The Return of ‘Blue Sky Thinking’
We are nicely home from our annual spring vacation. It is something I touched upon back in 2012’s ‘Blue Sky Thinking‘ and, thirteen years later, thought it was a subject worth revisiting and expanding on. Once a year, we try to do one ‘get away’ vacation that has nothing to do with cattle, banking or dance. For us, the week that seems to fit our schedule best is one in late April – a time when our 12 week sprint of calving and bull sale season is wrapped up, Jeanne’s annual dance exams have been completed, the herd bulls are out, and the cows are in a state where they can hopefully be left alone for most of a week.
It continues to be incredibly important for us to get away from the farm for a short time every year. And it is something that I don’t think many farmers/ranchers take seriously enough. For Canadians, our laws dictate that after 1 year of full time employment, all employees are entitled to a minimum of 2 weeks vacation. After 5 years employment, this entitlement increases to 3 weeks. Specifically for those farmers with livestock, I would hazard a guess that it is extraordinarily rare to take a week off, let alone two (or three). Livestock need constant care and attention – and typically there is also a certain pride and dedication in our profession. I’ve had clients incredibly proud of the fact that they milked cows the morning after their wedding! Having chosen to own and operate a farm, many people may have trouble accepting that they still need a break from the life they chose, and thus feel ‘guilty’ for finding vacation coverage, even if it is just for a few days. We all have neighbours and friends that don’t mind being helpful – it just may seem like a big ask when we are all so used to being self sufficient. It is not always easy to arrange, but we have been deliberate in trying to ensure we have an annual vacation.
One of the biggest challenges of being a farmer is that 9 times out of 10 (or 99 times out of 100), farmers literally live, work and sleep at their place of business. Our work is so intertwined with life. And while there are some tremendous advantages (raising a family in the country, living in a rural area surrounded by space and nature), there is always more ‘work’ that can be done. Looking out the window, it is often easy to see peeling paint – lawn that needs cut – kids that could use more one on one time – let alone an endless ‘someday’ list of seasonal farm chores that always need to be done. Even sitting and ‘doing nothing’ can be work for a cattle breeder. Social media can be personal, but its also the forum for marketing cattle. Texts and phone calls can be from friends – but they can also be from customers and potential buyers – or from friends that are also customers! It is very difficult not to respond to a text – and very easy to panic when it is realized a social media platform hasn’t been updated in a month. The instant gratification era of social media only lengthens the days on the farm, and there simply isn’t much of a break.
For us, the solution has been to ensure we can turn off and disconnect for at least one week (ok, 5 days) of the year. Its one of the many cool things about living in Canada – we have so many options across many different price points – and off grid is practically at our doorstep. Unless you are stuck on the 401 in Ontario – or experiencing the fun traffic that is Montreal – anywhere in Canada is a maximum of only 2 hours from wilderness. And there are plenty of small, rural places where it doesn’t have to be expensive to enjoy a getaway. When people are younger, this could also mean camping is an option – but these days my back suggests a comfortable bed is my biggest must have. There are so many options – near and far – inexpensive and more higher end – that provide the ability to get away from the farm and relax, no matter the personal preference!
For us, a vacation isn’t just an opportunity to relax, but also time to communicate without interruption. An opportunity to talk about hopes and dreams as well as the million little things that don’t usually get air time. And the bigger, heavier things that are often avoided. To talk about the farm business itself. In the corporate world, it is a natural, accepted routine to complete annual ‘strategic planning’. The cliché goes, time dedicated to work ‘on the business’ instead of working ‘in the business’. For farmers, typically our closest business partner is also family. When the conversations get serious, being offsite means an absence of the ready made interruptions so common on the farm. I can’t tell you how many farm meetings I’ve been on with clients over the years when one principal shows up late, or another has to leave the meeting early. There are simply always things on the farm that ‘get in the way’ of having great conversation. Vacation is a great place to have ‘complete’ conversations, without interruptions, where feelings and ideas can all be talked through.
What needs to get talked about? I would probably suggest moving in an expanding circle, (and will list in point form in order to keep this blog at least a mildly digestible size), and cover 4 different, yet intertwined, ‘buckets’:
- Mental Health.
- How am I doing? (1 person).
- How are we doing? (ask your partner, they may not share otherwise)
- Physical Health.
- This one is especially important for those in the industry we are in. It is virtually impossible to work/calve/process cattle on one leg (just ask Jeanne about her 2024!).
- Do we enjoy the physical health required to do what needs to be done? (if not, can we afford to hire for it /or does that trigger a potential operational change?)
- What does ‘us’ look like?
- Is our relationship working,
- Should we expand (kids, more kids? / cows, more cows? 🙂 )
- Are the personal sacrifices we are making for the farm sustainable?
- State of the Farm
- Is it working,
- If yes. Is it sustainable?
- If no, what changes can/should we make? (off farm income, diversify, breed horned? lol just checking to see who is still reading)
- Should we expand, if so, how/where/what?
- If we grow, how do we afford it / what are the trade offs?
- Is it too much / do we need to downsize?
I wouldn’t be a banker and not mention finances. A lot of the ‘state of the farm’ conversation relates back to knowing whether the farm is being successful, and having an understanding of profit and losses, which should impact decision making. Actually having and knowing the numbers are essential! (Also a future blog post! Or maybe a book!) During a growth phase, farm success can be incredibly difficult to determine, as cash flow seems so ‘tight’ (which was outlined in ‘summer nights/cow tours‘ blog post from 2018). It is great to have goals and plans, but the math also typically has to work. If it is a goal to give up off-farm employment, then what changes need to be made on the farm? Can the farm continue to grow? Or is it ‘worth it’ to shift from growth mode to more of a maintain strategy if it means that one person doesn’t have to work off and be away from the farm and family for extended periods of time? If the priority is to grow, how does the cashflow work if there is a(nother) large loan payment? How does that impact some of the other considerations (growing family, quality time), or maybe adding off farm income is a solution if it allows a common growth goal to be pursued! There are always lots of questions and considerations that can be different depending on the state of a farm’s life cycle. As the saying goes ‘hope isn’t a strategy’, and while farmers are at the mercy of the markets and the weather, it is much better to have these conversations and form a strategy together vs. simply trying to ‘figure it out’. Two brains are always better than one!
