How do you view change on your farm?

When it comes to your farm operation, what do you think about the idea of change or changes? Farm leaders might have very different reactions to this, depending partly on their personality.

Some farm leaders may enjoy creating changes on their farms. It might be exciting for them to try new possibilities and options, such as new technology or production methods.

For others, the idea of change could seem off-putting or even bring about some anxiety. Even if you believe a change might be beneficial, it can still feel uncertain sometimes to get started.

Where’s The Change?

Many farmers are somewhere in the middle of these two. Some changes might seem more exciting or realistic than others, and that might depend somewhat on the amount of control, or lack thereof, that you have over the implementation of a change or its impact on your operation.

While you can’t control every change in the broader environment that might impact your operation, you do have control over your mindset when it comes to change.

It’s true that not every change that comes to the farm is positive, particularly if there are unwanted changes coming from outside the operation.

But it’s also true that a change might not be completely negative, even if it’s not something you and your farm’s leadership willingly chose. Or, something might even be neutral at first glance.

It often takes some digging and some additional thought to see if there are ways to turn the change into a net positive for your operation.

How To Deal

There might be times when you as a leader know or believe that making a change would be beneficial for your operation overall, but you still might find yourself resisting or delaying it, simply because it is a change.

The process of change itself can be challenging, because people may need to learn new ways of doing things, and some will be more open to that than others.

Leaders can even get stuck in a rut of continuing to do the same thing repeatedly simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”

People often do this because it feels comfortable or they have a perception of safety from it. But this can also be the ultimate downfall of a farm business as times change.

Think It Through

How can you work through resistance to positive change, whether from others in your operation or even yourself as a leader?

That can often start with the leader working through their own thoughts and past experiences with change on the farm.

Start by considering some changes that your farm has adopted or implemented in the past, especially ones that changed the operation for the better, even if that wasn’t immediately apparent.

Was the change difficult for people in the operation? What specifically was challenging, and why?

Was there a turning point when people began to see positive impacts of the change? When did that happen?

What were the ultimate positive outcomes and results of the change? Is there an area of your operation right now that you could intentionally change for the better?

Legacy Outlook

Regardless of where you’re currently at in your farming career, it’s smart to get intentional now about what you want your farm’s long-term, future legacy to be like.

Take some time now, this summer, to think about and ask some questions about what you want your farm’s legacy to be, whether you’re nearing the end of your farming career or just beginning.

The farmers who take a long-term outlook and are intentional about setting goals and building future-looking business plans will likely create the top operations of the future.