COP26 – What is all the fuss about?

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about climate change, global warming and the effects this is having on the future of our planet. There are regular reports of extreme weather events leading to heatwaves, high temperatures, drought, wildfires, flooding, rising sea levels as well as storms which seem to have become all too familiar. These changes are threatening the lives of millions of people. They also put whole ecosystems as well as numerous animal and plant species in danger. To address these issues, from late October to early November 2021 a UN Climate Change Conference took place in Glasgow. This was called COP26. COP is short for “Conference of Parties” and is composed of the governments who signed up to the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC). The first of such conferences took place in 1995. There has been an annual conference since then except for 2020, which was postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The conference in 2021 was the 26th such conference. Hence the name COP26.  

Under this UN framework, each country is required to commit to their own targets for reducing emissions.  When combined, these targets offer a global pathway to reducing global warming to +1.5oC. The Irish government set out Ireland’s targets through what is called the “Climate Action 21 plan- Securing Our Future”. 

Implications for Irish Agriculture

Agriculture accounts for 35% of Ireland’s GreenHouse Gas (GHG). The main GHGs of concern are Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Dioxide. The first two are the ones of most concern to agriculture. Methane is produced by cattle and sheep as part of the digestion process. It accounts for 2/3rds of Irish agriculture’s GHG emissions.  Nitrous Oxide is a gaseous form of Nitrogen and accounts for approximately 1/3rd of Ireland’s GHGs from agriculture (Teagasc, 2021).  These gasses are measured as Carbon Dioxide Equivalents (CO2e).  Irish agriculture currently produces 23 million tonnes CO2e of GHGs. Under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 21, a target has been set to reduce this to 16-18 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030 which is a reduction of 22-30%.

(Other sectors in Ireland are also being targeted, with the transport industry and the energy industry being of particular concern.)

How will these GHG reductions affect you as a farmer?

To achieve a reduction of 22 – 30% in GHGs several areas are being targeted, consisting mainly of methane emitted by cattle and sheep, animal manure management, fertilisers, forage/feed production and other inputs such as fuels.

The aim is to achieve a relatively small reduction annually until 2025.

As an individual, you are being asked and encouraged to play your part. Options are being presented as a number of technologies that you can use to help reduce the emissions from your farm.

Some of these technologies can actually save money as well as reducing emissions. Some options being promoted by Teagasc, private consultants and co-operatives include the following. You should ask yourself if any of these issues are relevant for your farm.

  • Address soil fertility so that your fertiliser is used more efficiently
  • Use low emission slurry spreading early in the year to maximise the value from your slurry and reduce the emissions
  • Using protected urea as the nitrogen source for your farm which is cheaper than most other nitrogen fertilisers
  • Improve grassland management which will reduce your costs of production and improve performance
  • Cull non-productive animals from your farm which will reduce your costs and improve efficiency
  • Increase herd fertility which will lead to improvement in productivity
  • Consider calving heifers at 2 years of age, but make sure you plan this in good time to ensure the heifers are adequately grown at important stages of production
  • Increase biodiversity as a means of protecting the diverse environment

Questions you might ask yourself include:

·        Can I make better use of clover so as to reduce the need for Nitrogen fertiliser?

·        Are there poor quality cows on my farm that I would be better off without?

·        When is the best time for me to spread the slurry on my farm so that I get the best fertiliser value from that slurry?

These are just some of the items you can discuss further with your adviser or consultant. When you take the lead on this, you can stop worrying and start putting yourself back in control.

There is little doubt that what is happening in the area of climate change is of concern to everyone. Farmers do want to play their part in protecting the environment. We all want to leave this world in a good place for future generations. Remember these are your children and your children’s children that we are talking about.