And on that note, it is only fitting to circle back to the mental health part of the conversation, while also getting a little sexist (or at least provide some stereotypical tropes). Most men, and specifically farm men, feel a deep personal obligation to be a provider and protector for their family. As a result, men face tremendous stress to be financially successful and carry that as their burden. And I am guessing everyone out there knows at least one purebred cattle breeding, introverted dude who isn’t a big fan of talking things out! Most farm women are incredibly capable, and balance the traditional ‘pink’ jobs of family responsibility, household chores, meal prep and kids activities, alongside all the day to day activities required on modern farms to make the ranch run successfully. Its not like women CAN’T run the farm – just like dudes usually CAN cook – I just think that for both partners, it is easy to get frustrated. If that frustration causes individuals to turn inward and fixate on completing ‘their’ jobs to support the family, it can also get lonely and lead to a feeling of disconnection. Both parties need to be mindful that they BOTH contribute to the success of the farm and family – and if partners aren’t talking, it can come down to trying to “keep score”; both feeling like they are working incredibly hard within their own silo, while their partner is frittering their time away and not contributing, understanding or supporting. Communication can help share the responsibility, and make a partnership feel more like a team. There can be crushing pressure to carry burdens by yourself. When there are feelings of being overwhelmed, a little help can go a long way. Great conversation and a willingness to communicate struggles or feelings can really assist in creating a better understanding of where each person is at in the relationship and in turn with the farm. And to ensure there is communication, there needs to be time and space – where better than on vacation!
At Applecross, I work off farm full time so Jeanne runs a lot of the day to day farm activities, the household and also owns and operates her own dance studio which runs 3 nights a week and week-ends (just not as many week-ends during calving!) Jeanne is often away from the farm for dance and, when she is gone, I naturally inherit all of her jobs. Can I do that while she is away? Sure! Do I skip the veggie aisle and purchase more protein and junk food as groceries when she is gone? You bet! Would I want to do that on a full time permanent basis? Heck no! (and we don’t even have kids!). So I think part of the mental health aspect is also ‘sustainability’. Absolutely – both partners are more than capable of running all aspects of the farm and household independently – and while things may be ‘doable’ in the short term, what does viable look like? Unfortunately, in real life, the hockey cliché of just ‘digging deep and giving 120% (while playing a full 60)’ really just isn’t a plausible answer. So the solution is to talk. Sometimes its just a matter of acknowledging challenges and completing some of the farm jobs together, and then working together on the household activities. But the key is communication. Discuss what the future looks like, and make decisions accordingly. Being away from the day to day pressures and interruptions of farm life is the perfect place to do so!
To be clear, I am not suggesting that we have it ‘all figured out’ and that taking a break from the farm will solve all of life’s problems, or that a person can plan for all of life’s curve balls. Kids don’t always happen (or not happen) based on a plan. We know! The proverbial farm next door doesn’t always come up for sale at the right time. But sometimes it does. (We know!) But mental health is something that isn’t talked about enough. Communication doesn’t happen like it should and on the farm, we have found that there just never really seems to be an extended break without interruptions. The least we can do is be mindful of the challenges of trying to have great conversation while on the farm, and adapt accordingly. A break ensures there is an opportunity to talk about the important things in life, which only increases the odds that we have thought through our future, and puts ourselves in our best position to succeed.
One additional side note: It is certainly my preference to travel through life with an absolutely amazing partner. I want to also recognize that it is very possible to have a completely fulfilling life while remaining single. I would also suggest that operating solo only underlines the importance of being able to get away. Operating on an individual basis translates to 100% responsibility for 100% of the jobs, so it becomes essential to get away and recharge. Preferably with someone you trust. To talk and to share. To talk about self care. And to provide a reminder that it simply isn’t sustainable to run life at 100% all of the time.
If the above process feels daunting, it gets substantially more complex when working within a bigger family farm operation. The dramatic rise in capital requirements to establish a viable farm continue to grow, and it only ‘makes sense’ to consider staying together as a family unit so that some of those capital costs can be shared. The offset is that larger family farms have more voices at the table and more complexities to work through – and it becomes even tougher to find time to take a vacation together! Multi-gen farm operations are certainly worthy of their own blog post (so there will be a ‘blue sky part 3’ in the future), as there are so many additional things to consider. It is just equally important for the ‘big’ farms to also have time to discuss strategy, logistics and what the future holds. A lot of this can be worked on with professionals – accountant, lawyer, banker. Consultants can be hired. But at the end of the day the wishes of the family need to be determined, pros and cons considered, a direction picked and then professionals engaged to make it happen in as cost effective a manner as possible. Time away together allows for these conversations to happen with everyone present.
My suggestion is simple. Please try to find some time to step away from the farm; have a vacation but, most importantly, time to talk. Time to talk about yourself, your partner and family, and your farm. Time without interruptions, and time to hopefully be reminded of why we do this in the first place. (I would also suggest that for any non-farmers reading this – I have been told there are like 5 of you – getaways are equally important – even without the farm). Reminisce about the past, evaluate the present and make plans for the future. A break from working, but not a break from the farm. We do it because we love it. Lets take the time to remember why, and share our thoughts with the people we love, to make ourselves a better tomorrow.
Until next time,
Dennis
Applecross Cattle 