The nation's Farm Manager of the Year has shared the secrets of his business success - lessons which resonate far beyond his Norfolk pig unit.
Rob McGregor is unit manager for LSB Pigs, a 1,450-sow outdoor unit based at East Rudham near Fakenham.
He won the national industry accolade at the Farmers Weekly awards last week, where he was praised for pioneering new production methods including grass paddocks which have boosted animal welfare and improved the condition of the soil.
Several innovations have been adopted across the industry, including containerised clean water tanks which have reduced wastage and improved the health and performance of animals.
Mr McGregor said his driving principal was to keep progressing, always trying new ideas to inspire his staff and the rest of his industry.
"Obviously all farming sectors go through their ups and downs," he said. "Often it seems more downs than ups.
"But I have always had the mindset that regardless of where we are in terms of the league table performance, or the general industry, you have got to have a focus, and you have got to be making progress.
"As long as you feel you are making progress then that creates positivity and I don't think it matters what else is going on at the same time.
"It is inspiring, and then you can share that with other people in the industry as well, so they can benefit.
"These improvements can be efficiencies, or environmental improvements. As long as small steps are always being made forward."
Mr McGregor has worked for LSB Pigs since 1995.
His eight-strong team rears weaner pigs for BQP, which in turn supplies pork to Waitrose and premium ranges at other retailers.
When faced with adversity, he said it was important to pitch in and lead from the front.
A good example came in the pig backlog crisis which gathered momentum across the industry towards the end of last year, as labour shortages in processing plants left thousands of animals backed up on farms across the country.
"It did affect us," he said. "At that time we were weaning piglets every three weeks, but there was nowhere for them to go. So they had to stay with us. We were being pushed into adapting housing to hold piglets for an indefinite period of time.
"From a day-to-day point of view, my approach was to be very hands-on, and working amongst the staff, sharing their struggles, setting an example - just trying to keep them motivated and share the worry. We are now moving piglets off the farm as they should, at the right age."
He added that the team dynamic is critical to the success of the business, and a bonus scheme is in place which rewards everyone at the same rate, regardless of seniority or salary.
To deal with this summer's challenges of record heatwaves and drought, Mr McGregor said "preparation was key" - and the farm's resilience planning over recent years paid dividends.
The grass leys had made the soil more resistant to drought, and helped lower the temperature in the paddocks.
Similarly, the pig housing has evolved from the original basic steel arks, later painted with reflective coatings to protect against the heat, then replaced with moulded plastic buildings and finally the double-skinned insulated houses used today.
Mr McGregor says on the hottest days they reduced the heat by 15-20C compared to the old steel huts, which would have been uninhabitable during July's record temperatures.
He believes managers have a duty to shout about their innovations and successes, in order to bring wider improvements to their industry.
"Sustainability is a buzzword, but we have been heading down that road for four or five years, which is great, because we are already taking the right steps," he said.
"But we need trailblazers to set the wheels in motion and are then prepared to share that story elsewhere, so other people can follow it.
"Not every farmer is that comfortable about standing up and doing interviews and talking about what they are doing - but I think: If I don't do that, why are people not doing what we do? Why are they not taking any notice?
"We've got to be as open and as proud about what we do as possible."
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