Opinion: I won’t become an ‘absentee farmer father’
James Herrick © Tim Scrivener It’s late and I am about to spend my fourth night in a row alone at home with the dog.
This is because I am proud to say this is my first article as a dad.
My wife and I welcomed our first child, Wilfred (Freddie) Edwin James Herrick into the world a little earlier than we expected, hence the prolonged period of sleeping alone.
It’s funny how becoming a dad instantly changes your perspective of work and time management.
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About the author
I am fortunate that my own father has always made “time out” a priority in the productivity of our business and, despite putting in the hard yards when required, we ensure everyone gets a healthy amount of time off farm.
I don’t want my son to grow up with me as an absent father who, because of farm commitments, missed birthdays, sport games and important functions – and yet it seems to be a trap many farmers have fallen into.
Recently, I spoke to a few farmers about the younger generation coming back to the farm, and the general consensus was that the dearth of free time reduced their desire to get involved.
I think this lack of recruitment is a real shame for the industry and the sad thing is that it is easily avoidable.
During silaging this year I had the pleasure of catching up with the highly acclaimed “Pasture Pod” series about time management (if you haven’t listened to it yet, you really should).
It takes a deep dive into what farmers and business owners can do to maximise their time efficiency, increase profitability and, ultimately, improve their work-life balance.
Even though I had considered our farming enterprise extremely well balanced, it has made me seriously re-evaluate many aspects of what we do, how we do it, what’s important and where our time is best spent.
Hopefully, in the long run this will not only lead to a more productive and profitable enterprise, but also to one that doesn’t interfere with family life unnecessarily.
After all, you only get one shot at life and there’s no such thing as do-overs.