There once was a farmer that smiled. It’s true
But it was a long, long time ago and it was just one farmer. More importantly, the farmer that smiled knew why he was farming.
Why are you farming?
It’s a very simple question but how many farmers can answer it fully?
There are many, many challenges facing farmers, but before you can tackle these challenges, it is important that you understand just why you are farming. If you don’t know why you are doing something, then how well are you going to do it? Without the clarity on the ‘why’, you are at greater risk of stress and unhappiness.
Perhaps not knowing why they are farming underlies the mental health issues faced by so many farmers. Working 18 hour days, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year without knowing why is unlikely to be a recipe for happiness.
Using research to help farmers become better equipped to deal with the future lies at the heart of the 2 Minute Farmer project.
As we head into 2019, the headlines are going to be dominated by Brexit and the weather, both things that as an individual you have no control over.
There are positive steps you can take and we believe the first and most important of these steps is addressing the ‘why’ questions:
Why are you farming now?
Why do you want to farm in the future?
Why might my farming be different in 10 years’ time?
Why would I give up farming?
Why would each member of my family want to farm (or not)?
Answering the above questions honestly might not come easily, but many years ago I was given a great tip: ‘ask yourself the hard questions and have an easy life, ask yourself the easy questions and have a much harder life down the road’. Write down your answers to these questions – research across the business world has shown that putting pen to paper when answering a question is much more effective than simply thinking about the answer.
To get you started you will find just a few of the reasons why you may be farming below. If you want to be really progressive, ask each member of the family to answer the questions independently.
Lifestyle
Money
The challenge
Family
Producing food
Protecting the environment
The animals
Nothing else I can do