Love and money

There are examples of other land uses that have become integrated into farming practices. Horse breeding is one, usually carried on in conjunction with more mainstream livestock or tillage enterprises. 

Another great love of most practical farmers is to make a profit from their activities. Whether that profit comes from the sale of produce or from the various financial supports that ensure continuity of food supply for consumers and the ongoing viability of the rural economy, is neither here nor there. 

Bottom line

The bottom line is making sure there is a bottom line. We can all be busy fools and if there is no margin in farming, then it makes no economic sense. As an occupational therapy, farming is up there with the best activities one can engage in. Lots of fresh air, a sense of purpose when you get up in the morning, working for yourself, independence. All of these are beneficial and psychologically positive attributes associated with farming. That, of course, assumes that the scales are not tilted towards isolation, loneliness, poverty, criticism or a gnawing, constant uncertainty around what the future holds. Much depends on where an individual is on the scales of worth and wellbeing. 

Motivation

For those who need or seek change in their lifestyles or farming practices, the greatest barrier to change is in the mind. Tradition can be a positive motivator. Alternatively, it can prevent an individual or family from making the kinds of changes in their lives that are necessary to maintain or improve income, work/life balance or an improved mental state. As farmers we take pride in producing food for millions of people across the world. It is a noble aspiration to continue that practice. Without food, people die. That makes farming a critical life or death activity for those who rely on us to produce food for them. That fact, however, should not blind us from exploring alternative land-use options that are more rewarding personally or economically or both. 

Something's gotta give?

In the coming years, alternative uses for land will continue to expand. Energy production in its many manifestations is one alternative land use. While the installation of solar panels on fertile, productive land is not to everyone’s liking, it does offer greater economic returns than many food-production based enterprises. Likewise, the establishment of a biomethane industry through the construction of hundreds of biodigester plants across the country, is contingent on the diversion of grass utilisation away from livestock feed towards providing a feedstock for these plants. Will it be possible to maintain livestock numbers while diverting grass production to an alternative use? Probably not, or even definitely not. Something will have to give. With the current pressures on livestock production - from emission reduction requirements, rewetting of some peat-based lands, nitrogen limits, biodiversity demands, a lower Nitrates Derogation ceiling, not to mention low or no margins from many livestock enterprises - we can assume that the finite resource, that is land, will be stretched to meet all the calls on its use in the years ahead. 

What to do?

What are farmers to do? Be self-interested? Leave traditional mindsets to one side? Farmers are asset rich. Land is valuable and, while most farmers do not wish to sell it, they have a responsibility to themselves and their families to utilise it to best effect for themselves and their families.