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I lose track of exactly when COVID started rearing its ugly head, but one thing is for certain - we have lost two Highland Shows and all the local shows which we look forward to going to each year. Not to mention every other social event, albeit a wedding, christening or funeral which we have not been able to attend.
I, like everyone in the farming community, thoroughly looks forward to the Highland Show - a highlight of my year.
I have been going to the Highland Show for as long as I can remember, pleading with my parents when I was younger to be allowed a day or two off school so that I could attend. It is not only a spectacle of the ‘best of Scotland’, but also a chance to catch up with friends you haven’t seen in a while, maybe since the same day the year before. Standing in the Members, having a beer and a great time but inadvertently sharing the ups and downs of farming life and realising everybody is in the same boat. You cannot beat it!
With the shows cancelled for another year it is more important than ever to look for other ways in which to connect.
We all know the pressures of farming: weather related, stock related, money related. With the added pressures of lockdown causing new and different issues including forced isolation, we need to recognise our limits and it is essential to meet with your friends and colleagues whenever you can and are allowed to.
Last year the wheels finally fell off our old faithful barbeque and we decided the time was right to invest in a new one. Last week the sun was shining and my wife and I decided to host some friends - for the first time in a few years we put a suckling pig on a spit, and there were no hurries to end the evening.
My dad always said that it is important to keep an interest off the farm, and I now know he was right.
I enjoy a night at my local Clay Pigeon Club in the summer - it is a great way to put the farm gate behind me for a couple of hours. There are two or three other famers who come along, including a young lad who in the wintertime also enjoys his rugby training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, before the traditional game on Saturday. He is busy but makes time for it to get away from the farm for a few hours.
I am not an expert in mental health by a long way, but we are lucky enough to have RSABI to help support people in Scottish Agriculture. This week is RSABI’s #KeepTalking Week - if you need them please call them. They are there to help you.
NFU Scotland’s #NFUSHereForYou webpage is another resource available if you, or someone you know, is struggling. The links on there can help signpost you to the organisations that are there to help.
For those that enjoy reading I would highly recommend ‘The Resilient Farmer – Weathering the Challenges of Life and the Land’ – by Doug Avery. It is the story of a New Zealand farmer who beat the challenges of drought and desperation to turn his farm and life around.
And hopefully it won’t be long until we all get to catch up over a drink at shows once again!