Work-Life Balance and Farming

As farmers, we basically work from home most of the time. As you step out the door you are in your workplace. Even the office work is frequently done in your home, possibly at the kitchen table.  This can result in an overlap between our work life and our private / personal life.  It is therefore all too easy to work late into the evening especially when you take the view that “a farmer’s work is never finished”.  There will almost always be something that you could do or even feel you should do on the farm. This usually comes at the expense of family time or personal time for yourself.  The challenge is how can we maintain a balance between our farming or work lives and our personal lives? How can you get the required work done and still take proper care of yourself and your loved ones? 

What is Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance refers to the way we prioritize our time and effort between our work and personal lives. It is about creating a life for yourself where you are not overworked. It involves ensuring you have time to get the required work done while also having time and energy for yourself and the important people in your life. This includes your loved ones, family and friends that are important to you. 

Finding a healthy work-life balance is really important to your overall well-being. It can reduce stress levels and actually result in improved performance and productivity.

In previous newsletters and blog posts I spoke about scheduling time each day to:

1.  Do something you love doing

2.  Spend more time with some person or people you enjoy

3.  Do the three most important tasks you want to get done for the day

I now want to look closer at how you might use these tips to help you improve your work-life balance.

Do something you love:

Here I suggest two things to consider.  Firstly, give yourself time to relax and unwind and secondly, do something you love or would love to do.

Most workplaces tend to have scheduled coffee breaks when workers down tools and take a short break for coffee and a chat with their colleagues. Just because you are working alone doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t indulge in proper breaks from work also. You are just as entitled to a proper lunch break as people in a full-time job. Giving yourself a short break from work can be a good way to disconnect from the stress of work. These breaks also offer you the opportunity to take some exercise, catch up on some personal jobs you want to do or just relax. In any case they offer you an opportunity to unwind and take your mind off your work for a little while.

Engaging in a hobby and treating  yourself is often the last thing you think of. Ask yourself if there is a hobby you have but perhaps do not have time to engage in. Try to identify ways of allocating time for such a hobby. This may just require a commitment one evening per week, but it gives you something to look forward to. This will usually mean you must set an end time to your work day. Schedule time for your hobby. Otherwise, work will take over and you will never have time for this hobby.

Spend more time with some person or people you enjoy.

Making an effort every day to spend more time with the important people in your life can be hugely rewarding. This does not need to be complicated. It could be as simple as going for lunch with your spouse, partner, or friend. Even a short break with time for a coffee and a chat may be all that is needed. Perhaps you can combine this with your scheduled breaks referred to above.

Furthermore, have you been meaning to catch up with a friend? Is there someone in your life that you have lost contact with but you know you should reconnect? Perhaps there is a family member with whom you have had some disagreement and now find it difficult to talk to that person. Something such as this can act like a cloud hanging over you. Perhaps now around Christmas time might be a good time to reach out and take the first step to addressing this problem. The hardest part will be taking that first step but the rewards can be great.

Schedule the three most important tasks

Many of us make a list of all the things we have to do.  Even when we do not write this down, we often have a mental list. While this list is very useful, it can get very long and seem difficult to achieve.  Rather than facing this long list daily, and constantly adding to it I suggest taking a look at your day and week ahead. Ask yourself what the priorities you want to achieve.  Sometimes these will be determined by deadlines set by others such as an application to the Department of Agriculture.  But for other items, you get to decide what are the priorities for the day or the week. Once you have an idea of what you want to get done for the week, you can then plan out your day. Try to make your goals as realistic as possible to increase the chances of actually sticking to them.

I suggest you aim to do the three most important tasks you want to get done for the day. Make your goals as realistic as possible. If the tasks are very big, perhaps you need to break them down into smaller chunks that you can manage in a day and over a number of days you get to achieve the bigger task overall.  Once these are achieved, this will give you a sense of achievement. It allows you to have the time to do 1 & 2 above and any other work accomplished will be a bonus.

Christmas time is a great opportunity to pause and reflect on what is important in your life. Try to achieve balance, making sure you spend time with the important people in your life. As the new year approaches, you may be able to build on the effort you make now and make a more balanced life a priority for 2022. 

movember

Movember: Men’s Health Issues for Farmers

It is important to shine a light on important health issues in men including testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and mental health issues, including depression and suicide. November is men’s health month all over the world, and the movement is called Movember. What is Movember, and how can you contribute to this movement? Learn more about how Movember impacts farmers.

