Friday, March 29, 2024

The importance of failing

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In my opinion, there are two elements to the New Zealand dairy industry that has made it great – a climate that comes to the party more often than not, and the fact that it is still possible to start off with nothing but a dairy assistant’s salary and determination, and eventually achieve farm ownership.
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I use the word “achieve” deliberately – farm ownership is an achievement. Not everyone who starts out will make it. It is hard earned. But it is possible – we have a couple of examples of those who have made it in this month’s special report on the progression pipeline. That pipeline may have some bends in it, perhaps the odd tee heading towards parts unknown – but no non-return valves. When the gradient turns and the pump breaks down, sometimes there’s a bit of backflow – let’s not be too hard on ourselves if we have to take a step back.

We live in times of significant milk price volatility and that creates both upside and downside risk – great opportunities that might well turn into a poisoned chalice two years down the track. Is the chance of failure a reason not to grasp those opportunities with both hands?

We have witnessed some pretty epic (and public) failures in our industry. But I think it would be impossible to find someone who has achieved much of anything who didn’t have to recover from a little bit of failure along the way. Failure is treated like a dirty word but its an unavoidable foundation of success. And we’d all be pretty boring without it. 

So lighten up. In the words of Richard Branson: do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again. 

It will feel like a kick in the guts but in times like these all we can really do is our best inside the farmgate. That is what we can control. You can have a yarn with the bank and if you are so inclined consider the second tranche of Fonterra’s Guaranteed Milk Price. Fonterra shareholders can vote in director elections – but remember the difference between representation and governance. At this stage, everything else is just noise.

In the spirit of lightening up, in the August issue of Dairy Exporter we introduce the Young Country section. Young Country magazine is transitioning from a standalone publication to having sections in both this magazine and sister publication Country-Wide as well as a greater online presence. Young Country will shine a light on the great careers available in the dairy industry – and some of the great characters. We’ll be profiling people finding their feet in the sector right through to those cutting a track for others to follow. So get into it.

As always, I would love to hear your feedback. Dairy Exporter has been part of the NZ dairying community since 1925, informing and inspiring farmers through thick and thin. Let me know what you think – you can get in touch with me at erin.hutchinson@nzx.com or via twitter @DairyExporterNZ.

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