Honest Conversations, Better Farm Businesses

I’m Kerry, I’ve been a Principal Consultant at SAC Consulting for ten years, and I own and operate a couple of rural tourism businesses with my family outside of my day job.  I am no stranger to difficult conversations, whether at work, with a client, and often with family about how we run our business.  

Over the last ten years I’ve become a practicing coach, mediator, negotiator and am now training as a counsellor, and one thing that’s super clear to me, is that most people struggle to communicate well, and most people feel unheard.  

Difficult conversations are part of everyday life on farms, crofts and rural businesses. Whether the topic is succession planning, introducing new technology, raising safety concerns, discussing workload, or suggesting a new direction for the business, these conversations can often feel uncomfortable, emotional, and difficult to start. However, avoiding them can have significant consequences for both people and businesses. 

Communication is often overlooked as a business skill, yet its impact reaches far beyond workplace relationships. Poor communication can contribute to safety issues, inefficiencies, unresolved frustrations, conflict, and even people leaving the industry altogether. On farms and crofts, where family, business and home life are frequently intertwined, the stakes can feel particularly high. 

The problem is not that people do not care. In fact, the opposite is usually true. Conversations become difficult because people care deeply about the land, the business, their family, and the future. When decisions involve years of hard work, personal identity, financial security, or family legacy, emotions naturally follow. Unfortunately, many people have never been taught how to manage these discussions effectively. As a result, concerns are often left unspoken until frustration builds, positions become entrenched, and conflict eventually erupts. More commonly, nothing changes at all because everyone continues to "just get on with it." 

In a recent webinar I explored how better communication can strengthen farm businesses, improve relationships, and create healthier working environments. I introduced a practical framework designed to help individuals approach challenging discussions with confidence and clarity. I began the webinar sharing the anonymised story of ‘Sam’ a client of mine.  

'Sam' is a young farmer who returned home after studying agriculture. Full of new ideas about diversification, technology and future opportunities, Sam wanted to discuss a significant change, potentially removing cattle from the family farm. For Sam, the conversation represented future planning and business development. For Sam's parents, particularly a father who had spent decades building a successful herd, the same conversation felt like a rejection of a life's work. Every attempt to raise the subject failed. The timing was wrong, the setting was unsuitable, emotions were high, and nobody felt fully heard. 

While the details may differ, many farming families will recognise similar situations. Conversations about succession, investment, change, workload and future direction often become difficult not because people disagree completely, but because they struggle to communicate effectively. 

To help navigate these situations, I introduced the FIELD Framework, a practical structure designed to slow conversations down, reduce emotional escalation, and increase the likelihood of productive outcomes.