What Is Movember and Why Does it Matter?

Movember is an international movement that seeks to draw attention to major health issues that impact men all over the world. This includes testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and mental health issues. Unfortunately, there is a perception that for men to be “strong,” they simply need to deal with these major issues on their own. As a result, a lot of men do not ask for help when they need it, which can make a lot of the above issues worse.

This is true among farmers, who are dealing with major physical and mental stressors all over the world. Some of the biggest sources of stress for farmers include:

  • Farmers have too much to do and not enough time to do it.
  • Climate change is impacting farmers all over the world.
  • A lot of farmers face the stress of an uncertain income, which might be combined with a large debt load.
  • New regulations could be adding to the overhead expenses of farmers.
  • The markets might be erratic, leading to unfair returns.
  • Many farmers do not get enough sleep at night.
  • Because of the long to-do list, farmers may feel like they do not have enough time to see the doctor, which directly impacts their overall health.

These are just a few of the biggest sources of stress on farmers. How can farmers take steps to improve their overall health?

What Can Farmers Do To Improve Their Overall Health?

Even though there are a lot of steps you might be able to take to remove stress and improve your health, today I’m asking you to do one thing. You do not need to try to change everything at the same time, as this might be too difficult; however, you need to pick one thing to improve your health.

Health is important. Without your health, you will not have the ability to provide for your family, and you might not be able to enjoy life. Here is a list of possible changes and actions you can take to improve your health. These include:

  • Start Exercising Regularly: The first change you might make is to start exercising regularly. You do not have to go out and run a marathon, but consider going for a walk every day. You can even go for a walk on the farm. This is not a walk to work, but a walk to exercise and relax.
  • Get More Sleep: Put yourself on a healthy sleep schedule. Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep every night. If you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, you can put your body in a rhythm, getting better quality sleep at night.
  • Schedule an Annual Medical Care Checkup: Make an effort to see the doctor at least once per year for an annual checkup. The doctor might have ideas for changes you can make to further improve your health.
  • Make a Change in Your Diet: You might want to make changes in your diet to eat healthier. Consider reducing your intake of sugar and saturated fat. You might want to cut back on alcohol or other liquid calories as well.

These changes are important for your physical and mental health. You need to exercise regularly to protect your cardiovascular health and prevent the development of complications such as diabetes and obesity. If you can combine this with dietary changes, you will feel better about your overall health, which could help reduce your stress.

If you can also find a way to get more sleep at night, you will have more energy during the day, further reducing your stress and giving you the strength needed to take better care of your farm.

Which One Are You Choosing?

During Movember, you need to focus on important men’s health issues, and this includes issues related to farming. Farmers are under a significant amount of physical and mental stress, but there are changes you can make to improve your overall health. Consider making changes in your diet and exercise routine to improve your health, and remember to see a doctor at least once per year for an annual checkup. Which of the possibilities above are you choosing?

Things You Must Do Immediately to Get Your Life Back

Three Things You Must Do Immediately to Get Your Life Back

Have you ever asked yourself what you want to get out of farming? Why do you work so much of your time on the farm? These are questions I often ask when I speak to a group of farmers.

The answers can be slightly different from one farmer to another. However, I have always noticed some generalisations. Isn’t it more than a coincidence that the answers also represent what we want from life? I like to summarise this into 4 main areas. 

What Do You Want From Farming?

