Opinion: Defensive noise shouldn’t drown out self-analysis
© Tim Scrivener In August I wrote a piece intended to initiate a conversation about the role of young children on farms, and their safety. It was not a comfortable subject, nor was it intended to be.
I sought to ask whether we, as a community, are comfortable with the status quo.
The response was, in some quarters, deeply dispiriting. Rather than engage with the question, a chorus of outrage and personal attacks was unleashed on social media.
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Some accused me of betrayal, others of sensationalism, still others of dragging farming’s reputation through the mud, as though the mere act of suggesting a moment of introspection were an act of disloyalty to an industry for which I have worked hard.
Is this really the industry we want? One where the raising of uncomfortable questions is met not with reflection, but with anger? Where honest attempts at self-analysis are drowned out by defensive noise?
Farming is, by its nature, a conservative occupation. Tradition runs deep, and rightly so: much of what we do is rooted in accumulated wisdom.
But tradition should never be a shield against scrutiny. No industry can hope to prosper if it refuses to examine its own failings. To deny problems is not to solve them, it is simply to push them into the shadows.
The truth is that we have a problem. Too many families have been devastated by accidents that might have been prevented.
To point that out is not to condemn farmers, but to acknowledge our shared humanity.
If we love this industry – and I certainly do – then we must be brave enough to talk honestly about its dangers and shortfalls.
The ferocity of the backlash tells me something else, too. It suggests an insecurity at the heart of our profession.
We know, deep down, that agriculture is under the spotlight as never before: on climate, biodiversity, welfare, safety.
Too often, our response has been to circle the wagons. But defensiveness is not a strategy. It is a slow decline into irrelevance.
Imagine, instead, an industry that embraces transparency, that acknowledges challenges and works openly to address them.
One where farmers can disagree robustly, but without personal attack. An industry confident enough to look itself in the mirror and ask: how can we do better?
That is the industry I want to belong to. Not one where silence is the only safe option, where those who speak out are vilified.
We must cultivate a culture of curiosity, humility and responsibility, because farming is not just about us.
It is about the public who buy our food, the policymakers who shape our support, and above all the families who live and work on our farms.
To those who wrote to say they agreed with my original piece, thank you. To those who disagreed but did so in good faith, I thank you too.
We will never move forward without debate. But to those whose only response was fury on this and on other issues, I say this: anger will not change the facts.
So let us ask again: is this really the industry we want? One allergic to hard questions and hostile to change? Or one prepared to face them head on, with honesty and courage?
The answer will define not only our safety record, but our very future.