What traits set great farm business managers apart from the crowd? We asked leading farm advisers.
Brent Bender
Regina district director
Farm Credit Canada
Great farm business managers surround themselves with an exceptional group of people, all of whom are committed to the success of the operation. These experts — the accountants, lenders, agronomists, lawyers, and involved family members — confirm whether the decisions the manager is considering making are the right decisions for the operation, and suggest other ideas and perspectives. Plus, of course, high-level farmers know how important it is to communicate openly and regularly amongst the team members.
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The second piece of the puzzle setting great farm business managers apart is actually made up of two parts, but they go hand in hand — generating cash flow, and business planning. From crop input prices to weather to market variability, there are lots of things outside of a business manager’s control. But, great farmers have solid business plans, both for the short and long term, and a strong credit rating so they can afford to jump on opportunities when they come up.
These farmers are really proactive about their finances. They know the debt capacity of their operation, and they understand their equity position. They are always a couple steps ahead of the game.
Great farm business managers never quit learning. They know they don’t already have all the information, and they know they can’t do it all themselves. That’s why they are always looking for more knowledge, and they know how to utilize others’ expertise.
Merle Good
Business arrangement specialist
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development
They’re both great leaders and great managers. As the old saying goes, leadership is about choosing the right things to do, and management is about doing those things right.
These farmers have four characteristics in common. I call them the “four Cs”: confidence, competitiveness, courage and character. First, they have confidence in who they are and what they are doing. Next, they are competitive not only with their neighbours but with all farmers. In fact, they help set the bar high for the whole industry. Third, they have courage to move forward, even when things go wrong and mistakes get made. And finally, they have strength of character, which is really what makes the other three characteristics possible.
In order to show the four C characteristics in their business, great farm leaders need to have three As: attitude, acceptance and accountability.
They have a positive attitude towards relationships, both personal and business. In agriculture, you can’t be the lone cowboy anymore. As off-farm functions like crop input supply and the marketing of commodities gets taken over by bigger and bigger companies, you have to be able to develop relationships with the people you need to work with.
These farmers also have a balanced attitude towards risk and reward. Understanding what motivates you when you get up in the morning — whether it is the fear of failure or the thrill of success — is key to being great in business.
They also accept what they can and can’t do. It’s natural to second-guess yourself, but the most successful farm leaders don’t beat themselves up too much and don’t feel that losses are personal. After all, you can’t outsmart the weather, all you can do is take appropriate measures to minimize risk.
Finally, they are accountable to themselves and their business. The people who do a really good job don’t just have intent, they have action.
Val Monk
Family business risk manager
Val Monk and Associates
Great farm business managers have a clear vision of where they want to be. The vision is authentically their own. It doesn’t work to try to take on someone else’s vision. They have resilience. There are always unknowns and unknowables in business, especially farm businesses, but resilience keeps you strong through those natural ups and downs.
They also inspire others. As leaders, they are always setting an example, and everything they do counts towards the total team good. And they are continuous learners. In today’s world, we can’t stand still. Continuous learning is a given, whether face to face, virtually, in a classroom, or across a fence.
Great business leaders know the “why” of what they are doing, and encourage others to ask “Why?” and “Why not?” Those questions have a lot of impact: out of them grow the passion, the commitment, and the resilience you need to stay in this business.
Most farmers have a huge emotional attachment to farming, since it’s about family survival and creating a livelihood from the earth. Therefore, farming has a unique culture and a soul that sets it apart from other businesses. Understanding and appreciating the culture of farming is a shaping force for great farms.
They also have strong support from the previous generation. Passing on and receiving wisdom, knowledge and encouragement from the previous generation is very important for them, but so is recognizing that farming is not what it was even 20 years ago and that the new generation is facing new challenges.
Family farms require help on technical, transactional issues, but also on transformational soft issues. Way too often, families look at the technical issues, but not the soft issues. They need to be finding the right help to walk them through the emotional aspects of growth, succession, hardship and change.
Annette Anderson
Manager of business management
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs
We combined our experience as a team on this question, and feel successful farm managers generally:
- Manage their costs well by calculating their exact cost of production, and they place a high priority on controlling their fixed costs.
- Search for new and innovative methods to improve their rate of production. Quality enhancements and branding of products are two methods used to increase value and improve net return.
- Look for ways to run their farm business more efficiently and profitably. Benchmarking is used to measure performance and to set goals.
- Use sound management techniques resulting in an efficient team that works together. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and farm enterprise goals are clearly communicated. The farm business is able to capitalize on the competencies within the team. Managers communicate on farm through formal and informal meetings.
- Maintain long-term business relationships and have a strong industry network. They watch for and capitalize on market opportunities through daily use of Internet, links to brokers, email updates and other available resources.
In today’s changing and volatile agriculture environment, the farm business manager’s role is highly demanding. A manager often has many roles including planner, organizer, leader, controller, change facilitator and delegator. A farm business’s success depends greatly on a manager’s ability to adapt to the market conditions and competitive environment.
Leo Kosokowsky
Farm management consultant
AgMpower Services Ltd.
A great farm business manager makes being very profitable seem easy and natural. Everything seems to happen like clockwork, and anything that goes wrong is quickly rectified. That’s because they possess these traits:
Humility: Great farm business managers are very confident in the decisions they make, but they recognize that they don’t know everything. They typically believe that they are doing a good job, but they also appreciate that there are other successful farmers who can do equally well. And, although they know they have worked hard to get where they are, they also believe they have been very fortunate along the way. Being humble keeps great farmers inspired to ask questions and to keep learning.
Networks: Recognizing that there are many ways to be successful, great farmers seek out people they can learn from. They foster relationships with local dealers, agronomists, mechanics, commodity merchants, business consultants, etc. who can give reliable and timely information. They aren’t looking for anyone to make decisions for them, but they know they need access to good information to make good decisions.
Passion: Great farmers really love farming. Their love for farming keeps them hungry enough to jump into opportunities without being desperate and likely to make mistakes. Their tirelessness comes from being inspired about what they do.
To know what makes a farm business leader successful, you just have to look at what makes a seed prosper: quality seed, a good seedbed and proper growing conditions. An inspired young farmer needs to start with smarts and skills. Then, he or she needs peers to look up to and learn from, like good soil that makes a seed grow quicker and stronger. And then they need the right conditions: they typically need to have some early successful years to build up equity and build confidence, as well as some stressful years and close calls so they can gain experience and learn to stay alert with an eye to managing risk. CG
