Annabelle Hickson: A Day in the Country
ANNABELLE HICKSON ON SUPPORTING OUR FARMERS WITH RESPECT FOR THEIR WORK.
EVERYWHERE I LOOK, in a several-hundred-kilometre radius, I see sophisticated modern men and women running exciting farming businesses. These businesses enable farmers to live in beautiful places, to be in touch with the seasons (the only calendar that matters, according to garden writer, Anna Pavord, with whom I agree on everything), to let their kids grow up with space, safety, freedom and responsibility, and to be their own bosses. They demand farmers be savvy businesspeople and world leaders in water efficiency and grazing practices. Farming in Australia is not like farming in Europe; it never has been, and the prices reflect that. You’ve got to be smart, innovative and careful: and you’ve got to expect drought. Right now, with little rain, it is not easy. But what business in any industry always has it easy? If it doesn’t rain, my husband won’t plant his summer crops, which means we won’t get any income this year. We also grow pecans but the orchard is not old enough to make money yet. It is still in the depleting-the-bank-balance stage, rather than adding anything to it — much like I was as a 20-year-old university student. Ignore my husband saying, “And now, too” because that is not true. This is obviously a depressing financial picture for the year. But it is not a surprising one —droughts happen. The bad years are bad but the good years can be fabulous. I recently came to Sydney for a holiday and was quite taken aback by how the farmers were being portrayed. Victims. The poor farmers. Donate your cans of baked beans and rolls of toilet paper to the farmers. The drought seemed to be viewed as an unexpected natural disaster from which we needed rescuing, rather than a period in a natural cycle which we have come to expect. My heart breaks when I read stories about farmers having to put down their animals because there is nothing left to feed them. These stories are real and depressing and by no means am I suggesting they should not be told. But when I look around, I see resilient people who are riding through this dry spell with heads down and bottoms up; and who are doing their best until the weather changes. I don’t see victims who need emergency baked beans. I view living in the country as a great privilege. Most of my columns in this magazine are about how lucky I am to live where I do. I do not feel like a victim, nor do I believe it does us any good to play up to the victim stereotype. Especially if we hope to attract young, dynamic talent to the industry or if we want a diverse range of people to consider moving to our rural towns. We need to talk about how good it can be and how good it very often is. I would be thrilled if any of my children wanted to be farmers when they grow up. This is an exciting industry with plenty of opportunities for those with a bit of go. Primary producers get some pretty appealing tax breaks, too. I know that the concern from the city represents nothing but kindness and compassion. But I am confused when I hear people saying, “Oh, the poor farmers” when, by and large, we are the lucky ones. So this Christmas, if you want to help rural communities, take a road trip to our small country towns. Eat at the cafés, stay at the motels and buy from the local shops. Because when it does rain again and the farmers can breathe out and take the battens off the hatches, it would be great if the community infrastructure was still there. Annabelle Hickson lives on a pecan farm in the Dumaresq Valley, NSW. Follow @annabellehickson on Instagram.