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Hint: It’s strategic, efficient, and numbers-savvy.

Darren Frye, CEO

April 5, 2021

3 Min Read
A farmer using a computer and smart phone.
shotbydave/iStock/Getty Images

What first comes to mind when you see the words “professional farm”?

Maybe it’s a picture of an imaginary, but great-looking operation – brand new shop, the latest equipment, great bin set-up, everything in tip-top shape. Or maybe it’s an actual farm that you’ve seen before or know about. Or perhaps it’s your own operation.

Thinking about the idea of a “professional farm” can bring up different thoughts for different people. When I think about that phrase, I think less about what the operation physically looks like and more about what’s going on with the business side and how the farm is being run – because the physical side will follow accordingly.

Running a professional farm these days requires a lot on the part of the farm leader –much time and attention to leading and managing the operation on the CEO level. It means taking a business-minded mentality that is all about making improvements, bit by bit, in every area of the operation.

What they do

Farm leaders who want to get to the next level and run a really professional operation strive for a few things in common. These don’t have to do with the size of the operation, in terms of acres, gross revenue or number of side businesses.

Mostly, it has to do with the mindset that the leader intentionally takes and helps bring into all aspects of the operation, while they stand at the helm. They uncover what’s working, what’s not working yet, and what further improvements they can bring in.

Three keys

Here are three key areas that farm leaders can focus on to build a professional farm.

  1. Be strategic. Farm CEOs who run their operations from a strategic high-level vision that helps inform all their decisions, and the decisions of others in the operation often find more success as they work to improve their farms. Having a road map plan that’s in line with the farm owners’ core values brings a sense of where the farm is headed as well as how everyone can help it get there. With these goals for the future are also timelines and a plan to get there.

  2. Work on efficiency. In a commodity business like farming, efficiency is the key. But efficiency doesn’t apply only to production and the decisions you’re making around it. All aspects of the farm benefit from a look at becoming more efficient – whether that means you can save time through something like incorporating more standard operating procedures within the operation or working with an advisor, or save money by taking a second look at different vendors you’re using. The areas where you can investigate and implement new efficiencies on the farm are endless – but they require attention.

  3. Run it by the numbers. Those who want to run a professional farm are constantly running the farm’s business decisions by the numbers. They are in tune with where their operation is at financially all throughout the year. They create and use metrics that are specific to their operation – that give them a clear view of how things are going. They create and use projections with multiple scenarios for a crop year, and then update them as the year goes on. These farmers have flexible marketing plans that can change and adapt as the market reveals more information – and they make marketing decisions based on their farm’s financial information and the unique needs of their operation.

You can get in touch with our group of market advisors – who work with farm leaders as the farmers build successful, professional operations – or get a free trial of our marketing information service by visiting www.waterstreetconsulting.com.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress. 

About the Author(s)

Darren Frye

CEO, Water Street Solutions

Darren Frye grew up on an innovative, integrated Illinois farm. He began trading commodities in 1982 and started his first business in 1987, specializing in fertilizer distribution and crop consulting. In 1994 he started a consulting business, Water Street Solutions to help Midwest farmers become more successful through financial analysis, crop insurance, marketing consulting and legacy planning. The mission of Finance First is to get you to look at spreadsheets and see opportunity, to see your business for what it can be, and to help you build your agricultural legacy.

Visit Water Street Solutions

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