Cycling and Farming - two sides of the same coin?

I am a pretty keen (if not very good) cyclist. I love getting out on my bike in the Warwickshire countryside. There is nothing better than just hearing the swish of tyre on tarmac, the birds in the trees, and (albeit a bit stop start this summer) the combines and tractors at work in the fields. It also gives me thinking time allowing me to explore problems and issues for clients by just letting my mind roam over an issue without any distractions.

As I was battling into the unseasonably strong winds over the last weekend it got me thinking about cycling and comparing it with farming. Okay, so the two look very different but stay with me. Saturday and Sunday I was out on the road battling against the weather, in this case strong head winds. It was just me. My motivation to keep me going. If I got a puncture or other mechanical breakdown, it was just me. I had to be self-sufficient. There was no one their to rescue me; no broom wagon.

Compare that with a pro cycling team such as #JumboVisma or #InneosGrenadiers. Each of their riders might still be out on the road by themselves, but they have the back up of the best kit, nutritionists, sports psychologists, logistics, mechanics, a soigneur. Out on the road during a race, the team leader knows as well that he has the support of his domestiques all working together as well as for themselves.

So much, so unlike farming, but think about it. Cycling is an endurance sport, not only in terms of physical but also mental endurance. I think it is fair to say that farming is equally a physical and mental endurance undertaking. Cyclists, particularly pro-cyclists, put themselves through hell because deep down they love it (although you might also conclude that they are all sadistic maniacs). Farmers do the same, because they love their farm and what they do. What sets the best farms apart from the rest is what sets me apart from a pro team.

So me by myself out pedalling headlong into the wind over the weekend is a useful metaphor for many farmers battling away on their farm, combating and coping with the weather, price volatility, and all those unexpected things that happen at the worst time such as a puncture on the trailer in the middle of the field when it is full of grain, it is starting to rain and the tarp was left in the barn.

The best farms are like the pro-teams and the best farmers are like a directeur sportif. They surround themselves with the right people doing the right job, the right kit, they know their business and how to get the best out of man and machine for the best possible result for their business. They are often very single minded and results orientated but at the same time flexible to adjust to prevailing conditions. They don't try to do everything themselves and trust everyone on the team to do their job to the best of their ability, They motivate and (where required) admonish. They understand the importance of taking advice and they understand the importance of long term relationships with professional and independent advisors.

Is there anything that farming can learn from cycling? I think that there is. Watch a peloton in a race like the Tour de France, or if you are lucky enough to be on the route, the upcoming Tour of Britain. The peloton just looks like a seething mass of riders. In one way it is, but in another all of the riders are in fact working together to get themselves to the end of the days racing. Research shows that the peloton saves quite considerable amounts of energy for riders. Yet they are all different teams all trying to achieve something different often at the expense of the other teams.

Applying that to farming having a large group of farms work together, even though they might be in competition can have the same affect for those farms. A bigger "blob" working together in the right way can make things significantly better for the individual businesses.

So cycling and farming are a lot more similar than they might look at first glance, and there is much that famers can learn from cycling, all they need to do is to stop and think sometimes. Often those first thoughts are overtaken by the thought "this is too hard, I'll go and do something in the yard instead". That thought must be resisted if a farm is to remain viable and relevant over the coming years.

With the changes that are occurring in the industry now is the time for farmers to really get to grips with their business and the first step on that is to get the right long term advice in place. Don't be me on my bike battling into the headwinds by yourself.