In the words of the great philosopher of our time, Michael Scott of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”

Therefore, you can bet that I ring in the new year with every good luck totem, anthem and old wives’ tale I can get my hands on. I’ll eat the 12 grapes as the clock chimes midnight. And I’ll eat the black-eyed peas and sweep out the old year with a good cleaning of the house. I’ll muster up the energy even with a splitting headache from the champagne and the noisemakers of last night.

OK, so logically I know that these are all traditions that don’t really change the trajectory of the new year. That, my friends, is in our hands.

We can either position ourselves, our families and our businesses for opportunity, or we can wait for opportunities to come to us. As my dad once told me, you can sit and complain, or you can get up and do something to change the situation you’re complaining about.

Now, friends, I don’t know what input and machinery costs or crop and livestock prices will do in the new year. But I do remember what Barry Flinchbaugh and other ag economists have told me over almost 25 years of covering farming: The low-cost producer survives. Getting a handle on costs and your breakevens is probably worth an afternoon of calculations this winter, wouldn’t you say? The Kansas Farm Management Association is an excellent place to start.

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I couldn’t even begin to guess how the new Congress and administration will affect the farm-level decisions you will have to make in 2025. But if there’s something that your elected officials are doing that affects you and your family, speak up. Call their offices, write them emails, and hold their feet to the fire for those campaign promises. That goes for your elected representatives in Topeka as well. Make it a point to read up on bills, and make time to go to their town hall meetings. Not only are the cookies usually pretty good, but you get facetime with your representative and make your opinions heard.

The number of farmers shrinks every year it seems. The only way to really get your voices heard above the din of competing lobbying interests is if you band together. Whether that’s membership in a commodity organization, the Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Farmers Union or any other grassroots organization of your choosing, you really should find a group and join. And don’t just pay the membership dues, but get in there, ask questions and use the resources the staff provides members to improve their farms. I suggest a good starting point is the Kansas Commodity Classic on Jan. 31, where Kansas corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum farmers will gather in one place.

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Closer to home, I would encourage all of you to step up and take a leadership position in your community organizations, clubs, councils and boards. The strongest rural community is only as strong as its weakest links. And our little communities are struggling for leaders to take over the heavy lifting from those retiring from the groups that keep them alive. We need young people to volunteer as rural firefighters, to sit on the co-op board or the church council, and to run for school board and the county commission. It’s thankless work, and no one is going to throw you a parade, but that’s how the country runs. It’s citizen leadership. And if you’re looking for resources to help you get ready, I would start with the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership program. As a graduate of Class X, I know firsthand how this program works to give rural Kansans the tools to make a difference.

As you and your families welcome 2025, enjoy the traditions you have to ring in the new year. Shoot off fireworks, kiss a loved one at midnight, and sing “Auld Lang Syne” off-key. But then, my challenge to you is to roll up your sleeves and get ready to work.

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That’s how we make 2025 great.