Farmyard fumbles: A tale from a tiny farmer
Every week, we host a farm meeting bringing together our 9 team members across the three farming properties. It is always good to come together once a week to ensure we are all heading in the same direction, so we always put a feast on for the team in return for them giving up their valuable lunch break.
Beau, my 2-year-old son, loves to attend these meetings. Being the only female in our team, Beau enjoys the short period of a male-dominated company. With that company comes some colourful language that is not always appropriate for the ears of a two-year-old. Especially one currently exploring the full range of his newly discovered vocabulary.
During one of our recent hot summer lunches, one of the team members enthusiastically bit into a homemade bap filled with pulled pork, only for the pork to slide out the back end of the bap and down the front of his work shirt. A specific phrase starting with the letter F and ending in hell slipped from his lips. Within seconds, the two-year-old parrot repeated the phrase and watched with delight as the entire group laughed. Being the showman he is, Beau knew he was onto something good. Later that day when we were mucking around the tractor shed, I heard him repeatedly practicing the phrase from behind the wheel of the parked New Holland T5, presumably practicing for the future when it might come in handy.
While the tractor shed might be an appropriate place for such colloquial farm language, the local daycare where Beau attends twice a week is not. A quiet word was discussed between teacher and parent, and a description of “the little farm boy” running around educating the other toddlers with his new phrase was shared.
While we have found that regular staff meetings have become invaluable to the farm business, we may need to review the age criteria for attendance! The meetings are a source of motivation for the week ahead and allow Chris and me to share praise and appreciation with the team. Often, in farming situations, you forget to look back on what you have achieved and give recognition to those who have helped you achieve it. In this instance, I have little appreciation for the new phrase shared with Beau, but I greatly appreciate our team and how they model to Beau what a great work ethic and positive attitude look like.