The Rural Voice, 1982-08, Page 6Farming used to be a combination lifestyle and occupation;
Now its a profession needing
Teamwork
by Herb Shoveller
There was amazement, if not surprise. a
couple of months ago when a rural
congregation drew in all of its resources
and threw up a spanking, new church in
just two days. Wire photos and film clips
showed a construction site swarming with
ant -like volunteers, each working de-
liberately and diligently and with an
obvious sense of purpose. What was
amazing was the speed and cohesion by
which the building was erected. What
wasn't particularily amazing was the
unity. the sense of community, the
teamwork. all of which are such commonly
held notions of the rural character and
spirit that they can be lightly passed off.
They are simply traditional characteristics
of farming and rural life.
There is a speed, however, with which
conditions change and which alters those
traditional ideas. The underlying traits of
such characteristics --teamwork. for in-
stance --stay essentially the same. It is the
way they are acted upon that suffers
alteration.
For several minutes Wayne Tuckey. a
farmer from the Exeter area. struggles
with the idea before finding an
explanation . that he is comfortable with.
He knows the community effort. the need
to draw on aid and expertise from outside
your own operation. still exists, but it is
also different today.
"There is not near as much teamwork as
there used to be." he explained. "Courses
and seminars seem to have replaced
teamwork a bit. If you go to a cash crop
meeting. everybody there is interested in
the same thing. A lot of questions are
Marjorie and Wayne Tuckey
PG. 6 THE RURAL VOICE/AUGUST 1982
asked that you might not think of.
"But if someone is way behind, for
whatever reason. people will help." he
added. with evidence that the basic
teamwork trait hasn't changed. Instead of
meeting your fellow farmer across the
fence. though it could very well be in a
classroom."
Howard Pym. who also farms in
southern Huron County, agrees the
teamwork approach is less obvious today.
today
"The community spirit is still there. but
nobody mixes like they used to." he said
in an interview at his farm.
"But." he cautioned, "if somebody
needs help, the neighbours will be there.
Perhaps the best example is if someone is
sick. or there are problems. that crop will
get planted."
So if teamwork has taken on new
characteristics, what are they and why
have they come about? Actually, it
appears to reduce to a single cause. It is no
secret to today's farmer that in the past
few years his life's work has quickly
become a business. Where once he had a
combined lifestyle and occupation, he now
has a profession. Where team members
once occupied surrounding farms. they
now inhabit offices and classrooms and
they are other professionals. And the
reason for that further reduces to one,
simple word --money.
"Farming for a lot of people is a way of
life, but unfortunately the stakes have
gotten pretty high," Jim MacNeill, a
partner in the London firm Mclllhargey &
MacNeill. Chartered Accountants, said
in an interview. "Inflation has increased
the value of family farms vastly,
particularily for farmers in controlled
market -- poultry. dairy. Many are now
worth a lot of money. literally millions.
And 1 think that is the main reason farmers
have to take a planned approach. 1 think
financial planning management is pro-
bably the most important service a
chartered accountant can offer a farmer.
Farming is a business that must be taken
seriously. especially with the high cost of
capital, the high cost of equipment and the
high cost of land.