Prepare and anticipate what you can. Think ahead to the state you want everything on the farm to be in when it’s time to roll in the field. Especially consider any maintenance that needs to be done to equipment, and ensure that planter set-up has been completed properly. What is your plan to quickly address any breakdowns that happen during planting? Make sure you have extra supplies on hand for the type of repairs that can be done on-site at your farm. What else would be helpful to have on hand and organized during planting season?

Get the team on the same page. Many farmers will have an employee meeting or some type of employee get-together before the spring planting season. This might be more like a training type session where you review important information like safety procedures, equipment operating procedures, any special objectives for this planting season and other topics. Or it could be a bit more of a social gathering where employees’ spouses and children are also invited for a meal and a “thank you in advance” for the longer hours the employees will be working. Some farmers like to have both types of gatherings, since each has a different purpose.

Think carefully about your own time. As the farm’s leader, you can start to become pulled in many different directions, especially during busy seasons. But the operation needs you, as the leader, to also stay focused on the “bigger picture” of the operation – handling the business and financial side even during planting and harvest. Evaluate how you’re planning to spend your time this spring. Is the majority going to be spent doing the things that only you, as the leader, can do? Or is there some “busy work” as well that could be done by someone else? Delegate what you can so you have the time to focus where you make the biggest difference.