Farmer Focus: A year of TV highs and disease lows
Rob McGregor © Tim Scrivener Reflecting on the year, I’d say 2024 has been a roller coaster.
I have gained enormous satisfaction from creating a pig unit set up on self-drilled grass leys in early spring.
Everything clicked into place, and all aspects of our planning gave the physical results we were looking for – a contented sow herd with resilient grazing across the whole site.
The dynamics of the new layout made life much simpler than past field configurations and production improved month-on-month.
See also: Farmer Focus: We all need a farming champion like Clarkson
About the author
Being out in the elements and farming livestock is still where my heart lies, even in the twilight years of my career.
I’m very conscious now that I might be extending my shelf life beyond what some parts of my body can endure, but I have found ways to help preserve what I have left by getting involved in extracurricular activities.
A great example of this was my involvement in the development of the piglet-saving device Clarkson’s Ring, and my subsequent appearances on season 3 of the TV show Clarkson’s Farm.
If you’d told me that I would get a chance to represent the pig industry like that I wouldn’t have believed you.
That show is viewed in more than 240 countries.
Those trips to the Cotswolds throughout the year, and the exciting experience of getting to be a part of something so big and so different was a great way of refreshing and focusing the mind.
Having these enjoyable periods also means that when the unthinkable happens – as it sadly did during 2024 – you’re in a better place mentally to cope with the turmoil.
Learning the herd had tested positive for swine dysentery and that we needed to destock was a massive shock.
We have put a plan together with the support of the farming company BQP, to whom we are contracted, and established timelines for a complete turnaround by autumn 2025.
To finish the year off, I got involved in media training.
Back in 2018, Anna Jones, a farmer’s daughter who works on rural affairs TV and radio as well as print, identified a disconnect between farmers and mainstream media.
Her response was to set up “Just Farmers”, and I’m thrilled to be part of group 10 of this wonderful educational workshop project.