Autumn is a great time of year in the farming calendar - the changing of the season, harvest time and trips to the local mart for buying new stock.

This year, farmers across Scotland have another event to add to their calendar - the Doug Avery Tour - "Drought, Adversity and Breaking New Ground".

Doug is a farmer from the South Island in New Zealand. After experiencing a run of very tough years, involving drought, mental illness and financial worries, Doug made a number of decisions which changed his life and led to him writing a book - The Resilient Farmer - and touring the world telling his story.

Doug will be giving presentations across Scotland over the next month and I was lucky enough to attend the preview at Ingliston on 10 September. Doug spoke candidly about the troubles he has experienced and how he overcame them to ensure that both he and his business were fit for the challenges of the future. Doug emphasised that farmers need to look aftertheir mental health- what Doug refers to as the"top paddock" - and this is a message that he wants to get across in all of his presentations.

Doug has a lot to say about some serious issues - but his sense of humour and straight way of talking (and singing!) - means that his presentations are guaranteed to inspire and motivate anyone who attends.

So whilst autumn is a busy time of year, this is a great opportunity for anyone in the farming industry to take a couple of hours to think about their "top paddock" and their business - and spendsome timein the company of thisentertaining and insightfulcharacter.

The events are free to attend but registration is required here.