Having been asked to write a positive piece for this week’s paper, I’ve dug deep, I must admit it’s been a challenge, hopefully I have managed to conjure something up before the looming deadline. If your reading this I’ve managed to get a few words on paper, I just hope they are positive enough!

When we started looking at bringing Farmstrong to Scotland back in early 2019 one of our drivers was that we felt that major change in terms of a revamp of our support payments was just round the corner. We knew from our discussions with our kiwi counterparts and their annual survey, that improved wellbeing enabled farmers in New Zealand to handle change and indeed stressful situations better.

As it turns out the support payment can has been kicked down the road for years and whilst we still don’t know what the future will bring I think we have a fair idea that life is going to be different. What we didn’t envisage was that at the same time our elected politicians still high from their honeymoon have chucked the kitchen sink at us with a budget which has left our industry shellshocked!

There’s no doubt that as an industry, now is the time to pull together with our counterparts from the other home nations.

There will be opportunity for peaceful protest and we should appeal to politicians and local councillors to lobby on our behalf but what can we do ourselves to prepare ourselves for unavoidable change?

For me it’s about reviewing what’s going on within the farm gate and key to that is myself and my own wellbeing, what are the little things I can do to improve it which will allow me to make better business decisions whilst facing challenge with greater confidence.

Personally I like a list, it helps me focus and as things get ticked off I feel like I’m getting somewhere, if the list is a little daunting I fold the piece of paper so the list is much smaller, sometimes even just one item at a time, which lets me really focus.

Speaking to our professional advisors has in the past couple of weeks been a regular on my list. We’ve been in discussions with both our accountant and lawyer as to what we should do in terms of business transition and we have moved some land between generations to mitigate impact.

Post budget our accountant was like a kid in a sweetie shop with excitement, I don’t think she has slept much but did leave her calculator long enough to dispense the following sound advice, ‘Don’t worry, let the dust settle, we will look at the detail and we will come together to make a plan’

So that’s what we are doing, I am concerned about it but I’m not stressing about it, I have faith in the professional team and will devote time and energy to it when required, until then I will focus on the day job.

Thankfully and this makes a huge difference to my wellbeing, the weather has been on our side, this makes life so much easier allowing us to get on top of stock jobs, calves are weaned and tups are either out or about to go out.

Back to my list and the things on it that I see every day that frustrate me, this thought process goes back to Marc Gascoigne’s who came over from New Zealand to talk about his journey and challenges with mental health.

Marc talked about that broken fence post that you drive past every day, you see it every day and each time it saps a little positive energy, then one day you decide to fix it and the next time you pass you think to yourself ‘Wow that fence post looks great!’.

As I drive round Fearn we have troughs to fix, strainers to replace, rails to mend, gates to rehang and chains to fit, these small jobs all add up and collectively drag us down but as we tick theme off the list day to day life becomes easier for all, making everyone’s morning rounds a more pleasant experience.

What else do I see on a daily basis that has a negative impact?

We all have that bit of kit or machinery that’s lurking in the nettles or for example our sprayer which I see every time I arrive home, its in my line of vision as I turn in, it hasn’t been used in over a year as we have moved back to using a contractor.

It along with several other pieces of obsolete kit needs sold, firstly so that it doesn’t occupy anymore thinking time and secondly so it brings in much needed revenue which is always welcome.

Whilst on the subject of tidying up now would be a good time to mention we’ve bought an extremely dilapidate pub, in nearby seaboard village of Balintore.

It’s like therapy telling you what we have done, no we don’t really know what we are doing but with the help of a local restaurant owner who does, we will turn the dilapidated building into something special.

For us this is a great opportunity to engage with our local community, creating a space where people can come together to enjoy food with provenance from farm and sea.

Finally if you could spare eight minutes to fill in the Farmstrong Scotland survey that would be most appreciated, by completing this short task you will give the team valuable information with which to shape the future of the programme.

Thank you in advance and remember our Farmstrong Scotland motto, Live Well, Farm and Croft Well!