The biggest hurdle for farming while working will come not from difficulty in managing from distance. Not from lack of resource. Not from lack of confidence over field supervisors or lack of labour force. Not from your insufficient knowledge and experience. Not even from the fact that you are unqualified, dummy, first time farmer. Nor from the fact that you cannot differentiate Banyan tree from Neem tree.
The biggest challenge is going to come from your home. Every time your computer monitor shows some green field, you will be watched like a teenager with facebook. The near and dear has the potential to vanish and vapourise your dreams. What is supposed to be your pleasure will become permanent pain. Continuously and non stop. To the spouse, money spent on farming is equal to dumping hard earned money into a pit. Farm is a demon sleeping with its mouth wide open to swallow all your savings. You are an underworld secret service agent whose intentions and bank transactions are burried deep in the soil with a malicious intent of destroying the family future. The workers are blood sucking leeches who will cheat the 'innocent you' and are there to milk on you.
How do you steer your way forward and keep doing what you feel is right ? Precious time will be lost everytime you delay or postpone just because you have not won today's argument. Or the mood is not favourable yet.
When I mentioned that I also run a blog besides a farm, the instruction given to me was clear. "Write on the wall to your friends that this project is not having my sanction." But deep within, your spouse appreciates whatever you do, only that there is no 'confidence' on your 'skills'. Because you can't even fix a bathroom leak, how are you going to manage acres of farm.... The spouse are surrounded by people who provide all failure stories on farming. And it works like network marketing. Easy money, easy failures. Therefore spouse donot want to 'sanction' and be with your 'failures', lest people ridicule about it. That is natural. But why should you fail in the first place ?
So you have two things to prove in order to continue farming and be successful.
a) Be transparent upfront to the spouse. Atleast on the gross expenditure. The earlier the better even if it invites bitter evenings. For, any delayed disclosure will invite more trouble.
b) Be clear about your intentions. Be well organised and be passionate about it. Demonstrate this and explain it all the time. Relate the environment, food security, future, child welfare and your career in a presentable manner. It is as easy. Having a healthy food, green locality and clean air is everyone's dream, not only yours. Therefore the story should sell by itself.
Not only that, if the issue is handled properly, the entire family will start supporting you. You can plan summer holidays to work in the farm, and even if you donot get leave off, they will still continue to visit and add value. Without you.
The other thing is, like in real life how you plan right gifts for occasions, you need to find what your spouse is interested more in. Is it medicinal plants, trees, animals, cash crops or aesthetic horticultural designs ? Explore a bit and incorporate that as part of your plan. And show the photographs as proof.
If nothing else works, pretend to sell the farm. They will come running to say No. Stop, smile and ask what is to be done. They will advise you to do Farming till next instruction ! Keep doing.
All is well.
The biggest challenge is going to come from your home. Every time your computer monitor shows some green field, you will be watched like a teenager with facebook. The near and dear has the potential to vanish and vapourise your dreams. What is supposed to be your pleasure will become permanent pain. Continuously and non stop. To the spouse, money spent on farming is equal to dumping hard earned money into a pit. Farm is a demon sleeping with its mouth wide open to swallow all your savings. You are an underworld secret service agent whose intentions and bank transactions are burried deep in the soil with a malicious intent of destroying the family future. The workers are blood sucking leeches who will cheat the 'innocent you' and are there to milk on you.
How do you steer your way forward and keep doing what you feel is right ? Precious time will be lost everytime you delay or postpone just because you have not won today's argument. Or the mood is not favourable yet.
When I mentioned that I also run a blog besides a farm, the instruction given to me was clear. "Write on the wall to your friends that this project is not having my sanction." But deep within, your spouse appreciates whatever you do, only that there is no 'confidence' on your 'skills'. Because you can't even fix a bathroom leak, how are you going to manage acres of farm.... The spouse are surrounded by people who provide all failure stories on farming. And it works like network marketing. Easy money, easy failures. Therefore spouse donot want to 'sanction' and be with your 'failures', lest people ridicule about it. That is natural. But why should you fail in the first place ?
So you have two things to prove in order to continue farming and be successful.
a) Be transparent upfront to the spouse. Atleast on the gross expenditure. The earlier the better even if it invites bitter evenings. For, any delayed disclosure will invite more trouble.
b) Be clear about your intentions. Be well organised and be passionate about it. Demonstrate this and explain it all the time. Relate the environment, food security, future, child welfare and your career in a presentable manner. It is as easy. Having a healthy food, green locality and clean air is everyone's dream, not only yours. Therefore the story should sell by itself.
Not only that, if the issue is handled properly, the entire family will start supporting you. You can plan summer holidays to work in the farm, and even if you donot get leave off, they will still continue to visit and add value. Without you.
The other thing is, like in real life how you plan right gifts for occasions, you need to find what your spouse is interested more in. Is it medicinal plants, trees, animals, cash crops or aesthetic horticultural designs ? Explore a bit and incorporate that as part of your plan. And show the photographs as proof.
If nothing else works, pretend to sell the farm. They will come running to say No. Stop, smile and ask what is to be done. They will advise you to do Farming till next instruction ! Keep doing.
All is well.
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