  1. The first answer I usually get when I ask what you want to get out of farming is “I want to make money.” As farmers, we want our farming enterprise to provide an income sufficient for basic needs such as food, clothing, and a place to live where we feel safe in our home. We also want some level of security that comes with being reasonably confident we will continue to have an income from farming into the future. 
  1. When I delve a little further, people tell me they want to feel a sense of belonging—the feeling that they fit in. This might seem obvious if you have an off-farm job. But it also applies to a farming situation. We want to network with people, so we still feel we fit in with others. For example, how many times have you gone somewhere like the livestock mart, the local co-op store, or a farmers meeting, when deep down the main reason you were going there was to actually meet and chat with people who share your same interests?
  1. Another area important to farmers is their self-esteem. We want to get a feeling of self-worth, and we want to feel appreciated. We want to feel we are doing something of value. Lots of people desire a good income, so they can enjoy a high standard of living. Others desire the feeling of importance; maybe they want to be seen as the “best farmer” in the locality. They may want to be leaders in their enterprise.
  1. While there are many ways to satisfy our desires in the areas described above, it is of little use if it does not fit in with our values—including areas like honesty, integrity, and desire to help others. Many want to ensure we have a good life / work balance, allowing us time to spend with our loved ones. We would like to have some time for our hobbies. You should ask yourself what values are important to you and if your farming allows you to honour those values.

Problems and Challenges

Farming has gone through vast changes in the past. It will continue to change for the future. While many of these changes offer great opportunities, they also pose huge challenges and worries for those of us engaged in farming. 

With some enterprises, particularly cattle and sheep, profitability is very low, leaving it difficult to earn an adequate income to provide for basic needs. While new opportunities have enabled some farmers to expand and grow their income, this has frequently come at the cost of extra borrowings for investment. 

In the past, farmers often worked together to get work done. However, due to advances with mechanisation and technology, today farmers must spend much more time working on their own. Today, there is much less freedom to roam around at livestock marts and meet up with other farmers. Due to understandable regulations and laws concerning drinking and driving, meeting in a local pub or bar is much less an option. These are just some of the factors that leave many farmers feeling lonelier and much more isolated than in the past. 

When farmers go to sell their produce, they are very much price takers. When prices appear to be well below what farmers feel they should be getting, it is not surprising they feel their work is being undervalued. This has a serious knock-on effect to their self-esteem. When this occurs on an ongoing basis, it is not surprising that farmers start to lose interest in what they are doing. 

Some farmers took opportunities to expand. Others felt they had little choice but to take off-farm work while continuing to farm on a part-time basis. In both of these situations, farmers find themselves working much longer hours, often at unsociable times. This totally undermines our life/work balance. We have less time to spend with our loved ones and less time for our hobbies. The knock-on effect is that the quality of life is constantly undermined.

Scheduling Solutions

With all of these issues at play, it is not surprising that farmers can feel very much overwhelmed and stressed today. So, what is the solution? While it will take a constant effort over a prolonged period to solve every challenge, I believe there are things you can do and start immediately to help put you in a much better place. It has been often said that “a farmer’s work is never finished.” There will almost always be work to be done on the farm. Therefore, other areas of our lives will suffer, unless we take specific action to prevent this from happening. My suggestions are based on work by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, GP and author of numerous books.

I believe you must schedule time each day to:

  1. Do something you love doing—something you feel you would not normally find time for. This could be a hobby of your choice.
  2. Spend more time with some person or people you enjoy. This could be as simple as going for lunch with your spouse, partner, or friend.
  3. Do the three most important tasks you want to get done for the day. This will give you a sense of achievement. It allows you to have the time to do 1 & 2 above, and any other work accomplished will be a bonus.

Simple Needs, Simple Conclusions

We all have some simple requirements from our farming lives and our lives in general. The ever-changing landscape of farming is constantly challenging how we run our lives. This can leave us feeling anxious and stressed. However, help is available to get you through these challenges. A great place to start is by following the three simple steps described above.
As part of this scheduling, why not schedule time now for the Free Masterclass on the 27th of October, 2021, starting at 7.30 p.m., Irish time. If you schedule it, you can ensure you get to join in.

drystock farming

Case Study – Dry Stock Farmer

How to get the most from farming without letting it destroy your life: Part 5

In the final part of this series, I will look at a part time drystock farmer to see how he might use the process outlined to help him find a solution, enabling him to enjoy life.

