What farmers would like to tell their younger selves - farmers weekly

Wouldn’t every farmer like the knowledge gained later in life at the start of that journey? With this in mind, _Farmers Weekly_ and rural charity The Farming Community Network invited

figures from the farming industry to write a letter to their younger farming selves. If they had known what they know now, would they have made different decisions? See also: Love and

loneliness: how farmers are beating the odds ANNA LONGTHORP, PIG FARMER Anna Longthorp, 40, is a pig farmer, meat wholesaler and retailer selling Anna’s Happy Trotters produce direct to

butchers, farm shops, restaurants and retail, as well as online. Born in Yorkshire, she is a fourth-generation farmer with a passion for animal welfare and education around field to fork.

She cares deeply about mental wellbeing in agriculture. © Anna Longthorp Dear Anna, A career in farming is going to be a bumpy ride with no two days the same, but you didn’t want a

nine-to-five office job anyway. That said, don’t underestimate the amount of office work there will be.  It will be challenging, but when the hurdles are bigger, the greater will be the

sense of achievement once you have overcome them. The colleagues you meet along the way will become lifelong friends. Take the time to nurture these relationships as they’ll become the

warmest of comfort blankets during the tough times, and buy you a beer in the better times. Appreciate the good people you work with – and let them know that you appreciate them.  Look after

your team and they will look after you. There is no “I” in team. You’ll learn more than you’ll ever know. Always ask questions and listen to those who have been there and done it, made

mistakes and learned from them. There will be the greatest of highs, but they can very quickly plummet into the most humongous lows and that can be over a long period or in the space of

minutes, so never be complacent. You never know what’s round the corner, but just know that you can overcome whatever life throws your way. There will be long periods of “fire-fighting” so

take the time during the quiet moments to look after yourself, relax and enjoy the peace, appreciate family and friends and the simple things in life, the sunsets, and just being.

------------------------- GARETH WYN JONES, THE “TWEETING FARMER” “Tweeting farmer” Gareth Wyn Jones farms at Llanfairfechan, North Wales, following a family tradition spanning over 370

years. He features regularly on television, is a best-selling author, and regularly posts on social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, where he educates the public about farming and

sustainable food production. © Richard Stanton Dear Gareth, Your 18-year-old self should have sought more value in what you had around you, on the farm and in your local area. After you left

Glynllifon College and were about to enter the family-run business as a full-time farmer, you should have encouraged the idea of adding value to what we were producing on the farm, through

immersive tourism perhaps. We milked a small dairy herd back then, and I’m sure we would have made some extra money if you had realised the potential of providing an informative tour on

milking, even allowing the tourists to have a go themselves. You should also have looked more into the history of the farm, especially the Iron Age Celtic fortress, Dinas, and opened the

gates to tourists. But you’re never too old to follow your dreams and no matter how many times you fail, you must try again. What you have learned from failure has made you stronger to

succeed in this life. ------------------------- MARTIN KENNEDY, TENANT FARMER Martin Kennedy is a tenant farmer in Aberfeldy, Highland Perthshire, where he farms with his wife, Jane, and

three daughters Jillian, Katrina and Yvonne. They run 600 ewes and 60 cows on land rising to 2,500 feet. Martin has served as the president of the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland since

2021. © NFU Dear Martin, I am taking a leaf out of Marty McFly’s book from _Back to the Future_ in the 1980s and writing to you with some advice on how to approach the difficult challenges

ahead. Now you have left school – officially rather than when there’s neeps to thin or sheep to gather – make sure you don’t only look in one direction. Although farming is in your blood,

adding other strings to your bow never does any harm, for who knows when in the future the grasp of another industry or craft will be beneficial. Remember that regardless of any family

fallouts, even if they seem major at the time, there is nothing more important than, to quote Robert Burns “to see ourselves as others see us”. Having the ability to look at things from

other people’s perspective will always help to reach a compromise and make you realise what’s really important.  Don’t be frightened of change. Doing something the same way year in year out

because that’s always the way it’s been done doesn’t keep the mind sharp, nor does it allow you to think outside the box. No need to go daft, but taking a risk now and again based on

ambition will lead to a greater awareness of decision making in business. There will always be challenges to overcome. Sometimes they will take the form of others being unable to resist

undermining your optimism. Take no heed and don’t try to change yourself to please others. Last but by no means least, it won’t do any harm to say “no” once in a while. We only get one shot

at this thing called life so taking time out to spend with the family will be time well spent. ------------------------- LAURENCE HARRIS, ORGANIC FARMER Laurence Harris farms in

Pembrokeshire and is a director of Daioni Organic. He is a proud ambassador for Welsh agriculture and rural entrepreneurship.  © Debbie James Dear Laurence, By the time you receive this you

will hopefully have graduated from the Royal Agricultural University, having not spent too much time in the Black Horse. I hear that you are returning to the family farm with your wife,

Eira, to join your parents in the business. Please make sure you are committing yourself to a viable operation at the outset, one that can support two farming families or is at least able to

expand. Look into the past few years of accounts and put your recently acquired academic skills to good use. Valuations of the business, from day one of your return, are essential for

future reference, as are the actual details of the partnership. In general, avoid verbal agreements with family and with prospective business associates unless they are followed up with hard

copies, signed and witnessed. Once sorted, file and crack on with enthusiasm and ambition. There is a mountain of practical advice out there for you to keep learning and refreshing as

technology will continue to play a greater role in making life simpler in this extremely diverse and over-regulated profession. Basic stuff: check the water supply, fences and gates before

you put animals in fresh fields on or just before a weekend. They could be waiting to meet you on the cricket field. Join local farming groups that challenge each other to be profitable, to

work smarter and plan ahead. Treat staff as your own family. Never be afraid to diversify and invest off-farm if you have spare cash from the farming business. There is so much advice out

there, but remember that farm consultants are mostly persons from far away, like rugby coaches! Always check their track records and make a note of the models of cars that they are driving.

  Finally, as you probably have the family genes in being fairly outspoken, if you join the farming political scene to help shape future farming policy, be prepared to be extremely

disappointed by politicians. They almost always pander to the electorate and powerful lobbyists while smiling and agreeing with the farming representatives. But never give up. HELP AVAILABLE

FROM THE FARMING COMMUNITY NETWORK The Farming Community Network (FCN) is a national charity that supports farmers and farming families during difficult times, providing free and

confidential support to anyone who needs help. Its helpline is available 7am-11pm, 365 days a year on 03000 111 999, or email [email protected]