What is sensible clothing for farm work?

Question

I'm planning to work on a farm for a year and being a townie I have no experience of working in the countryside, but it’s always been an ambition of mine to work on a dairy and arable farm.

Can anyone give me any advice on sensible clothing for farm work, and any in-house tips they may have so I don't stand out to much as a newbie? For instance, Wellington boots are standard issue foot wear & you’re meant to wear them with thick socks, but is it better to wear two sets of socks, one over the other, to reduce slippage, and what’s best to wear if the weather is too hot for rubber boots? What sort of trousers should I be looking for that are hard wearing and easy to work in (do you wear trousers under overalls?)? What’s best to wear in the winter to keep warm (apart from the familiar wax jacket) but still allows you comfort and freedom of movement. Is a baseball cap okay to wear rather than a flat cap? All basic questions I know (I’m so green, but I am really looking forward to it).

Answer 1

trainers jeans and baseball caps, wooly hats, t shirts and sweatshirts.hoodies, shorts, wellies, dungarees, a farmers smock, ..basically anything you want.. you will only stand out as a newbie until your clothes are all a bit worn out..plus the fact you will be a bit weak and you wont unnerstaaan waaarrrr  thheeeeeym taaarkin bouut.

Answer 2

Old jeans

Wellies

T shirt

And when it's raining and cold waterproof leggins and coat :D

Answer 3

Big boots

Bib and Brace

Straw Hat

AND a long piece of grass for chewing on

OOH AAH !  OOH AAH !  AY !

Answer 4

Well, I grew up on a farm in farming country. To me its simple, Usually good solid boots that lace up the ankle.  Tear resistant pants, I use denim.  Wool or flannel shirt during winter and light long sleeve cotton during the summer.  When working with irrigation, rubber boots.  Always wear layers of clothes, not a single thick layer.  Cap is fine, Sun screen is a good idea.  The broad brim on hat can keep sun off the back of the neck.  With your clothes, tear resistance is paramount.  Tough clothes do not need replacement as often as city clothes.

Answer 5

well whenever you're in the countryside it is important to wear wellies otherwise you'll look like a prick

Answer 6

You'll need a couple of pairs of overals. Steel toe capped boots, and a couple of pairs of wellies, you do wear nowmal clothes under overals, in the summer you can wrap the arms riound your waste if you aren't doing any of the dirty work, I can't imagine wearing 2 pairs of socks would make much difference socks are always going to fall down in wellies, remember a couple of beanie hats for those eraly mornings and winter days, if you're doing clean yard work you can probably wear trainers in the summer,

I'm sure you will have fun though, it should be a really good life changing experience for you, good luck.

Answer 7

Overalls, and a straw hat!

ROFL(:

Answer 8

Great answer, Bohemian (I hate to lose a "best answer" but you beat me to it!).  I think you've covered everything, and the poster should be able to select proper clothing from your suggestions!

Answer 9

If you are working on a dairy  then you would be best served with a pair of coveralls and a good pair of Muck Boots ( rubber boots) and a good pair of leather gloves for rough work out side the barn.  A sensible cap or hat to keep off the sun.  Good long socks so that the boot tops do not rub the leg.  Winter a good pair of insulated coveralls.

Answer 10

heres a tip,, NEVER wear white - always ends up brown LMFAO!!!

Wear steel cap boots they are the safest when on a farm, wellies aren't very well accepted anymore because they don't provide as much support when say stepped on by a cow.... Two pairs is good in the cold otherwise not really necessary. Jeans are fine but really wear whatever you like, depends on where you live to what you wear of course lol

Have fun

Answer 11

any clothes you are not planning on wearing any where else... old clothes work the best... old shoes you are not going to wear anywhere else are a great substitute for rubber boots & if you're working there for a while, ask the farmer if you can leave it (your old clothes and shoes) all there somewhere in an office area of the barn (barns usually have some sort of office/bathroom area or the farmer might have a mud room in his/her house) so that it is there, ready to be worn... under overalls, the best thing to wear (during the summer months) is shorts, during winter, wear long johns... for caps, anything usually goes... depending on what is comfortable for you...

Answer 12

All of the other answers assume that you will not be working with machinery. Townies and farm people alike make a mistake of wearing clothing that can get caught in moving shaft or drag into a tractor wheel. This can be a fatal mistake.