Case Study 2: Drystock farmer with off farm work

I spoke with John, who runs a cattle and sheep farm in the west of Ireland.  He is married to Sarah.  They have 5 children from 8 yrs. to 21yrs.  The farm fits into what Teagasc describes as “sustainable”.  The farm income is supported by off farm employment.  

John tells me he finds the going very tough.  He works five days per week off the farm with a half hour drive to and from work morning and evening.  When he gets home from a day’s work, he usually must face several hours further work on the farm.  This could take the form of feeding livestock in winter, calving cows or lambing ewes in spring or harvesting fodder in summer.  He also mentioned that he gets caught from time to time for interest on merchant credit, simply because he forgets to pay some bills on time.  Effectively he is neglecting his “routine responsibilities” which costs him extra money and causes him stress when this happens.  

John says Sarah does not understand why he spends so many hours on the farm for so little financial return.  Sarah stayed at home to look after the children while they were young.  She is now thinking of returning to work part time.  However, she is worried about the younger children and is frustrated with John as he rarely seems available to help out with the family.

While John loved farming all his life, he is now losing interest.  He is just doing the work to get it done.  As he was given the farm by his father, he feels he must take care of it before passing it on to the next generation.  He wonders if he would have been better off if he never inherited the farm.  

5 Essential Steps

Now, let us consider how John and Sarah might go about solving the issues that are causing them concern.  

Step 1. To begin with, it is essential to look at the seven areas of life.  We can see that John is concerned about a number of areas.  He and Sarah need to go through each of these one by one to further clarify what the problem is.  While all areas will need to be addressed over time, some will need more urgent attention.  These should be prioritised.  As they clarify the problem, they can then begin to visualise what the end result will look like once a solution is found (begin with the end in mind).  This is the first step on the journey to their solution.  

It is clear that John is concerned about not spending time with his wife.  He feels their relationship is coming under stress.  He says he needs to do something to address this situation.  He realises he spends too much time either working in his off-farm work or engaged in farming activities.  He knows his work life is dominating everything.  Furthermore, he knows he has no time for recreation and while he feels he is currently in good health he does nothing specific to take care of his health.  Due to being very busy, he regularly forgets to pay bills on time, which ultimately leads to an increase in his stress levels.  

We can see that all of the areas that are causing worry and stress are interrelated.  However, by taking a few small steps, he should be able to improve a few areas of his life.  John and Sarah might decide that spending time together and reducing the workload will be the two big priorities initially.  

Step 2. Secondly, they need to break this down into manageable goals. They need to identify what are the specific actions they can take to move in the right direction. 

Step 3. They then need to identify options.  For example, John needs to consider what are the options for reducing his workload.  There could be a whole range of options if he starts to think it through. Perhaps he could rearrange hours in his off-farm work. Maybe he is running an unprofitable enterprise that could be dropped from the farm.  There might be a way of employing someone for a few hours each week to do a labour-intensive task.  He might also consider how he could make more time available to spend with his wife, even if only for one or two evenings per week initially.

Step 4. Once options are chosen a plan of action must be put in place to ensure it happens.  

Step 5. As this plan is implemented and his goals are achieved one by one, he will gradually see some improvements in his situation.  He can then start to work on another problem.  

But first, he must decide to take some action. 

There is little doubt that farming can be a very stressful occupation. This can lead to all sorts of problems in several areas of your life.  By examining your situation, you must get clear on what problems need to be solved.  You can then follow a step-by-step process to solving that problem so that you can experience the joys of life.  Please note that help is available.  

If you can identify with the issues discussed above, call Frank now on (087)2832761 to discuss these issues further.  Further details available on www.freshpastures.ie

case-study-dairy-farmer

Case Study: Dairy Farmer

How to get the most from farming without letting it destroy your life: Part 4

In parts 1, 2, and 3 of this article, I have looked at the challenges faced by farmers today, how these challenges can cause problems in your life, and finally identified a step-by-step process to help you bring about a solution.

