When I was jackerooing one of the most memorable pieces of advice given to me was “wherever you end up, don’t be afraid to get on the end of a grain shovel”. I was an aspiring merino man, not a wheat farmer!
This was in northern NSW in the wet harvest of 2009 during a high pressure period of a silo bag bursting.
Everyone was tired, weary and just wanted harvest to be over, but this day, everyone – from the operations manager to the Jackeroos - chipped in to sort out the problem.
No blame, no whingeing, just working to get the job done and the setback resolved.
The advice has certainly stuck with me, and I think the reason why is because of the way in which it was delivered.
Generation X and Y have a bad name as anti-authority and for wanting everything immediately.
But I constantly challenge this, as with many things in life the negative elements receive the most publicity. I believe circumstance, culture and work environment have a bigger influence on people’s attitudes, regardless of age.
The above advice was given to me at the end of that night, as we were having a beer and something to eat back at the homestead – in a way that was inclusive, appreciative and showing support for my future in the industry.
Yes, that was one situation and I know that all situations are different but the following all made for this to carry so much more weight than it otherwise might have.
The problem was identified and a solution implemented to resolve it; everybody in the team took ownership of the problem and contributed to fixing it; I was not being lectured or spoken down to.
Some senior people in that instance would have left it to the junior staff to sort that out as they had other things to do.
But the key here is that the operation was a farming one and that grain on the ground was the commodity of value and although in the scheme of things it was a small amount, large quantities of anything are made up of individuals.
I am in no way disregarding that hard conversations need to be had at certain times, and I recognise that not everyone will have the right attitude in a given situation – some people have to be properly reprimanded or let go.
But as a whole, we can do a better job of communicating with people in all levels of our agricultural businesses.
I’ve seen some situations of people being spoken to or treated appallingly. I’m yet to see a major gain come out of such situations.
By DAN KORFF, Future Farmers Network chairman