Time Off -- October 2016

I’ve just come back from a three week holiday on an overseas school trip with my son. It was a fantastic opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, but it was also the longest amount of time I’ve spent off farm since I broke my leg 8 years ago. It’s fair to say this break was much more pleasant.

Taking that much time away from a dairy farm isn’t easy and the farm owners, while supportive, understandably had some reservations. I was nervous too and came close to cancelling the trip on several occasions, so I spent a lot of time making sure everything was in place to keep the farm running smoothly in my absence.

Competent and reliable people that you can trust are the key. I’ve been lucky enough to retain nearly all the staff from the previous season and they’ve proven again and again that they’ve got what it takes, even when a spanner gets thrown in the works.
We also have an excellent consultant who, since he came on board, has guided the farm to two record seasons in a row; he’s the man with a plan.

Supportive farm owners, excellent staff and a consultant with a proven track record to steer things: what more could I need to be comfortable going away? Technology of course! Oh. My. God. The technology that’s available to us now is just amazing!
I would be able to check production every day, keep an eye on the cell count, compare production to previous seasons and current targets, monitor pasture covers and growth rates, email the consultant and be instantly contactable anywhere in the world any time of day or night! Exciting stuff! So, armed with a shiny new phone of the non-exploding variety loaded with all the latest versions of all the apps, I boarded my flight confident my bases were covered.

During my first week away I checked the production figures daily, took note of the pasture cover and even emailed the consultant before something dawned on me: what was the point of employing engaged and skilful people if I was just going to monitor them from afar? More to the point, why was I spending so much of my holiday time thinking about work?

I turned the Fonterra notifications off, switched my phone to silent and set about using my data plan for something far more productive: tweeting my every move to an audience that was no doubt thankful I was in a different time zone.
For someone who loves gadgets and whiz bang apps as much as I do, this was a real revelation: just because the technology is available it doesn’t mean we should always use it. Sometimes you’re just better off trusting the people; it makes for a much more relaxing holiday.