For a barn worker there is likely to be work in barns that are maintaining 25C and 80% humidity, so that one has to dress lightly enough to be comfortable for hours in that situation while exerting a lot. One wants to have bare arms if one is washing udders, and use moisturizer cream or your skin will self destruct.

But most barn workers will have to put on a coat to go outside, or shall we say coveralls, rough sweater and denim / canvas smock to spend up to an hour outside. You are likely to be handling feed and manure even while outside, so stain repellant fabric is appropriate.

But beware of loose clothing that can catch in moving equipment.

Working with cattle, avoid light colors with the exception of light brown. Cattle however are likely to l**k you a lot if you are wearing light brown.

Pants, overalls, coveralls, jeans and jean jackets should have no cuff. They should be hemmed at the correct length, Cuffs will be full of dirt most of the time.

Cows will grab your straw hat if they can, and eat it. likewise horses. But a straw hat is good for keeping the head cool.

A hijab or similar garment can keep the sun off face, neck and shoulders, but may not be appropriate inside the barn.

Even though it may seem pointless, there is a good reason to keep shoes leather boots  coated in polish. I do not mean spend time polishing them, just keep them coated to repel mud and water.

Do not wear canvas shoes around cows, pigs, or horses. (anything with hooves)

Take some needles and thread to sew up clothing that gets ripped. You may need multiple colours of thread. Have a pair of scissors too.

Answer 13

My guess is you are from the U.K. because of some of the words you used.

I'm in the U.S. but farm clothes, is farm clothes pretty much no matter where you are.

A lot of dairy work is inside.  To that end, a baseball cap is fine.  If you are spending much more than an hour a day (even on cloudy days) working outside, I highly sugest you get some sort of hat with a brim.  Not only do I work in the agriculture sector, but I worked for a Dermatologist for 8 years.  I wish I would tell you the number of men we did surgery on to remove skin cancers from their ears , neck and nose.

Wear a hat with a brim, and protect your skin from skin cancer (you'll thank me when your 60).

If you are going to be outside much, get a good pair of sunglasses that are also saftey glasses.  I can get mine for about $2 dollars U.S., they protect my eyes against UV rays, and if I do something like use a chainsaw, my eyes are safe from chips (amazingly these glasses look good too!).

Wear layers.  Working on a dairy probably means starting before the sun comes up.  It's going to be darn cold.  Wool shirts are great, but hard to wash.  I reccomend heavy flannel, then thermal underwear, or a t-shirt, depending on season.

You can take off the outer shirt as the day warms up.

Overalls are great.  They keep the front of ones shirt clean too, as well as having more handy pockets.  Normally folks just wear the overalls, no pants under them.  However if it's winter, people may be wearing pants lined with flannel, and thermal underwear under the overalls.  Take into account what you might be wearing in the winter, and get overalls big enough to accomidate layers of clothing.

If you choose not to go with overalls, then sturdy jeans are where it's at.  My husband is very particular about the jeans he'll wear for working in.  I once tried to purchase him a name brand that was on sale.  He said "No, there like a cheap hotel."  I asked him what he ment by "cheap hotel."  He said, "No ballroom."   I nearly died laughing.

Make sure if you get jeans they are completely comfortable, bend, sit, stretch, squat, ect.  Farm clothes are not fashion statements.  They should be rugged, and comfortable.

Socks, in the winter we wear layers.  Cotton socks, and then wool socks over them.  Wool socks need to be washed in cold, and then drip dried, or you end up with socks that fit a child.  So make sure you buy enough to be able to wash them and dry them as needed.  NEVER wear wet clothing, but especially socks in the winter.

Shoes need to be big enough in the winter to accomidate the extra layers of clothing you might wear.  NEVER wear shoes, or boots you have to jam your feet into, because you put on an extra layer of socks.  Take off one of the layers of socks.  If you jam your foot in, you cut off circulation, and null and void any extra protection you might have recieved from the extra socks.

You will probably find yourself in rubber boots most of the time (even summer) while working on a dairy.  Make sure the boots fit comfortably with no slippage, or you will have horrendous blisters at the end of the day.

Get good quality cotton socks, so you don't end up with a wretched case of athletes foot from having your feet in humid boots all day.  It would be good to have two pairs of boots, so they dry very well between uses.

You will find you probably want a good pair of leather  work gloves as well.  

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

From the rainy Pacific Northwest, to the high mountain deserts of Idaho.