So how do you apply this solution into a real life situation?  

Case Study 1: Dairy farmer

I recently spoke with Seamus and Una who run a dairy farm in the midlands.  They are both in their late forties.  They have three teenage children, two boys in secondary school and one girl in third level.  

They rear their own replacements as well as a small group of cattle they take to beef at approximately two and a half years of age.  

While they are carrying significant debt due to farm development over recent years, their household income is satisfactory and they do not have any real financial worries.   However, they do have problems.  

The big issue for Seamus and Una is that they work extremely long hours. All three children play sport but Seamus rarely gets to see them play. Una’s evenings are often taken up looking after the children such as taking them to hurling or camogie matches.  This gives her an opportunity to meet with other parents.  However, Seamus rarely finishes the farm work before 8pm, even at the weekend.  There is always work to be done, whether it is physical work on the farm or completing paperwork.  He worries a lot about meeting quality standards and all cross-compliance issues and seems to be regularly falling behind on requirements.  A lot of talk in recent years about making changes in dairy farming to prevent damage to the environment also worries Seamus.  While the children do help out, their parents do not wish to take the children away from their studies.  By the time they get their work finished in the evening they are simply too tired for family activities.  Seamus says it is difficult to find the opportunity to spend quality time with Una or the children. Seamus often misses important family events and rarely engages in leisure activity.  He now finds himself losing interest and is worried about the long-term future of the farm.  

Solving the problem

A conscious decision to find a solution is essential.  Otherwise, the problems are likely to escalate for Seamus, Una and family.  They need to stop, reflect and plan a step-by-step approach. 

Step 1. It is important to clarify what the problem is.  The farm is impacting almost every area of Seamus and Una’s life.

  • They acknowledge they spend too much time working on the farm, especially Seamus.  
  • They fear this is having an impact on their relationship.
  • While Seamus feels he is in good health he rarely sees a doctor and has no time for recreation.  
  • Seamus regrets having rarely seen his children play their respective sports.  
  • The stress of all of this is bothering Seamus more and more recently.  

Most of the areas are interrelated.  By taking a few small steps, improvements could be made in a number of areas of life for Seamus and Una. 

To get started Seamus might prioritise finding a way to make small reductions in his workload and make time available to spend with Una and the family. 

They dream of finishing work at a reasonable time in the evening and having the opportunity to spend more quality time together.  

Step 2. Seamus and Una must break this down into manageable goals. What are the specific actions they can take to move in the right direction?  

Step 3. They then need to identify options.  For example, are there options for reducing the workload?  In the short term they might hire a relief milker for a few evenings per week.  Are there some jobs that Seamus could switch from evenings to the mornings or a slack time of the day?  Longer term, he might consider dropping an unprofitable farm enterprise or outsource some of the work.  

Step 4. Once options are chosen a plan of action must be put in place to ensure these happen.  

Step 5. As this plan is implemented and the goals are achieved one by one, they will gradually see improvements in their situation.  They can then start to work on another problem.  Over time, they need to target several areas of life.  The aim should be to live a balanced life, so that Seamus and his family can reap the rewards.  

The key to success is clarifying the problem and identifying the steps to bring about a solution.  But you must take the first step.  Further details available on www.freshpastures.ie  

In the next and final part of this series, I will look at one part time drystock farmer to see how the process above might be used to help him find a solution.

what-is -the-solution-in-farming

What is the solution?

How to get the most from farming without letting it destroy your life: Part 3

So far I have highlighted some of the key challenges faced by farmers today.  I have then gone on to discuss how these challenges can impact your life in so many ways. Here in Part 3, I want to begin to look at how you might go about finding a solution so that you can regain control, create a vision for your future and start to live the life you truly want. 

What is the solution?

The answer to this question remains very much in your hands.  You may need assistance in deciding what to do but it is important to consider your options.  I suggest five steps to help you plan your journey to solving your problems.  

