November

Quite often I leave the farm feeling as though I haven’t done our achieved much.   Yesterday felt the same until I reflected:

• Fitted a new security camera overlooking the new farmyard
• Reviewed progress on the removal of the old grain storage silos and agreed the next steps for the new floor storage
• Had an excellent two hour meeting regarding our contract farming agreement.   This is a regular review chaired by Ed & Greg from Ceres Rural and is really helpful to make sure that we remain aligned with Geoff (our contract farmer) and talk about the right things at the right times.   This time we focused on the overall performance of the farm for harvest ’25 (better than the Hertfordshire average, well done Geoff!) and the marketing – therefore cashflow – strategy for ’26.
• Dad and I then spoke with the equally excellent Alistair on progress of the housing development planning application (we do miss you John, but as you said Alistair is a really excellent replacement).  I always find these conversations bittersweet and see it as my role to make sure any housing leaves a positive legacy… I think Alistair likely has his work cut out in softening my comments and making them constructive.
• Then a bit of fun,  a good chat with Herts and Essex trail riders with the potential of hosting a few events with them.   I’m quite enthused by this as it encourages kids development and the enjoyment of the countryside, let’s hope this works out.

So… a quiet day?

As I look back over the above I look at the team we have helping us move forward.   There really are some excellent professionals involved (thats just today),  all of whom give excellent council in a fun way.   Thank you all,  Dad and I would be lost without you.

P.s.  The same sentiments apply to Lee, Jonty, Tobi, Steve and others.  I just didn’t talk to them today.