An aspect of leading the farm that I hear many farm owners talking about lately is around employees – and how to lead and manage them. Whether your farm team is made up of you, your spouse and your brother – or you’re leading a group of multiple full-time and part-time non-family employees – there’s something important to do before planting season kicks into full gear.

Scheduling a team meeting before planting season allows everyone to truly get on the same page and prepare for what the busy time is going to actually be like. This is especially important if you have any new employees or anyone else who is new to the operation this spring.

What to cover

It’s key to get everyone on the farm’s team on the same page about a couple of very important things. The first that comes to mind is what the farm’s goals are for the upcoming crop year – and then to break it down further to the specific goals for planting season that will help make those bigger goals possible.

Then you can go to a level of further detail into what expectations will be like during planting season. Address things like the hours/days of the week that people will be working, what plans are if/when it rains, what happens if there is an equipment breakdown, etc.

A planned pre-season meeting is a great opportunity to do safety training and review the operation’s planting processes and procedures so everyone can get clear on those. It’s a time when you can also encourage employees to ask questions and get answers from you and other leaders in the operation.

Plan to give each employee clarity around their specific role and what the objectives will be for them during the season. Consider making part of the meeting a social opportunity. Maybe there’s a team meal first, and then the meeting starts – or the opposite order works too.

Build the team

Take some time now to get a pre-season team meeting scheduled for a date in the coming weeks. Make sure to prepare ahead of time for what the meeting will include in terms of discussing goals, expectations, safety, processes and procedures, and anything else that will be key for your team to understand.

The unity of the team and their understanding of how their role contributes to the success of the farm’s planting season plays a large role in the results you can have in your operation.

Doing this work up-front with your team will go a long way later when you’re in the heart of planting, making sure you’re getting the crop in the ground in the best timeframe possible, and relying on your team to make sure it all happens in the right way.

Keep up with the markets

Another major topic on farmers’ minds right now as we get closer to planting season is what’s going on with the markets.

Our market advisors partner with and bring education around different marketing tools. They also help farmer clients with planning and execution around marketing decisions.

Get a free two-week trial of our marketing information service (MarketView Basic). Your free trial includes regular audio and video updates, technical analysis, recommendations and more. Or learn more about our market advisor programs and offerings at www.waterstreetconsulting.com.

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