Autumn Reflections – finding your rhythm when the season slows
By Scott Brown, Midlothian Farmer, Animal Health Advisor at Carrs Billington, and Director of The Moredun Board.
Autumn is often portrayed as the end of the farming year. Yet for many of us it can be one of the most important periods of the year. Once the pressure of harvest and sales eases, there is finally space to reconnect with friends, reflect on the season behind us, and pay attention to our own wellbeing.
The harvest is in, the plough mould boards are gleaming, and another farming year is drawing towards its close. There’s a new generation of crops in the ground and in the beef and sheep world, the sales calendars are in full swing.
Jane and I recently made our annual pilgrimage to Oban to sell our bulling heifers, which involved an overnight stay and the very welcome chance to catch up with friends and customers that we may only see once a year.
The sale period is such an adrenalin-fuelled time of year. There is real contrast between living in that moment, where you are “buzzing like a jar of bees”, and the quieter weeks that follow the last sale, when the nights draw in and the pace on the farm settles.
That quieter spell is actually a great opportunity to focus on staying connected. A local group of us always find time to get together – recently we went to the Oktoberfest beer festival in Edinburgh, and November will bring a catch-up to watch the autumn rugby internationals. In a less formal way, I’m in a few WhatsApp groups too – some built around shared interests, others purely social.
That sense of staying connected and looking out for ourselves is something initiatives like Farmstrong Scotland have been championing for some time, reminding us that wellbeing is every bit as important as productivity.
I have also enjoyed working my way through all 202 editions of the Toplines and Tales Podcasts – a brilliant series where livestock industry legends from around the world share their knowledge, tips and experience. For anyone who hasn’t come across it, it’s well worth a listen, and you’re sure to learn something.
When it comes to keeping active, my lifelong love affair with rugby meant nothing else could ever really compete. Retiring from the game 15 years ago left a genuine void – and also shone a spotlight on niggles and injuries that had never been properly attended to. After much persuasion from Jane, and some enthusiastic endorsements from a few ‘roughty-toughty’ farmers who had quietly adopted yoga, I took the leap. I now attend a weekly group session and haven’t looked back.
In nature, the changing colours of the trees and the grass slowing up are other reminders that we are edging towards the end of another farming year. Many of us in a reflective mood might look back over the last ten months and think fondly of the highs, while trying to consign the lows to ‘drawer thirteen’.
You may even find yourself asking - why do we do it? Why does 1% of the UK population brave the elements and put 100 hours in on an 8-day week to put food on the tables of the other 99%?
If ever you needed reminding, I helped develop a short film aimed at boosting morale and wellbeing across the agricultural community. In just two minutes and forty-seven seconds, it answers that question beautifully.
Watch the video on the button below.
Scott’s tips for the quieter months –
Find your group and make time for them – whether it’s a rugby international or just a catch up. Don’t let the quieter season become an isolated one.
Keep learning – a good podcast is brilliant company through the autumn and winter months. Find one that feeds your curiosity and keeps your mind engaged.
Try something different for fitness – yoga was the last thing I expected to enjoy, and it’s made a real difference. The thing that helps might not be the obvious choice.
Reflect on the year – take a moment to acknowledge the highs before the next season begins. And as for the lows – drawer thirteen is always there. Close it and look forward.
