Being honest about tough times

Module Overview

For many years Hugh Jackson set his sights on winning the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Award, one of the most prestigious farming awards in the country.

In 2025, his second time as a Grand Finalist, the 27-year-old fulfilled his dream. He was over the moon to win the hotly contested award.

“I started competing at 19, during my first year at Massey University, and got the bug from there.  Over the years I enjoyed pushing myself and competing. The more I did it, the more skills I learnt and the more I enjoyed it. It was a real thrill to get there in the end.”

The Award brought with it many highlights and opportunities beyond the farm gate. There were once-in-a-lifetime media appearances, a stint as a mystery guest on the comedy show Seven Days and invitations to speak at high-profile farming events, as well as more local grassroots ones as well.

Speaking at this year’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year Award ceremony, Hugh expressed his gratitude for the exciting opportunities he had been given and the support he has received from those close to him and the farm team on his farm.

He added however that it had not all been “smooth sailing, rainbows and butterflies.” Along with the highs, he felt a lot of internal pressure once he was crowned 2025 Farmer of the Year.

“Imposter syndrome definitely played a part,” says Hugh. “On numerous occasions I’ve caught myself thinking thoughts along the lines of ‘now you’re the Young Farmer of the Year, you better make a good job of taking the family farm through another generation. What would people think if things went pear-shaped?’ There was an extra pressure on top of the high expectations I always have for myself.”

High achiever

Hugh has always been a high achiever and driven to succeed.

“When I look back over the last 28 years of my life, there have been benefits of these high expectations and the self-inflicted pressure, but it has also driven me to breaking point when I’ve needed the support of friends, family and health professionals,” says Hugh.

“I wanted to share this with you all as some of you may look up here and think ‘hasn’t he done well’ or ‘what a superstar’, as I did in the past to others who have won the competition.

“But my experience is a good reminder that we all have our struggles. We all go through tough times to different degrees. So, don’t be afraid to talk to friends and family and make a plan to get through. I’m still looking at things I can add to my routine to be the person I want to be.”

Hugh’s wellbeing routine has a number of elements – keeping fit, eating and sleeping well, socialising and taking a good break each year. Over the past three years, he has spent two weeks annually visiting friends in Canada, China and Tanzania.

He has also discovered the beneficial effects of saunas, followed by cold plunges, and really enjoys the feeling of refreshment from these sessions.

In his own journey, a light-bulb moment came when he read Doug Avery’s book Resilient Farmer which explored the ways you can spend your time on a farm – operational time, tactical time and strategic time. Hugh had a history of working very hard physically all day but once he returned to the family farm where there was a very good team in place, the challenge was to move more to the tactical and strategic space.

“It has meant moving more into a manager/leadership role,” says Hugh. “That transition was pretty hard until I started to get my head around it. There are not enough hours in the day for me to carry out all the operational tasks that need doing on farm so I have focused on improving my people skills and doing my best to make sure that as a farm team, we get all the tasks done to the best of our ability.

“I am striving to create a great team culture and environment for people to thrive and to do this I am using mentors and setting time aside to upskill in this area. As a result I’ve got myself into a very happy place for the time being which is nice but it is important to know there will always be highs and lows,” he says.

Fourth-generation farmer

Hugh works on the family farm in Te Akau, north of Raglan. His great-grandad bought 600 acres there when he came home from World War II in 1947. They finish around 2,000 bulls a year and run a non-replacing ewe flock of 2,500. Hugh is fourth generation on the farm which is now about 1,800 hectares total. They lease a further 150 hectares.

Hugh has an interest in how technology can drive innovation and is also interested in the mental health side of things, which he sees as vital in building a strong team.

“If you just ask people how they are, everybody just says they are good. So, during our weekly team meetings I try and dig a little deeper and ask, ‘how are your energy levels out of 10’. Often people might be low energy or feeling rotten but they won’t tell you that upfront. If they say ‘it’s a five or six out of 10’, that gives us an opportunity to catch up with them afterwards and figure out what’s going on.

“We are blessed with a really good team at the moment – I ask myself how can I improve things further? How can we get closer as a team? At our weekly meetings I have also started asking each team member to share something they have learned over the last week and something they are grateful for.”

Hugh is a fan of Farmstrong’s Five Ways to Wellbeing and the work they do in promoting resilience.

“I’ve read some of the stories in Farmstrong’s Live Well Farm Well book.

“It’s great to share farmers’ stories about dealing with tough times. We all go through tough times and it’s just a case of making sure we’re open and honest with ourselves and others around us when we’re feeling rough. Everyone has those times and you’ve got to admit when you are not feeling great and try and figure things out. Everyone’s on your team and keen to help you do it.”

Super-grateful

Hugh is “super-grateful now to be able to see the bigger picture and smell the roses.

“I am so lucky to be in this position, to be a fourth-generation farmer and have the opportunity to take the farm to another level. And maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity to pass it on to the next generation, if I am fortunate enough to have kids who want to farm.”

Hugh’s advice to a young person starting out in farming is to work hard, upskill yourself and set yourself a goal and direction. He also recommends getting involved in the local community through local clubs, Young Farmers Clubs and volunteering.

It’s important to give back to your community, he says.

“I personally find there are huge benefits to this through the people you meet that you can lean on when you need to and of course you can help these people out when they need it. This creates more resilient communities and therefore more resilient people too,” says Hugh.

“For example, if local disasters strike, get involved and help your community out. It takes a real team effort to get communities back on their feet after big weather events. When you roll up your sleeves and do that sort of thing, it means a lot to people.”