Water Street Solutions

This fall, many farm leaders are considering how the farm’s financials for 2024 are going to shake out. Many farms across the Midwest are currently experiencing challenges around profit margins.

Some farm leaders might want to try out nearly every new method or new piece of technology, simply because it is the new thing.

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.

Whom do you consider your farming business partners? Farms can have several different scenarios when it comes to who is part of the leadership team and how many people are involved.

When you think about a successful farm operation, what comes to mind? Maybe the operation itself looks a certain way. Maybe it’s doing extremely financially well as a business.

I think farm leaders are the masters of getting things done. On any given day, farmers wear any number of different hats and roles requiring many skills, ranging from agronomist to HR manager to operations manager to marketer.

As a farm leader, you’re used to getting things done, making sure all the work that needs to be completed in the operation is happening like clockwork.

When you’re running a complex, fast-paced farm operation with a lot of moving pieces, there are always many decisions being made.

With the 2023 crop year wrapped up, it’s a season with some clear shifts going on. There’s less time-sensitive production work to do, and everyone’s attention moves toward the many other tasks that need to get done in the operation.

An important part of your role as the CEO of your farm is to consider and then plan for what the farm is going to need in order to thrive in the future. The best time to start making 2024 plans is right now.

Dealing with problems and challenges on the farm: No one really likes to handle them, but it’s certainly part of the job when you’re the farm’s leader.

When you think about your farm’s team, you might first think of your employees and the other people who work directly within the operation, such as other family members who are involved. These people are key to your farm’s mission and success, in the trenches with you every day.

What are top farm operators doing to move ahead of the curve? The operations might look different from the outside, but there tends to be one thing in common.

Many farmers have questions about when is the right time to grow or expand their operation. These questions might be focused around good timing for growth in terms of both internal and external conditions.

There’s always a lot happening on the farm in the summer. It’s growing season, after all. And right now, there’s also a lot happening in terms of the farm’s financial outlook as weather forecasts and markets continue to shift.

Farm leaders are typically the ones who must make the biggest decisions for the operation. That’s not to say that others in the operation don’t make a lot of important decisions every day that impact the bottom line.

What first comes to your mind when you hear the word change? Different people can have very different reactions when even just thinking about change or the idea of something changing.

When you think about your farm operation and why you want to work to make it successful, what first comes to mind? You might think about how you want to create a successful operation to perhaps one day bring in the next generation.

When you think of the word “professional,” what comes to mind? You might think about something looking a certain way, perhaps very sharp or put-together.

Do you personally know any farmers who are very resourceful? If you grew up on a farm, maybe you watched your Dad or Grandpa fix almost anything, seemingly without needing to buy anything that wasn’t already available on the farm.

We’ve started into a brand-new year. At this time, many people begin to think about new plans, goals and intentions for the upcoming months.

As 2022 wraps up, there’s a lot that farm leaders can use to move forward into 2023 plans. It can be helpful to start out on the “strengths” side for your operation in 2022. What were some of the things that went really well? What did your team do well? What were the high points?

When I say the word “legacy,” what first comes to mind? Maybe you think about transferring your farm operation’s assets to the next generation. Maybe it has to do with your operation itself and what will happen to it in the future.

When you hear the words “adapt” and “change,” how do you typically react? Does that immediately bring feelings of uncertainty? Or, does it create excitement? For different farm leaders, those two words might bring very different feelings.

We all know about the role of the farm’s leader and all the different “hats” he can wear during a single day. That’s because the areas of responsibility that the leader touches are quite varied.

Lately, I’ve heard more and more farmers asking and talking about whether this is a good time to expand their farm operation. There certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of answer to that question. It depends heavily on many factors related to your unique operation.

When you’re leading a farm operation during the growing season, it can feel a lot like what this farmer said: “I feel like I’m putting out fires all day long!”

As the leader of your farm operation, there are so many different choices you’re making on a daily basis for your farm. From the mundane to the major, there’s always some type of decision to make or choices to consider.

What comes to mind when you think about the success of your farm operation? How do you define success for your unique operation? Your answers to those two questions might look very different, depending on where you’re at in your farming career.

If you’re a farm leader gearing up for planting season, you know there can be a lot of questions going into this time of year. There are always questions about what weather will be like: Will the crop get in the ground quickly or will the season be more drawn-out?

If you’re like most people who own and lead a farm business, chances are you’re a rather busy person. Since you’re the owner, you know you ultimately hold the responsibility for the business and to see your business succeed.

As we get closer to planting season, have you taken some time to think about the big goals you have for your operation in 2022? I hope you set aside some time to think intentionally about where your operation is heading, the goals you will set and how you will get there.

The new year is here, and once again it’s a time when many people take the opportunity to look back and to look forward expectantly. Both personally and professionally, it can be good to take a bit of time to do this review.

For most farmers, decisions about whether to buy land can be filled with emotion. As they say, “they’re not making any more of it. ”It’s true that getting new acres is one way to grow your operation. But when ground comes up for sale near you, how do you know whether it’s the right time to buy?

In ag, and any other industry, it’s true that there are some people who seem to be more open to change and some who are less open. Some might even be downright against seemingly any change, even when the change might be helpful or provide an advantage for their operation.

One of the biggest jobs the farm leader has is the need to size up different opportunities that arise for the operation. It’s no secret that the number of opportunities or different types of side businesses that the farm could get involved with is basically endless.

If you’re leading a farm operation, you’ve probably recognized that the people on your farm tend to catch more of what you do than what you say. What I mean by that is: because more is caught than taught, what leaders do — and don’t do — in terms of their day-to-day behavior on the farm makes a big difference.

Farming certainly is a competitive business, perhaps now even more than ever. To maintain a competitive edge, farm leaders often consider ways to grow or expand their operation.

Many farm leaders say that marketing their crop is one of the most challenging things that they do. In all types of markets, thoughts of uncertainty about what may happen — and sometimes even anxiety or fear — are common.