Starting the Conversation: Insights from 2024 to Guide Future Farming Decisions (Part 1)

As we race toward the end of 2024 and slowly begin to look to 2025, whether we’re beginning harvest, working on finishing lambs, or wrapping up hay season, it’s an ideal time to capture insights from the year. The lessons we document now will guide us in making well-informed decisions in seasons to come. Taking stock of what we’ve achieved during a season like this allows us not only to find small moments of success but also to lay a foundation for more strategic decisions in the future.

There is no doubt that the seasonal conditions prevailing across South Australia and into Victoria have been some of the most challenging in living memory. Drought like conditions, followed by frosts and storms have many comparing the year to 1967 which saw an annual precipitation received in Adelaide of only 245mm. As of 26/10/2024 Adelaide has received 312mm.

In my hometown, Gladstone, in the mid North of SA, a traditionally reliable ‘medium-ish’ (with an average of 460mm) rainfall zone has received only 178mm of rain YTD and in 1967 had received 201mm.

Reflecting on the rainfall history, both amount and timing, can be a helpful tool to help us compare our current situation with 1967 (or other years) however, it’s what we do with this information that forms part of the strategic decision-making process. This is a learned skill, that considers risk and also, the human element and is guided by stories learned and shared.

An individual, whose opinion I value often says, “The best decisions are made in the worst of times and the worst decisions in the best of times.”  What this alludes to, is that in good times, complacency can be evident in decision making, however in hard times all decisions are made with significant diligence, thought and value on the execution. 

I understand and note that our farming systems have evolved and are significantly different to those used in 1967.  Minimum tillage, the use of pesticides, the lack of livestock in a farming system for many people not to mention the improvements undertaken by land managers such as soil amelioration, investments with fertiliser (both synthetic and natural) as well as crop rotations make it more difficult to compare apples with apples.

Taking my lead from Brene Brown (I recently completed her ‘Dare to Lead’ 3 day training workshop which was both confronting and powerful), the 3 things that I encourage you to do (or continue to do) are:

1)      Talk to yourself like you talk to someone you love

2)      Reach out to someone you trust

3)      Tell your story

Brene Brown suggests “the antidote to shame is empathy” and goes on to explain that “if you put shame in a Petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence and judgement. If you put the same amount of shame in a Petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can’t survive”.

Starting can be he hardest part and it is easy to feel overwhelmed at the thought of starting. Harvard Business Review suggest that it is the ‘transition’ period that is the biggest challenge and almost always represents a shift from doing something comfortable, to doing something uncomfortable.

Thinking about this in context of the 2024 season, the following could be applied:

1)      Identify something important to you but is hard to start (e.g.: creating paddock zone maps, preparing a budget etc)

2)      Identify the transition point to working on it. E.g., picking up the phone; find a spot to sit and write; asking a question

3)      Make the decision – set a time and place you still get started (somewhere safe, perhaps away from your place of work)

4)      Be courageous. Starting will be hard and potentially bring up feelings of discomfort. Trust that you can get to the other side, what help/support will you need here?

5)      Follow through even when it is hard.

6)      Repeat

7)      Celebrate small wins and success (I’ve added this in as I personally believe it is vital to celebrate small wins and success, and this in turn creates momentum and positive emotions).  

Years like 2024 where farmers and land managers have experienced incredibly challenging and disappointing seasonal conditions that have impacted not only this year’s crop but will have an impact on next year and beyond (financially and emotionally) are hard. Being empathetic to ourselves and reflecting on the things that were, or were not, in our circle of control can combat some the shame and disappointment we feel as we work our way towards the end of this season.

The Pomodoro Technique is an effective time management technique particularly when the task to be completed is uncomfortable. A timer is used to break work into intervals, usually 25 minutes in length followed by a short (5 minute) break. The goal is to reduce the effect of internal and external interruption on focus and flow and what typically happens is that after the first pomodoro, sufficient momentum is gained to continue with subsequent pomodoros. There are many timers available online, I use this one.

I realise you may be in a region with more favourable seasonal conditions. Capturing insights during these more productive years is equally vital for sustaining a successful farm business, and celebrating these successes is an essential skill in itself

Next month I am facilitating a 3-part webinar series called ‘Turning 2024’s challenges into a legacy of success’ which is being designed to help you identify the data, information and photos to create a legacy of the learnings from this year to assist with long term strategic success. For registrations and more information, please click here.