Farm Futures logo

The role resourcefulness plays on the farm is far-reaching.

Darren Frye, CEO

September 12, 2022

3 Min Read
Old tools on wood table background
Getty/iStockphoto

What comes to mind when you think about the role resourcefulness plays on your farm? Probably quite a bit – farmers are some of the most resourceful people out there.

What comes to mind first could be being resourceful when it deals with fixing something. Maybe you grew up watching your dad or grandpa masterfully fixing seemingly everything around the operation single-handedly – while making it look easy. You may have even learned a few of their skills and tricks along the way that you still use today.

Downtime is expensive, so a leader or someone else who is resourceful and skillful at fixing almost anything is extremely valuable. That’s one way to be resourceful on the farm.

Efficiency matters

Another thing that comes to mind around being resourceful is efficiency. Particularly in a commodity business, efficiency is key – and it requires the leaders and people on the farm to be resourceful. Searching for ways to first use the farm’s current resources, improve upon them or find ways to combine resources are all avenues with the result of improving efficiency.

As a leader, demonstrating the value of improving efficiency in your own responsibilities and encouraging everyone in the operation to search for ways that the farm might become more efficient is best. Rewarding those who come up with ideas that improve efficiency in the operation shows everyone that it’s valued.

Leaders can also consider how they spend their time – because it’s also a valuable resource within the operation. Evaluate where you’re spending time and what types of activities you’re spending time on – so you can devote the majority of your work time to tasks and responsibilities that have the greatest value in terms of what matters most to the overall business success of your operation. Another way to think of this is “time stewardship” – literally, stewarding your time well as a leader.

Market resources

How resourceful are you when it comes to your farm’s marketing? Grain marketing is a critical area on the farm where farmers are becoming more and more resourceful – bringing in new resources to help with the operation’s marketing planning and execution.

Becoming more resourceful with your farm’s marketing could look a few different ways. It could mean taking some time to learn new marketing tools that you can then have as resources at your disposal. It might mean finding a partner for your farm’s marketing plans – working with a market advisor who acts as a resource to help as you call the final shots.

Building a toolbox

In today’s fast-paced grain marketing environment, getting as many resources in your toolbox as possible will help farms plan to take advantage of opportunity.

Farmers have found that working with our market advisors has helped ease their minds. The advisors help farmer clients with planning and execution around marketing decisions and help keep them up to speed on the current market situation – and how it impacts their operation.

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. 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. 

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

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like