Main Themes

• Personal background of interviewee: parents, family, farming connection.
  
  
• Farming and rural society when interviewee was growing up e.g. description of farm - location, buildings, electricity, water; stock; methods of farming; health of animals, remedies and vets; farming unions; farming journals.
  
  
• Social life when growing up e.g. Young Farmers' Clubs, chapels, agricultural shows, marts, hunting, poaching.
  
  
• Education and reasons for entering into the agricultural field.
  
  
• Description of day's work and year's work on farm.
  
  
• If interviewee moved or changed farm on marriage / later on - description of farm leading on to:
  
  
• Changes in agriculture over the years. Reasons for changing and attitude towards the changes (at the time and in hindsight) e.g. machinery, sprays, fertilizer, selling animals, animal feed - description of and where bought.
  
  
• Contact with Ministry of Agriculture.
  
  
• Subsidies and grants over the years: description and effect.
  
  
• Effects of various governmental policies, e.g. entry into EEC, Milk Quotas, break up of the Milk Marketing Board.
  
  
• The farmer's role in looking after the environment; BSE, Foot and Mouth.
  
  
• Diversification - interviewee's opinions and experience.
  
  
• Information regarding changes: from where, notice taken of.
  
  
• The present / future: Transference from one generation to another; co-operatives and marketing; marts; modern technology in use in farm; changes in the rural society.