet up to leaving school but my area of interest was English rather than sciences and my next goal was to be editor of Vogue. I have always loved animals and I like to think I now have the best of both worlds with writing about animals (just not wearing Chanel darling).

You were a journalist for many years. What advice would you give a school leaver to go into this line of work?

Get as much experience as you can. Write for local papers, journals, online, blogs. When you go for interviews, editors aren’t interested in dreams. They want to see evidence of what you have done. I worked at a newspaper for six months unpaid before I got a paid role and I worked evenings and weekends to enable me to travel there.

We love that you very much champion women in farming. Tell us about how important this is to you.

I think it is very important. There is an increasing number of women choosing farming as their career but there are still old school farmers who don’t take them seriously and this is very disappointing. We need more women role models to show society as a whole and the farming world in particular that women can and do farm and they belong in this industry.

Your life is full of family and animals. Give us an insight what a normal day is like for the Farmers Wife & Mummy.

I think my blog sometimes does a disservice to other women in farming because I have three children-one with special needs and two who are not yet at school so a lot of my time is spent looking after them. However I do manage to do my own jobs most of the time. I just make sure the children are equipped to help me in their own way.

What have been the challenges of being a farmer’s wife? Tell us about the highs and lows.

I have learnt so much. At the beginning, it was a case of not naming the animals. We all know where they end up and naming them just makes it harder. As time has gone on and I have had more children, loneliness, especially in the summer when my husband is in the field is hard. With small children, you have to be close and tied to the baby monitor and it can be a long day on your own.

I do try and fill my time tidying up, writing and crafting and I seem to accept it a lot more now. It is what it is and the children will not be small forever so, rather than pull against it, I just try and go with it. You also have to accept that children get fed up and I have to cut short my jobs to take them back inside-especially in the winter when it is cold. Their welfare has to come first.

What areas of social media marketing do you find works when promoting your blog writing?

This is the million dollar question. My blog isn’t one of these that gets thousands of readers each day and I have to work at what I get. I schedule posts to Twitter and Facebook and try my best to use Pinterest but time is an issue here again. Most of my readers come from Facebook so I try to make sure I have something interesting (sharing memes and other items) on my Facebook page several times a day.

What are your future plans for Farmers Wife & Mummy?

In the last year or so, I have moved away from traditional parent blogging. As a mother bringing up children on the farm, I feel we are in a unique position to educate people about food and farming as well as going into a bit of the lifestyle area. I love interiors so I have been using Instagram to highlight our home a bit more (the bits without crayon on the wall). I hope to continue and grow my audience.

On a day off, where would we find you?

At the farm. I don’t really get a day off. As a farm mum I am always here and I never really switch off from my blog. There is always a photo opportunity or idea which pops into my head. I do love reading though and I have just learned how to crochet so, in my spare moments, you are likely to see me with a book or a crochet hook in my hand.

Where do you hope to be in ten years’ time?

Still here with a little business of my own on the farm. I have so many ideas but I am yet to persuade my husband that any of them a worthy of following through.

Against the Clock 

Beer or Champagne: Champagne

Sunshine or Snow: Sunshine

Home Counties or Far Away Shores: Home Counties

Spend or Save: Spend

Home Cooked or Eating Out: Home Cooked

Music or Film: Music

Wellies or Heels: Wellies

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