The season of new life and hope is now in full swing, with calving almost halfway through and lambing in the first week, and a much more optimistic, happy frame of mind at present in the Bruce household, writes Charles Bruce.
Of course, this could all change just by watching the six o’clock news or to get myself even more depressed by watching BBC’s Question Time.
It should no longer surprise me that politicians always avoid the point of any questions they do not like. They show no embarrassment and try to bring the subject to a place where they can happily accuse their opponents of incompetence.
It is inconceivable that we would all have the same opinions, the same objectives or the same way to achieve them, but as a nation, it is going to be of upmost importance that we all try to pull together to move forward and aspire to achieve a successful future for us all.
I may be panicking unnecessarily, but my gut feeling is that Brexit’s biggest legacy for our nation will be to split the population into two camps which will take decades to grow back together.
Farmers are a very diverse group of people, but we do tend to stand together, whether we are livestock, arable or involved in specialised enterprises, such as chicken or vegetable production. We are also genuinely interested in what other farmers are doing.
The support of one another within the industry is very important, and I do believe we need to do more as an industry to help inform and keep the general public on our side.
Local and national shows, where large numbers of the general public are present and are treated to the best that the industry has to offer, have a major role to play.
The increasingly loud voice of the vegan or vegetarian lobby is becoming a very irritable opposition to agriculture. They are a clever group targeting the young and impressionable and also have a strong presence in the media, where they never fail to make their views known.
As farmers, we have a pride in the food we provide for the nation and should not be ashamed to shout from the rooftops, telling everyone how good British produce is.