What steps are you taking to stay competitive and resilient in the face of domestic and global challenges?
An ever present question in the world we live in today. In answering it I would first take a step back and look at both my personal why, and the why of my organisation. It can be so easy to tie ourselves to a role or title that we think defines us. I'm a dairy farmer or I’m a dry stock farmer. When in fact when I really drill into my business why it comes down to the fact that I am a team leader who wants to see my team flourish and grow in the agricultural sector. This drilling down into the why takes us out of the daily grind and helps us to see what it is that we truly enjoy or thrive doing, often this changes over the years. For me it’s become about the people I work with on farm and seeing them grow and us thrive together. Our area of expertise currently is Dairy but that doesn’t mean it always will be.
In order to thrive into the future it is so important that we hold our value in our strengths rather than in what we have always done. Markets and the drivers of success will always change as they have done for years. What really sets us as farmers up for success is our ability to change and pivot. I’m by no means saying we should scrap all of one kind of farming and move to something totally new but what I am saying is that we need to be open to the fact that the way we farm now will not be the way we farm in 20 years. Yes we may still be dairy farmers but we may also be growing other crops or have other animals on the platform in the rotation along with banks of solar panels. So for me personally the most important thing I can do to ensure I remain competitive and resilient is to have a growth mindset, open to new opportunities to compliment mine and my team's strengths.
