Stockmanship for The Mind

KBO - Keep Buggering On - In memory of Lionel Hill

I recently went to the funeral of a truly amazing guy - Lionel Hill. He had everything you could want from life, a lovely wife, great family, a beautiful farm, a string of successful businesses, he even took over from Prince Charles (as he was then) as national president of the Young Farmers Clubs. He had friends all over the country. He was a great bloke, always with a cheeky grin, a joke and laugh and his motto (which I learned at the funeral) was KBO - Keep Buggering On. I think thats a motto we all need to listen to, so often we have times where we can't see the way ahead, we don't know if we can make it. What if we just KBO?

Succession planning for farmers with Roy Jackson & Claire Smith from WR Partners

On this episode of Stockmanship for the Mind I have a great discussion with Claire Smith and Roy Jackson, Rural Partners in WR Partners accountancy firm, which is based in Shropshire, Wales and Cheshire. Claire and Roy are both from farming backgrounds and have a combined experience of almost 40 years of working with farmers and other rural businesses, so they bring a huge wealth of expertise to the table. We cover some of the technical reasons why planning for the handover of a farming business to the next generation is just so important. The updated inheritance tax law has brought this thorny issue to a head for many farmers and it has never been more crucial to plan ahead. Everyone knows this… So why can it be such a difficult discussion to have on farm? Why do so many farmers just want to bury their head in the sand? Partly, the high value of agricultural assets means that there is a lot to play for, but we also take a look at some of the emotional aspects that are almost inevitably tied up with passing on the family farm. Come along to this episode for a fresh look at succession planning with Roy and Claire.

How can I talk about something really hard - and get people to listen?

We all know that difficult topics can make for difficult conversations... how do we make that easier? How do we make sure that we give ourselves the best chance of a productive chat, where everyone feels better and you can actually resolve an issue... or at least make some headway? When's the best time to tackle something tricky? Is it when we feel like our blood is boiling and we can't rest until we sort something (or somebody!) out? Would we train our dog in that state of mind??

Help... I'm feeling stressed!

Feeling under pressure? Does it look like life is throwing ALOT at you? I hear you!  What can we do about this? Nobody wants to feel stressed all the time but sometimes it kind of looks like that's the only real response to a situation. Is there anything we can see about this with fresh eyes?

Being Human - Chat with Jo Blackburn from Shropshire Rural Support

In this episode I have a lovely chat with Jo Blackburn from Shropshire Rural Support about all manner of things rural and how it affects our headspace.