EDITORIAL
SINCE the last editorial, the Olympic Games have been and gone.
It's incredible to think that all that build up, all that preparation and hype is now part of the past.
The Olympics showed off some of the highest achievers in the sporting arena.
The athletes are revered for their abilities, precision, teamwork and strategies.
They are equally admired for their drive, dedication and determination.
Imagine if farmers were held in the same esteem?
One could say that about any industry but agriculture draws some strong similarities to sport.
To be a high achiever in the field takes more than simply the right tools and equipment; it takes knowledge, information refinement, awareness, resilience, plus the drive, dedication and determination mentioned earlier.
On the phsycial front, the case could be made that rural producers exert similar amounts of energy as athletes, albeit across a wider timeframe, as opposed to an intense burst.
RELATED READING
The big difference is that producing a crop or herd or product is not done for a medal, placement or entertainment value.
It's done to feed, clothe and preserve mankind.
That's a far higher purpose than the sports industry. (With no direspect for sportspeople intended.)
So why wouldn't the global public look at awe to those who feed them? Why wouldn't they be amazed at the farmer's ability to foster something from seed to supermarket, where increasingly like sport, perfection is expected.
When thought through, international brands should be clambering to sign up primary producers to wear their logo, be seen with their product or star in that commercial.
The idea of growers and graziers being elevated to a par with sports people is a foggy dream to say the least.
Of course, there are vast differences between farming and the Olympics as well.
There is no global event that brings farmers together to compete against each other. Some might say even if there was, most farmers wouldn't have time to attend.
There will be no gold medals handed to tireless producers who've battled the onslaught of pests and diseases; there will be no dais to step up to for the agricultural researchers looking to increase paddock outputs; there will be no salivating media rushing to grab a quote from an exhausted worker coming off a mammoth harvest.
What there will be though, is another day to do it all again, with little fanfare or praise.
The idea of growers and graziers being elevated to a par with sports people is a foggy dream to say the least.
But over the next three years in the build up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, it is worth contemplating how many extraordinary daily feats farmers achieved, how many will experience repeated heartaches from the weather and how often they will pick themselves up to keep going despite the odds.
They are all good traits high profile athletes would do well to emulate.
Sign up here to Good Fruit and Vegetables weekly newsletter for all the latest horticulture news each Thursday...
Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
