It is high time we review our farming models and possibly reconsider them. Before we jump onto the bandwagon of New Year’s resolutions, perhaps it is best to track our progress and determine if what you had set out for yourself has worked. Have you become a better farmer in 2022?

Are you ending the year on a better foot compared to last year? If the answer is not a plain ‘Yes’, then you are the one I am addressing here.

Our greatest challenge as farmers is not that which we can see or touch. The real challenge lies in our virtual selves. Simply put, our minds are our greatest challenge. We are our enemies, for we believe little in our ability to make a difference and become formidable farmers in our rights.

We often think very little of our ability to carry out certain tasks or blur our vision with unrealistic goals that are not only unattainable but such that a lot of time is wasted on chasing dead ends. Let us dismount this horse, fellow farmers and face the real music head-on. It all starts in the mind.

If your goal, as a farmer, this year has been to breed more livestock by introducing more ewes into your kraal, then evaluate such goals against the targets you had set.

Am I getting the numbers I had in mind? Am I getting my money’s worth? Has this proven to be a profitable venture, or is it a hollow black hole that keeps gulping resources without dividends? The sooner you provide honest, realistic answers to these questions, the closer you are to changing the face of your agribusiness.

We need to take a deliberate stand to liberate our minds by spreading our wings into new farming ventures or simply adopting new and innovative ways of farming. Just because it appears to work now does not mean other more innovative approaches will not produce even better results. Have you tried your hand at buying and selling livestock, setting up a livestock feedlot or simply breeding with young ewes to resell to others?

When we venture outside the traditional farming box of buying two heifers and waiting for them to grow and eventually produce their first offspring after two years or buying five goats and hoping they will multiply to 15 by the end of the first year – the battle is halfway won.

Now, set your new and innovative agribusiness in motion and watch it grow with delight.

I am not talking about venturing into stud farming without preparation or running to acquire commercial farming land without doing proper budgeting for it. But I like the way you think if that is what you deduced from this. Either way, it is about taking that vital and much-needed leap of faith and hoping to dear God you grow some wings before reaching rock bottom.

For those having more ticks than crosses on their target vs realisation lists, good for you. You have managed to excel and prove your worth; now the hard work is remaining where you are – at the top. Many are looking at you for inspiration and you need your A-game all the time.

Great work farmers this year. Let us not forget that tomorrow awaits us with more work and tasks. As we take a breather from our day jobs to return home to inspect our products, take time to study them and consider carefully what your next move is. Adieu, until January when we do this again!

- tjatindi@gmail.com