To my mind, the thing that differentiates farmers such as the Reesors is attitude and aspiration. Attitudes determine how we see the world around us and what this represents in terms of opportunities and challenges. It also determines how people use their present skills, and what skills they seek to acquire.
Attitude also determines who, why and how we seek to work with others.
Developing closer relations with the entire chain (particularly customers) is a way of reducing risk, though weather-related issues will always impact produce more than other sectors. It is also a way of capturing more information about the market and the overall chain’s operation. This can lead to the development of new pricing models.
Read Also
Youth focused on keeping Quebec’s dairy industry strong
In part two of our Making the Future series, Country Guide spoke with Béatrice Neveu from Rawdon, Que. (Read part…
As well, the Reesors are working with carefully selected growers and they clearly state each others’ roles and responsibilities. This establishes accountabilities, and it also enables them to objectively monitor performance at multiple levels of the chain.
That they appear to relish proactively listening and learning also makes a huge difference to how they see the world around them and how they are able implement decisions. I’d describe them as “strategically assertive.”
* Martin Gooch is director of the Value Chain Management Centre at the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ont.
