The most important relationship on most farms is the one between husband and wife – yet, it’s very rarely talked about. At farm walks, the farmer does most of the talking and the wife, or in some cases the husband, is always mentioned in one way or another.

However, the true extent of the role and the importance of having a good relationship is never really examined.

It was interesting listening to David and Tory Baker give their different perspectives to the forum at the Moorepark open day in the summer.

It shone a light not just on the role that each played in the business on daily decision-making, but more importantly how they both worked to set goals and plan strategy.

I dropped down to the Bakers in Birr, Co Offaly, recently to develop on the importance of couples working together.

The first thing is that it is unusual that they are milking 450 cows on Birr Castle farm, where they have 12 years left on a 30-year lease.

Goals

Before that they moved twice, first leasing an 80-cow farm in Cloughjordan and then a 170-cow farm in Newmarket in a bid to grow their dairy enterprise and reach their goals.

“I always loved dairying. We believed that we needed a large enough farm to reach the goals we had set to educate our children, provide for retirement and have a balance of work and lifestyle along the way,” said David.

It is clear that planning and setting goals has always been a key part of their success.

“We always took time to go away, to go over our goals and plan. We have books of plans we wrote out and it is interesting to look back at them now,” said Tory.

“We share the same vision, but have different personal goals. It is important to respect that difference in any relationship,” said Tory.

Tory taught for the first 10 years of their married lives. During those early years while Tory was teaching, her farm involvement was with the planning and decision-making on what their next business and life moves would be.

“Following our third move to Birr, I didn’t look for another teaching job. There was more than enough work for us both to be fully involved.

“It took time to settle into working together and we found it difficult.

David said: “We have two very different personalities.”.

Tory joked: “At one stage, I resigned – David reckons he sacked me.”

She went to work in Gurteen Agricultural College, but after two years of working off-farm, she was headhunted by David back to the farm.

“We settled into roles based on our strengths. It is important that once the roles are established you leave the person at it without looking over their shoulder,” she added.

Broad mix

Tory’s work covers farm financials, livestock recording, compliance and Department applications, calf-rearing and selling, bull selection, health and safety and HR. A broad mix. David is more involved in the on-farm management. “We both focus on planning, but he thinks more broadly, while I am more focused on the detail,” said Tory. David agreed with a smile.

Tory gave the example that they both know cash will be tight next year.

“I will be the one to work out exactly what it will be and if we need to react and talk to the bank early.

“In 2009, we saw a problem looming and went to the bank in January of that year, moved to interest-only and got an extended overdraft facility.”

What have the Bakers learned along the way that might work for any partnership, family or farmer and non-farmer partnership?

  • Realise the power of planning – “We used to go away regularly to think through our goals and plans and write them down. Tory pulled out one notebook from 2000 where goals and clear actions were set out. They included personal goals as well as business – for example, more time to be spent with the family.”
  • Understand the business you are in. Get to know what the most important measures are and learn to prioritise in busy times.
  • When creating roles in a partnership, assess your strengths and weaknesses and make sure you play to these.
  • Mentors and role models have been key.
  • Respect and value your differences. When you don’t like the way a partner operates, remember we are individuals with different outlooks.
  • Learn to manage your own stress levels – if you can’t manage yourself, you can’t manage others.
  • Every day is a new learning day. Keep an open mind. Be non-judgmental and learn to listen to constructive criticism without being defensive. Discussion groups, advisers, conferences, reading and short courses are all used to continually learn and challenge.
  • Total responsibility for the business can be too much for one person. So if your partner can share the load and the decision-making, it can make for a healthier business.
  • In dairy farming, you work extremely hard from January to June, but try to balance this with taking breaks and holidays during the easier periods.
  • Take time to celebrate achievements along the way. We had a grand opening when we built a bridge and also the parlour. It recognises the extra effort that people have put in.
  • If there is a major disagreement, sleep on it. “One argument can ruin a relationship that has been built over many years,” said David. “We have had a very good working relationship with all the farmers we have leased from, especially the owners of Birr Castle, and that has made developments on the farm easier.
  • If you are looking for opportunities, look outside your parish if needs be to further your career. The new share-milking model developed by Teagasc should be very successful and will create a ladder of opportunity for those looking.

    • Areas the Bakers are working on improving

    “We have tried to simplify our system and will continue to try – for example, we have written standard operating procedures into a manual covering detail from setting up the milking machine to calf rearing,” said David.

    The Bakers have a three-person team and relief help working with them on the farm and they believe they need to continually work on their people skills.

    They try to identify what skills people working with them are keen to learn and give each member of staff an area of responsibility.

    Office management tools

    Their office management is also an area which they are trying to simplify. The main tools they use include ICBF, Agfood site, Quick Books Accounting, Thesaurus Wage Program, Animal Health Ireland site, the profit monitor, Agrinet Grass Programme, IFC farm package and the FBD health and safety package.

    They are now using smartphones to record animal health issues and treatments to further simplify.