by Ele Forster
We spent a great evening in collaboration with the Cairngorm Crofters and Farmers Community group last month as part of our Farmer Cluster Connections project. It was a real pleasure to see in practice how an established group of farmers can develop a strong, supportive community for themselves and their families.
We brought in the very engaging Jock Gibson to speak about his successes and learnings from his beef farm and butchery business, as well as findings from his Nuffield scholarship. We heard about the choices Jock makes that allow him to farm in a regenerative way that works for him and his family, and the importance of ‘telling the story’ when connecting directly with your customer.
There were interesting discussions over our delicious shared meal of cottage pie, made from one of the farmers’ excellent beef. The evening was a clear example of how coming together provides an opportunity to collectivise resources, provide space for sharing issues and solutions and generally share the load of what is a rewarding but challenging way of life.
Jock is a trustee for FarmStrong Scotland, the charity empowering farmers to improve and maintain their wellbeing, and it was brilliant to hear more of this work. In the UK, men in farming are twice as likely to die by suicide as the national average.
A shocking statistic and a grim reminder that our agriculture sector should be good for people and planet, including those who are producing it. With unpredictable risk factors like climate change and war, we need to work hard to ensure those who feed us are supported and can thrive. Jock’s talk about the importance of wellbeing gave a deeper context to the importance of supporting the development and growth of farmer/crofter clusters throughout the Highlands.
We’re building connections between producers across the Highlands through the Farmer Cluster Connections project – get in touch if you’d like to be involved.
Here’s Jock’s recent blog for FarmStrong.