Consumer connection, public understanding, societal value. Trying to tell the country about farming and why it is important can feel tiring and just another thing to add to your to-do list when you already have a farm to run. It is also difficult to step outside agriculture's echo chamber.
How do we know who we are truly reaching when we take the time to stick our heads above the parapet?
Hopefully you have all seen that 24 Hours in Farming is back for its tenth year, Íæż½ã½ã's well-loved digital campaign that started after former editor Emma Penny saw a TV programme about GPs behind closed doors.
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The idea? To fling open farm gates across the nation (digitally) and give insight into what really happens on British farms in the space of 24 hours.
There is so much information currently being thrown at the sector, from new environmental schemes to worries about bluetongue. That can feel like a burden, but that is where #farm24 can play a key role. Yes, we really do need the wider public to know about what farmers deliver – as you will see on pages 82-83, some of our ambassadors talk about what they wish people understood about farming.
This is your chance to do that, but more importantly, this is a chance to feel part of something that unites us. Why not also use it to give yourself and your fellow farmer a pat on the back at a time when it is needed the most?
