Harvest is finished, or soon will be, in many parts of our readership area; for many. For most, it’s the earliest that it’s ever been, after a pretty ordinary season to say the least.

Such an early finish means that there’s going to be a lot of extra time for reflection over what is shaping to be a long, hot and difficult summer. Given the tough times that a number of our readers are facing, there is a risk that an overly negative frame of mind can develop, leading people to blame themselves and others close to them for the difficulties they are encountering, when realistically they have no control over many of the factors that are making things tough. It is really important in times like this to keep perspective and not spend time worrying about things that you have absolutely no control over. On the other hand, just like any other season, it’s always good to use the summer break to reflect on what could have been done better and identify what you could/should improve in future years.

There’s a model that we often use in farmer meetings that may make it easier for you to keep things in perspective; the three circles of control, influence and concern. We draw these as concentric circles; control in the middle, influence next and concern as the outer circle. Everything you do in your farming business, everything that happens should fall into one of these three circles.

“Control” is the things you have direct control over; for example how much you sow or choice of varieties. “Influence” are things that you don’t have direct control over but you can do things/make decisions that will influence whether that factor will work in your favour or against you. For example, I would argue prices received for grain are within most, if not all, farmers circle of influence. Sure, you don’t have any influence or control over world grain markets but you can have some influence over the price you receive through the various marketing options that are out there, such as the various pool options, forward selling, cash price, warehousing and selling later etc. The circle of “concern” are those things that you have absolutely no control or influence over; all you can do is just worry about ‘em! A good current example? Yep! The lack of rain!

The trick is to direct your thoughts towards areas that you can control or influence and not to spend too much time and energy stressing about things that are in the circle of concern. You’ll just wear yourself out and make life difficult for yourself and those who care about you. On the other hand, don’t be tempted to immediately put something into the circle of concern. The reality is that we can have some influence over most things directly or at least have some influence over how they affect us.

So keep things in perspective. Take the opportunity to reflect on those things that you can control and influence and take on board any lessons that season 2006 has to teach you. It’s often good to do this with a trusted friend or family member, who understands the sort of business you’re in. And don’t get sucked into dwelling on things that are only of concern. Most importantly, there’s a lot to be said for spending time thinking about nothing at all, or the things that you like doing. Give your mind a holiday too!