There’s always an option: Jo and Andrew Morris

“The momentum to do this started like a snowball,” said Jo. “The reasons for change started off small and just kept building.”

“Andrew was taking on more and more work, and we had three kids under two years old by the time our twins were born in 2017. At the same time, Andrew’s dad was travelling many miles to have treatment in Raigmore hospital, so it meant Andrew was really taking the brunt of it on his own and I could see the effect it was having on him.

“He was probably doing the work of two men, and at the same time desperately trying to be a present dad to our three daughters.”

When the move came in December 2018, it provided a chance for Jo and Andrew to change direction and seek new opportunities.

Starting from scratch

When asked what it was like to pack up the farm, Jo commented, “the most stressful thing either of us have ever done.”

Moving home is bad enough, but moving a whole farming enterprise 200 miles down the road is another matter. Andrew spent weeks moving machinery south on trailers, as did a few wonderful neighbours who stepped up without being asked.

Jo packed up their house in less than 48 hours and slept her final night on a wooden floor with nothing but a laptop and printer to complete some last-minute paperwork for the settlement, by which point the cattle and sheep were already in floats heading down the A9.

“Arriving at Logie was a huge relief for both of us. It was hard plucking up the courage to discuss it with Andrew’s parents never mind telling friends, once we as a family had made a decision on our next steps.

“Then dealing with estate agents, lawyers, advisors, making business plans, the bank and all the paperwork in between was a lot. It was extremely emotional for us all. We had to think what needed to be done at the new farm for that growing season as well as manage the livestock from one farm to the other. At the time we didn’t dwell too much on the move, it was a feeling of accomplishment more than anything – a big tick.”

The new farm was a blank canvas, quite literally. With no stock fencing or handling facilities, Andrew, myself, and his dad were fencing as ewes and lambs were being turned out that first spring. “We do look back now and think, gosh, that was a lot to take on.”

But even in those early weeks, small things gave them a lift. Going to the bull sales at Stirling and back in an afternoon – a journey from Caithness that would have meant two nights away with three young children. Neighbours in Fife dropping food parcels and welcome gifts in or inviting them to a Burns Supper that first January, where they met local people their own age.

“It sounds silly,” says Jo. “But it’s just those little things that made it easier to settle in.”

Surrounding yourself with the right people

Jo is a full-time legal director at BBM Solicitors and heads up the family law team across two offices – a role she balances alongside farm work with the support of flexible working arrangements that she describes as a genuine privilege. She also took on the accounts when they arrived on the new farm, something she’d never done before, and found the ‘feast or famine’ nature of farm finances quite frightening.

“Andrew would always tell me it evens itself out, a bad year is usually made up for over the next few years – something I’ve seen for myself now, but it doesn’t make it any less scary when the big springtime bills are coming in.”

Jo and Andrew farm as genuine partners. “I don’t want Andrew to feel like he has to bear the burden of everything on the farm on his shoulders,” she says. “Being able to do my work around the farm jobs, when I need to, is something I’m so grateful for.”

What has helped them most with such major changes, Jo says, has been finding the right people.

“When we were originally looking to buy the farm, we bumped into an old acquaintance who is a bank manager, and after describing our plans he said simply, ‘let’s make it work’ and he and the bank did.

Similarly, our agricultural consultant Martin Rennie now of Galbraith, who is never a man to mince his words, was positive from the outset after working through the numbers and helped give us the confidence to go for it. I can’t describe how important they both were in helping us make the move happen – mentally as well as physically.”

Andrew’s chiropractor in Cupar has become something similar, not just for the physical work but for the quiet positivity he brings. “Andrew feeds off him,” says Jo. “He’s just a really upbeat person and it’s something Andrew enjoys going to every week.”

Protect your positivity

Neither Jo nor Andrew have grand wellbeing rituals. What they have are small, consistent habits and a deliberate limit on the things they know don’t do them any good.

“We don’t watch too much of the global news, it’s often negative, and things we can’t control, so why fill ourselves with it? We keep up with what’s important in the farming press at home and we try and surround ourselves with positive, upbeat people – it’s like a little battery boost for your energy.

“Andrew protects Sunday, where he can, as family time, unless we’re harvesting. It might be a trip to the beach, a walk or just lunch out. The rugby WhatsApp group with his old friends the ‘Evergreens’ keeps a thread of connection going too.”

Andrew’s mindset – “there’s always an option, always a solution, even if it’s not the one you want” – has become something of a shared philosophy. It’s the same approach they’re taking with their daughters, making clear from the start that farming is a choice, not an obligation.

“We don’t want them to feel they can’t talk to us” says Jo. “We want them to have that open mindset.”

As for her own wellbeing, Jo says that she knows she likely puts herself last.  However, she finds ways to build small moments of reset into everyday life. She takes work calls while she’s out walking, has a light-hearted Netflix programme on in the background while cleaning the holiday pods at changeover, does a quick reset of the house once the children go off to school, and enjoys listening to farming podcasts, particularly Farmstrong’s Blether Together. Along with shows like Fed by Farmers, it gives her the chance to hear relatable stories and pick up tips from people who understand the realities of farming life.

When Jo applied for This Farming Life, honesty was important to her.

“We go to the market and, at first blush, it looks like everyone is doing great,” she says. “But when you dig a little deeper, we are all similar in that most people have struggles and pressures. We thought, maybe if we just showed and talked about the pressures, people would realise they’re not alone.”

Jo’s closing thought is quite simple. “Why can everybody not just try – without being twee about it – to make a bit more time to support each other? Because if we all did that, we’d get so much further.”

Visit the Farmstrong Scotland website to access all the resources, stories, and the Blether Together podcast.