This week…
It’s been a tough week, emotionally, this week.
JOY… with kids home from boarding school.
CONCERN… as Dash fell ill with a bug that he’s still battling.
TENSION from the build-up to the anti-livestock industry vigilante activities on Monday.
FRUSTRATION, anger and then DETERMINATION in the wake of it, as the aftershocks rippled through rural Australia.
DEVASTATION at the loss of two great men in our industry (from opposite sides of the country) to accidents. (RIP Scott Sargood and Peter Gale).
WEARINESS from strange hang-up phonecalls in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday (to discover much of our district and indeed, a lot of Oz have suffered the same needless wake-up call).
RELIEF …with a few gentle reminders that those who support us are not always the loudest. Sometimes they see us making a stand and send quiet messages of support, behind the scenes.
And sometimes they share your messages onto their own tribes, who share it on, and share it on…
GRATITUDE … Thanks to all those who have stood steadfast by your farmers this week. You have no idea how much it means…
There was more… a touch of grief.
But that yarn deserves it’s own special post… just give me a few moments to gather myself…
What Farmers Do on a Monday...
5 Comments
Andrew
I am quite conflicted about this farm invasion business. While in essence it is trespass on private land and that should not happen and farmers should not be looking at their home windows at people invading their farms and wondering if they are actually in danger, or at least their livelihoods, if it wasn’t for people invading private land, so much animal cruelty, especially chicken breeders but also puppy farms and more, would not have been exposed.
Andrew´s last blog post ..Back later in the week
BB of Oz
I think that there does need to be a level of scrutiny – however was there one instance last week that uncovered ANY kind of mistreatment? No. Not one. But are those businesses now tainted with these events? They sure are. Some people won’t recover… these activists have chosen small businesses, who have no big PR ‘machine’ behind them to deal with or combat what has happened to them. They are families going about their business… I can’t imagine how horrifying it was for them to discover they were in the crosshairs that day. Regardless of the fact they had done nothing wrong, other than work in and industry these militants don’t like. Plenty of animal cruelty in the world – I’d be more impressed if they targeted some in second or third-world countries where they actually face a little risk themselves… your Aussie farmers are soft targets within an easy drive of their homes, Andrew.
Kelly
I hate that you’ve had so much difficulty recently. I believe in the power of prayer, so I’ll keep y’all in mine.
Kelly´s last blog post ..Heirloom Seeds
BB of Oz
Thankyou Kelly x
ellie kennedy
I heard a lady say “why can’t farmers buy their meat at the grocery store like the rest of us” and she was serious. Uneducated people like to hit the small farmers that can’t afford to fight back, they take small bits of film and piece it together to make a farmer look bad. If you can work at a farm for two weeks and make a film of abuse why not report it and stop it the first day? There are some things a farmer needs to do that may look cruel to outsiders but it is for the well fare of the animals. We have a lot of PETA and that stuff here in Florida. Sorry for all the things that you have had to deal with this week. Good thoughts being sent you way.