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ON-FARM THOUGHTS: Sharing My Thoughts For New Ag Producers
by Larry Wegner, MFGA Board Alumni
Our sons, Herb and Max, are taking over the operations of our farm. I am constantly told by them that they know it all and, well, they really do not care to know what I am thinking.
So, my revenge is to write this blog so in the future they can read it and say “Jeez…Dad was not so dumb”. Of course, this relies on the blind faith that they will read anything I write.
So, with my own slice of transparent motivation declared, and with your reading to this point openly being farther than Herb and Max ever may ever get to, here are my thoughts on what new agriculture producers might consider doing as they enter this wonderful and sometimes wacky world we work and live in:
· Travel when you are young: Travel will open your mind to new experiences and help to shift your paradigms. Too often we are set on our ways by our parents and teachers. Traveling on your own will make you have to be open to new people and places. An ag tour, it is a good place to start. People that travel seem to have a greater appreciation of what we have at home than those that that do not travel. Think of the expense of travel as an investment in yourself.
· Life partners for life: Find a life partner who wants to be part of your future in farming/ranching. Many people have done this solo and have been successful. But it is much easier with someone who wants to share the experience. To share a laugh, to hold each other when times are tough and all you have left is to plan for next year. I have seen many partners who had no prior experience in agriculture become supportive and fully activated partners in the family ag business.
· Farming/ranching is a business: Protect yourself and your partner if the business fails. We all change over time. It is not right or wrong, it is a fact. I know I am not the same person I was 25 years ago, good or bad (depends on who you ask). A positive change I have seen in the ag industry is that the contributions of all farm family members are receiving well-deserved respect for the work and support provided to farm or ranch. Whether fixing a fence, moving cattle, or delivering a field supper during harvest, this is all-in-this-together teamwork is important as you develop your farm plans and projects in the ag business. That could be a field of forage seed, cover crop of Kale, a market garden, purebred cattle, or sheep. Some of these may fail but could also become successful. Remember to start small and if it works for you, grow with it.
· Mentors mentor: Find a producer who is successful and ask them to share their experiences. Having a mentor opens more doors than you can imagine, particularly on what does and does not work and for your knowledge and viewpoint in future conversations. Most producers are extremely happy to share their experiences with you. Last week my “baby” sister -she is 50 now-asked about a lush green field she saw on her travels. She wanted to know what the field was. From the picture I could not say for sure and gave her a few thoughts. I told her of an app that could help, but I said “if it was me, I would just knock on the producer’s door and ask” then you can find out if the producer would do it again and what did it cost to produce. Develop your own network of producers who are at the same stage of production as you. These will be the producers you can reach out to discuss and bounce your innovative ideas off. There is a sense of constructive collaboration around working on ideas as a group and as a sounding board for those pushing innovation.
· Economy of scale does not apply to a new producer: That is mostly applicable for producers with experience and on-farm management to scale up their operation to that 5,000 crop acres or that 500-head cow herd. The producers who have these scaled up their operations did not start there. They built up their operations over time and experience. They did not do it overnight! The tough thing to do is match your operation with the management skills you possess and then grow your operation over time on those strengths and best fits. Farming is a marathon not a sprint so pace yourself.
· Dealing with Debt: Debt is a much-despised four-letter word. Now that we have it out there, let us talk about it. Debt is not good or bad, it is an option we can use to build equity. Too much debt to your asset base can cause a lot of stress. Debt can affect people differently. Some people have little or no impact from debt. Meanwhile others have an elevated level of stress, and it can influence their life. Each of us must know individually how and when debt affects us, and we all must take care to deal with the stress level and try not to let the business stress affect your personal relationships. In a presentation given by Gabe Brown of North Dakota, Gabe said he had a profound sense of financial freedom when he no longer had to ask the bank representative for funds to manage the farm operation. That all said, If the stress is getting you in a funk, do NOT hesitate to call an agency like Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program (manitobafarmerwellness.ca). They are there for all of us in moments like this.
· Treat your ag business like a business, not a lifestyle: Lifestyle is the fruits of your labor. Understand the difference in finance and economics, there is a difference. Treat cash flow as king. The more and steady cash flow you have, the easier it is to manage your finances. I learned in a “Ranching for Profit” course the difference between “working on the business” and “working in the business”. Working in the business is moving cattle, planting crops, baling hay, and fixing fences, all are lower paying, often paid by the hour jobs. Working on the business is a higher paying career that makes you and your partners sit down and plan: one month, one quarter, one year and five years going forward. Working in the business jobs are satisfying to do and can be done by anyone, from High School student on up. Working on the business job requires more time and thought, you may need to ask advice from a professional i.e., lawyer, accountant, and a financial adviser. Think of “working on the business” as laying out the path you want to take your operation forward and the needed time to see the results.
· Know your cost of production. Manitoba Ag has a list of calculators to help you work out production costs. Manitoba Ag staff have done a good job creating and maintaining these online. I do ours four times a year and more if there is a major change in production cost. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/farm-management/production-economics/cost-of-production.html . My other favorite site is BCRC at their site you can check out what is new in research, and they too have some great calculators to use to help with your business. Their link is: https://www.beefresearch.ca/tools/interactive-calculators/
· You can also go to MFGA site to check out their research projects and watch some of the past conference’s mind-opening speakers. https://mfga.net/regenerative-ag
· Read and Learn: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey is a book that I highly recommend you read.. The seventh habit is continuous lifelong learning about new and old practices that you can use in your operation. The world of soil health is bursting at the seams with information that has a practical use in our operations. Some of this information confirms what we have been seeing in our fields and some is new. There is information about genetics for livestock and crop production and marketing, buying, and selling.
· Strive for the whole: Remember to engage in personal development. As much as we believe that we are good enough, there is so much more to learn between our partners and other people we deal with daily.
My life in ag has always been my dream and I am proud to say that I have enjoyed the journey. I have made mistakes and even had to pack a bag lunch for a second job in town to make money to pay for them. These were learning experiences. If I did not learn from them, then they would be mistakes. As new ag producers, the ball is in your court. Make the best of it. Collaborating with Mother Nature is awesome and sometimes, formidable. She does not always play fair, and she always bats last. We just must do the best we can. The new world of government policies that are coming out does make me shake my head and ask, “how can someone with no understanding of ag production control what we do?” Consumers want to know where their food comes from, and increasingly, consumers want to know if the food is nutrient dense and if it can be purchased at an affordable price.
There will be great opportunities in ag production for you as new producers. You just must find and design your own path to follow.
Herb and Max, I hope you have read this 😊
Larry
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