A young Armagh woman who juggles her pharmacy technician job with the running of a 60+ beef herd with her dad, has produced a range of Christmas cards to raise funds for the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance.
30-year-old Ruth Parkes, who is active on social media, said she wanted to do something tangible to support the work of the Air Ambulance.
“There was a week, a couple of months ago, where there seemed to be nothing but farm accidents being reported on social media. Either the person had been involved in a farming incident and had luckily remained unscathed or unfortunately, they had passed away,” said Ruth.
“The Air Ambulance Northern Ireland had been in attendance at the scenes. It got me thinking about what I could do to help raise funds for the charity, as they are of vital importance in rural communities,” she said.
“When researching statistics on the air ambulance and their role in the farming community, I read that they are tasked to a farm or agricultural related incident on average, once every week.
“This represents, on average, up to 10% of the service’s call outs, including incidents relating to farm machinery, falls from height on farms, slurry and cattle,” said Ruth.
“Further accidents include traffic collisions relating to farm transport, such as tractors and quads.
“In 2004, my dad fell off the ladder in the cow shed. He was fixing something and the ladder slipped. The cow cubicle broke his fall, leaving his elbow smashed and a few broken ribs.
“He had to pull his phone out of his pocket with his teeth to phone for help. This could have been much worse. He was very fortunate that day to live and tell the tale. Not many have walked away. If the air ambulance had been active back then, we no doubt would have been needing their help.”
Farming themed Christmas cards
To carry out this service, the Air Ambulance needs to fundraise £2 million/year, Ruth said.
“I got my thinking cap on and I decided to make farming themed Christmas cards, as I think there is a gap in the market and because the farmer puts the food on the Christmas table.
“They are the ones working tirelessly every day, to ensure quality farm-to-fork,” she said.
“I can’t draw for the life of me, unless the farmer was to be a stick man, so I contacted Lauren Butter Art, who has such an incredible talent for illustrating cows.
“I told her my ideas for the cards and she drew them to perfection. My favourite card is the wee Massey Ferguson 35 tractor, with the robin on the cab of it. This is based on my granda’s tractor, and the robin is representative of him,” said Ruth.
“Unfortunately I lost my granda back in 2003, but he was and continues to be a big inspiration in all that I do. I also love the farm house and yard scene, for the meaning behind it.
“It shows the farmer out feeding his cows at Christmas. Farmers don’t get a day off at Christmas. The animals need to be fed, milked and bedded.
“You will mostly find on farms throughout the country on Christmas day, the cows will get fed before the farmer does. I also had to get the shorthorns in on a Christmas card and one for the sheep farmers too.”
The cards are being sold at £5/pack, containing five cards. This can be of mixed design or of a specific design. Payment is accepted via PayPal.
“The support so far has been overwhelming, both from the north and south of Ireland. Everyone sees the value of the Air Ambulance and are only too happy to support it. You never know when you might need to avail of its service.
Relief milking
“I’ve been very busy of late when the Christmas cards and I’ve also taken on a relief milker role at a nearby farm. Milking cows is something I’ve wanted to do for a couple of years now, mostly to gain new skills and get the experience.
“I never had the confidence to do it though, or [to] approach a local dairy farmer to get experience.
“However one evening, I saw a post for a relief milker being needed close to home. I plucked up the courage and spoke to the man and told him I had no previous experience.
“I thought to myself, I have no hope of getting this. 10 weeks later, I’m milking by myself.
“The family gave me a chance and taught me how to milk. I absolutely love it. I don’t see it as work. Getting paid to talk about cows, what more could you want? I’ll be forever grateful to the family.
“Not many people my age would want to be spending their Saturday night milking or getting up at 5:00a.m, it’s unsociable hours but it works for me,” concluded Ruth.