The Country 27/02/25: James Bruce talks to Jamie Mackay

This month's Farmstrong Farmer is a rugby-playing, horse-riding, Wairarapa sheep and beef farmer. 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Moefully here on the country we catch up with a

(00:02):
farm Strong farmer. This bloke is going to be interesting.
His name is James Bruce. He's a sheep and beef
farmer from the Wire Rapper Farming seven thousand stock unit's
over a thousand hectares, A very very busy man who
started from scratch and got himself into farming. James, I'm
going to start with this one. What is your connection
with farm Strong? Why have they put you forward this month?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well, I think they'll probably put me forward this month
just because of what I'm doing. It's just we're just
bounced off the back of a last year's rugby season
and someone had picked up on a seven's photo and
I was in the Hawks bay and just connection with
people and talking and obviously what was my turn to
have a go?

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well, you've got a good rugby background. You played three
decades or during three decades for Wire Rapper Bush. You've
been coaching the side you're coaching the local martin Borough
side where you're farming. Once again, the connection between rugby
and mental health because you're telling me that once a
week you'll get one of the young blokes in your

(01:05):
team needs a bit of a chat.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, Yeah, it just seems to be. It seems to
be more of a thing now than what it used
to be. I mean just understanding. You know, you show
some a little bit of guidance an understanding, and the
boys know people who know me. I'll only help people
that are going to help themselves as well a little
bit and not just Yeah. So it sort of just

(01:29):
ticks over from that really and the mental health. So
I do a lot of I'll break horses in so
I think that has a lot of that's a whole
nother thing towards mental health because they can always tell
what a person's thinking. They know a person sometimes better
than the person knows themselves. And yeah, that's the same.

(01:49):
It's reading people. And it's like I can have a
horse with me and I can spend a week with
a horse and not know the owners, but know what
the owners are like sort of thing. And that's like
it is with the boys. They know that you're caring
and they know you understand all the girls for that matter,
young people. So yeah, and you're just you're there. They

(02:11):
know that you're approachable. I guess you're a sort of
a fun loving guy. That's it's an approachable sort of
a person.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
So have you had any mental health issues yourself, because
I know from reading about your background, you and you've
got a family. You've got a wife and three daughters.
It's full on. You're coaching rugby, you're breaking in the horses,
you're doing all this running seven thousand stock units. You're
working every hour that God sends. Have you had down times?

Speaker 2 (02:41):
You're probably heare of din and out, But I think
you've always got to remind yourself, Like one thing is
it's just to remember where you've come from. And that's
a that's a real feel good, fist part moment. And
so you do have those end times and sometimes yeah,
you are bogged down and sort of thinking, how you know,

(03:03):
you can't see the light sort of thing at the
end of the tunnel. But tomorrow, you know, as I've
got older, you've worked out, you know, like acts years, Okay,
it's gonna be okay, It'll be all right. Unfortunately, not
everybody's like that, And I think probably with my background
growing up is probably had a little bit to do
with it. And I'm just fortunate enough. Yeah, and when

(03:27):
I do have those times now more so in later years.
I understand how to get out of it. And all
it takes is a good song or or something that
I achieved for today that makes me feel good. And
it might be putting a post and that's been buggered
for a bit, or if you can learn to reward

(03:50):
your mind for the smallest things, that's got the big
things of it.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, that's really good advice. Now, you're a very physically
active man. Still played a lot of rugby, as I said,
still coaching rugby. You run gym classes in your local
community as well. How important is exercise for the top paddock.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Oh yeah, it's massive. Yep, it's even when you're the
beauty of doing these classes. I'm doing it makes me
stop working. So I'll send the message out on the
day that we're doing it, and send the message by
lunchtime that yeah, it's going to be five o'clock, where

(04:30):
it's going to be five point thirty or whatever time
I'm roughly thinking I'm going to be able to get
dear by. And sometimes I have to delay it half
an hour before because i'm running laid or but generally
and that's I drive my day around that. And it's
the same with rugby. Training, like I've got rugby training
at quarter past six, so it's like I need to
be there by two six. So the whole day revolves

(04:54):
around getting things done to get to the year and
not putting too much in the days, so you do
get stuff done. I mean, obviously stock works first because
that's the most important, and then after that you can
sometimes there's no other time for anything else, and obviously
sometimes it's early, early, early starts to get there, but
that's the reward at the end. And then yeah, and

(05:18):
I'm lucky I do have a supportive, supportive family in
the sporting side of things because they're all into Sportland
hockey and so that's a massive help.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
All right, James Bruce, Now you've done all right for
yourself starting from scratch seven thousand stock and it's over
a thousand heckes. Well done. Great to catch up with
you this month as our farm Strong Farmer.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Thank you, Jamie