Simon Beal-Preston, grand-nephew of Donnie Beal-Preston who died in December 2006, addressed the Eastern Cape Agricultural Union (ECAU) in Port Elizabeth.
Simon runs a dairy farm at Easterstead in the Queenstown district and is Proudly South African.
I am a farmer, a son of the soil. And I am Proudly South African. I do not want to leave this country. Because I believe in Africa. Being a young farmer in this beautiful country is a privilege. Yes – it is frustrating at times. Yes – it is difficult at times. Yes – it is daunting at times. Even frightening at times. And it is a huge challenge. However, my experience has led me to realise that I can only do so much about my circumstances, but I can do everything about my attitude. I realise that if I want to keep on getting the same rewards, then I must keep on doing the same thing. But if I want something I have never had before, then I have to do something I have never done before.
One half of knowing what I want is also realising what I have to give up in order to get it. We have to bring the country back in touch with its agricultural life. We have to make people realise that a country cannot survive without farmers. I do not want to run away from the opportunity of a lifetime. I want to sow more pastures, grow more food, produce more milk, and reap the harvest while I can for the country I love. Times have changed. We are pressing forward in an anxious, restless world. In our efforts to hammer out our diverse, complicated human and other problems, our hearts should not be in advance of our heads. We must be able to swim with the currents or sink disastrously. Young South Africans are on the march, but we must know how and where to do this. And this is where what I call the P-Plan comes into play.
We have to: Plan purposefully; Prepare prayerfully; Proceed positively; Pursue persistently. To an increasing extent, farming is determined by outside pressure where mature experience and acquired wisdom are needed. We need this to establish, as far as is humanly possible, peace and goodwill among men. However, some people stay so far in the past that the future is gone before they get there. Aeschylus said in 500 BC, “It is always in season for old men to learn.” In the book of Job 12:8, we read, “Speak to the Earth and it shall teach thee.” We must listen to our land. Today we are paying a heavy price for our abuse and misuse of nature’s inviolable laws. We have to love and respect the land and its people. With everything reducing the profitability of farming, motivation becomes increasingly important. And I want to motivate a positive attitude towards farmers and farming in this land.
Yes, we face challenging issues on a daily basis. Big agricultural mergers threaten smaller farmers with the loss of control of their bargaining powers. Tariff-free products are being dumped on our doorstep by other agriculture-subsidising countries. Land being occupied is not the same as the right to purchase land. The playing fields need to be levelled to encourage fair competition. We have to try shorten the supply chain and have the best sales pitch possible. The list is endless. I end with my own interpretation of what Sir Winston Churchill said at the start of the Second World War: Here then I am, in an hour when all is uncertain, cheered by hope and resolve that we will stand and confront and endure what may befall us, but we cannot doubt that all will come right if we persevere to the end. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I am a Proudly South African Farmer. Contact Simon Beal-Preston on (045) 839 4510. |fw