To begin, you must get clear on what the challenges are and what are the problems this is causing in your life.  To follow the advice of Dr. Stephen Covey in his famous book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” you should “Begin with the End in Mind”.  As you pinpoint the problem, you then can start visualizing the outcome you want as a solution to that problem.  This solution is the end result.

As you get clear about the problem and what the end result or solution will look like, you need to draw up a list of goals that will help you achieve your desired result.  These goals are a series of small manageable steps you need to take on your journey.  

Next, you must identify options.  These are the options available to you to enable you to achieve your goals.  

Once you examine the options and choose which route to go, next you need to put an action plan in place.  

Figure 1. Steps to solving your problem

As this plan is implemented and your goals are achieved one by one, you will gradually see some improvements in your situation.  You can then move on to solving another problem.  But first, he must decide to take some action. 

Having examined the challenges you face and discussed how these can have a very negative impact on many areas of your life, in part 3 of this article I have just identified a step-by-step process you might use to help bring about a solution. To help understand this process, in the remainder of this article, I will examine two different farmers to see how they might apply this process in their situations.  I will look at one full-time dairy farmer and one part-time drystock farmer.  I will begin in Part 4 with the full-time dairy farmer.

is-farming-ruling-your-life

Is Farming Ruling Your Life

How to get the most from farming without letting it destroy your life: Part 2

In Part 1 of our newsletter, I examined some of the many challenges faced by farmers today. These challenges can lead to all sorts of problems and stress.  

Here in Part 2, I want to look at how these challenges are negatively impacting your life. Before searching for a solution to any problem it is important to be clear what exactly the problem is. It is only then that you can examine how you might go about solving the problem so that you can start to live life to your true potential.   

Whatever your situation you need to identify exactly how these problems are impacting your life.  It is very likely they are not just affecting your farming.  They are probably impacting almost every area of your life.  It is worth spending some time examining these so that you can then decide if something needs to be done to rectify the situation.   Otherwise, you will continue to allow these farming problems to rule your life.  

To bring balance into your life it is important to examine all areas so that you can identify the areas that need attention.  Various experts worldwide identify these areas of our lives under different domains or different headings.  I believe the following seven key areas more or less captures every aspect.  If something is troubling you or causing you stress or anxiety, it is likely that you will be able to allocate it to at least one of these seven areas.  Can you examine your life under these headings?

Areas to look at

  1. Social/Family/Friends
  2. Farming/Career/Education
  3. Money/Finances
  4. Health/Recreation
  5. Routine Responsibilities 
  6. Contribution/Community/Voluntary
  7. Mental/Emotional/Spiritual Wellbeing

In considering these areas, you might consider if you are giving that area enough attention, too much attention, or not addressing it at all.  At least this will help you pinpoint areas you need to address one way or another. Once you have clarified exactly what the problem areas are, you can then go in search for a solution. This is exactly what we will examine in Part 3 of this series.

Finally, I will look closer at this with a couple of farmer cases later in this article.

Challenges of Farming

Challenges of Farming

How to get the most from farming without letting it destroy your life: Part 1

Farming can be a very stressful occupation.   You as a farmer and your family face many challenges on a daily basis.  These challenges can leave you feeling very stressed and unhappy.

In this article, I examine the challenges posed in farming today.  I will then look at your life and encourage you to examine how these farming challenges are impacting your life and how they can lead to numerous problems for you and the people around you.  I also look at how you can deal with this stress, create a vision for your future and set goals that will help you achieve that vision.  This will enable you to create the space so that you can solve your problems and enjoy life.  So, I ask how might you as a farmer improve your circumstances when faced with the challenges that farming brings.

Challenges of Farming

A complex occupation

Farming is much more complex today than it was forty or fifty years ago.  The Teagasc National Farm Survey 2019 Sustainability Report points out that world-wide farming faces the challenge of producing food for a growing population, while minimising the environmental impacts of food production especially in terms of climate change, water quality and biodiversity loss.

