Inch Clutha dairy farmer Brendan Lane says cycling is like his medicine. Photo / Sideline Photography and Design
Inch Clutha dairy farmer Brendan Lane says cycling is like his medicine. Photo / Sideline Photography and Design
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Monthly here on The Country, we catch up with a Farmstrong farmer, someone who is doing the right thing when it comes to looking after the top paddock.
Brendan Lane is an Inch Clutha dairy farmer and for those of you who don’t know where Inch Clutha is, it is a delta where the Clutha River splits into two separate rivers, a north and a south mouth so there are 1000 hectares of island.
He is dairying on a 100-hectare block, peaty, silty soil, plenty of water and everything grows.
It was his first year of farm ownership, a big step up from share milking, but one of the wettest seasons on record left half the farm underwater.
“We’ve had everything, but the kitchen sink thrown at us,” he said.
“We’ve been flooded, half the farm under water and we’ve had such a shortage of feed we’ve only been able to milk once a day.
Brendan Lane's Inch Clutha dairy farm flooded during his first year of ownership.
“That’s been the scenario up until recently, so you can work out for yourself how important it has been to get off-farm.”
Lane is one of a number of farmers and growers who’ve entered the Gravel in Paradise cycling events which Farmstrong is helping to support and promote.
The basic idea is that no matter how busy life gets on the farm, the benefits of signing up and training for events like Gravel in Paradise with mates really stack up in terms of mental fitness and good decision-making on-farm.
Duncum asked, “Was cycling something you did beforehand or was it something you have just taken up to cope?”
Having been cycling for many years, as a result of having knee surgery, Lane really got the cycling bug and also found it to be a wonderful thing to do as a family.
As Lane says, cycling is like his medicine — it’s good for mind and body and leaves him feeling mentally free, refreshed, and good to go again despite the challenging year he’s had.
In that context, it’s a game-changer and helps him stay on top of his game.
“When I’m on my bike, all those other pressures just disappear because I’m focused somewhere else,” he said.
Inch Clutha dairy farmer Brendan Lane has entered "Gravel in Paradise" cycling events.
“I can just switch off. Turn off everything that’s going on in the background, if you know what I mean, and there’s always plenty going on in the background on a farm.
“It’s like a reset switch for me. You come back and suddenly all of those issues are much easier to deal with.”
The other good point Lane makes is that your mental health impacts everyone you work and live with.
Listen below:
As his wife said when he ummed and ahhed about entering the event, “Get on your bike and get your medicine. Everyone is better off”.
That’s very true. You owe it to your family and team to keep yourself in a good frame of mind.
The message Lane gives to other farmers worried about taking time off their busy schedules to participate in the Gravel in Paradise event is to put your name down and decide on your goal, you don’t have to race - just spend time off-farm enjoying the countryside and beautiful sights this event offers.
“Getting off-farm and doing some cycling gives you clarity of mind, it helps you put things into perspective, destresses you, adds to your fitness, you just switch off.”
