LJM Associates Ltd

  Yesterday I presented my 2026 OFC Report to the Farm Herefordshire Committee reflecting on mindset, policy development and impact. It was a very enjoyable discussion and a great way to share the report.

  Congratulations on completing this 30-day leadership micro-reflection journey.  Take a moment to truly acknowledge what you’ve accomplished. Over the past month, you’ve paused, reflected, questioned, and grown. You’ve paid attention to your actions, your decisions, your communication, your values, and the way you show up for others. That is the heart of leadership. Not perfection. Not control. But awareness, intention, and continual growth, personally and professionally.   Every insight you’ve gained is a stepping stone toward the leader you are becoming. You’ve built the habit of reflection, one of the most powerful tools any leader can cultivate. And this practice doesn’t need to end here. You can repeat the calendar, expand it, or carry your favourite prompts into your daily routine. What matters most is that you continue to lead with clarity, courage, and purpose. Leadership isn’t a destination, it’s a lifelong journey. And over the last 30 days, you’ve taken a mea...

The headline questioner anyone is - what am I trying to achieve? In a business this might be profitability, growth, impact  etc. etc. What are we trying to achieve at government, market and individual business levels? What is one generation or team in a business, trying to achieve and is it the same as other generations or teams in the business? This is the first but most important step in defining mission, goals and building strategy.. then we can ask some more questions and develop the answers.. so what are you trying to achieve?

The Oxford farming Conference now have the proceedings live on their You Tube Channel. Great content and if you would like to see our panel discussion it can be found here

 I was really pleased to be at LAMMA last week and speak on a Farmers Guardian panel on the future of farming. It was a great discussion and focused on resilient people, resilient businesses (profit) and a resilient planet.

  In the Oxford Farming Conference Report that I authored and presented at the beginning of the month I posed four key questions - What do you want to achieve? What are you going to keep doing? What are you going to stop doing? What can you do instead? Questions we can ask ourselves in many contexts and situations... how would you answer these questions? What actions arise for you from these questions?

  2026 in the Gregorian Calendar in the Eastern Asian Culture is the year of the fire horse... starting February 17th 2026. Every 60 years, the Fire Horse returns in the East Asian zodiac, bringing many believe intensity, change at speed, and disruption. While 1966 and 2026 share the same astrological signature, the way the Fire Horse energy could express itself differently depending on the world it enters.    1966 experienced the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and civil rights struggles with protests on the streets, counterculture movements, and direct challenges to governments and traditions demanding change. The Fire Horse of 2026 enters a different landscape. Change is coming through rapid technological shifts, and trends and ideas moving faster often than institutions can adapt. This makes institutions appear static and lacking in the agility to manoeuvre and pivot in a fast changing world.   Both years carry momentum, volatility, change at speed. How can this ...

The recording of the Rural Policy Group's - Building a financially sustainable farm business which I chaired at the start of December is now available online. It was a really energised discussion so please do check it out. The panel were Robbie Moore MP Shadow Farming & Rural Affairs Minister; Ali Capper Partner, Stocks Farm and Executive Chairman, British Apples and Pears Ltd and Martin Collison, Director, Collison and Associates Limited and Visiting Professor in AgriFood Systems at the Lincoln Institute for AgriFood Technology (LIAT). You can find it here .

  Happy New Year! What does a new year mean for you? Maybe it is time to ask yourself four questions.. What am I trying to achieve this year? What am I going to keep doing... what am I going to stop doing... what can I do instead?