Irish farmers also face worries about BREXIT.  Some farmers feel under pressure to meet cross compliance requirements and when dealing with Government agencies. Animal welfare and the concern about animal disease on the farm such as the presence of TB (tuberculosis) has become a major worry for many Irish farmers.

Due the nature of their work and where they live, isolation and loneliness can exacerbate the problems.  Hours of work can be very long when full time farming or due to off farm employment.  Many farmers are concerned about what the future holds for the farm with no obvious successor to take over.  COVID-19 may well have made the situation worse.

Dr. Harry Barry, expert on mental health and emotional resilience, claims that the vast majority of stress and anxiety in everyday life is due to a mixture of life crises rather than any serious mental illness.  Yet, if these issues are not tackled, they can lead to all sorts of problems including anxiety and depression.

Weather

While there is very little we can do about the weather, it can be a cause of concern for farmers.  Extreme weather events appear to be common in recent years.  Repeated reports of severe flooding, storm force winds or even hurricanes appear to be on the increase.  Whether these are the result of climate change or not they can leave the most resilient of farmers in a stressed-out state.

Environment

The impact of farming on the environment is an ever-increasing concern and worry for farmers.  The production of greenhouse gas emissions from farm animals and the resulting impact on climate change is frequently being highlighted in the media.  On the one hand there is an increasing need for food production to feed a growing world population.  Farmers and scientists must find a way to produce this food while minimising the negative impact on the environment.

Financial worries

Both Teagasc and IFAC figures repeatedly show there are serious issues around poor income and financial worries on many farms throughout Ireland.  Teagasc define farm-households as fitting into one of three categories with approximately one third of all farms fitting into each category:

  • Economically viable: This is where the Family Farm Income is sufficient to pay family labour at a basic wage plus a small return on the capital invested in assets such as machinery and livestock.  This group is dominated by Dairy farms plus tillage farms with a small number of large-scale cattle and sheep farms.
  • Sustainable: This is where income from the farm on its own is insufficient to make the household economically viable.  However, there is off-farm income within the household to make it economically sustainable. This group has farms from all enterprises but is dominated by cattle and sheep farms.
  • Vulnerable:  This is where the household is operating a non-viable farm business and neither the farmer or spouse works off-farm.  Like the sustainable group, this group includes farms from a range of enterprises but is also dominated by cattle and sheep farms.

At first glance, the immediate concern is for those in the vulnerable category due to their low household income.  Without doubt, these are of concern.  Shortage of money can cause all sorts of problems.  However, all may not be well in the other two categories.

Viable and sustainable farms are still affected by the issues discussed above and may even be affected to a greater extent by some of the issues.  I will look at this later as it applies to specific farmers.  But for now, we will accept there are many issues that cause stress and you need to address these sooner rather than later.

In the next part, I will discuss how farming may be having a negative effect on your life and we will look at some solutions that you can use to overcome the challenges.

Take Charge of Your Life In 5 Days

Welcome to the 5-Day Challenge. Our goal is to help you take charge of your life in just five days. This program will help you:

  • Figure out what are the key areas of life you need to focus on so that you can enjoy a fulfilled life and have time for the important people around you
  • Clarify the challenges that are preventing you from living the life you really want
  • Cope with the stress of being an Irish farmer during this time
  • Get the most out of your personal and work life as a dairy farmer

During our 5 Day Challenge, you will have access to:

  • Live streaming events Monday through Friday at 1 PM each day
  • Our recordings if the timing of the live sessions does not fit your other commitments
  • Answers to some of the most common questions you have about balancing your work and personal life
  • Helpful sessions from experienced professionals who can help you overcome the biggest challenges you will face

Our group is led by Frank Hynes, who has a tremendous amount of experience helping dairy farmers address their biggest obstacles. You can join our Facebook group exclusive for the challenge. If you have any questions about our program, or what you can expect, please feel free to contact us.