We’re in the final heat of March Madness. Many teams fought hard in recent weeks but didn’t advance to the next level. A full year of practice, hard work and teamwork with the right coach on your side can make the difference between winning and losing.  

This was one of my takeaways from the 2024 Farm Futures Business Summit earlier this year. More and more farm operations are interested in outside coaching and collaborating with others to help them improve and advance to the next level.

Farmers are entrepreneurs. And most successful entrepreneurs in the business world have similar things in common. Some of these include participating in mentorship peer group programs with one-on-one performance coaches.

This may sound a little far-fetched to the farming world. But as farm operations become more progressive and production agriculture more complex, it may not be as far-fetched as you think.  

John C. Maxwell is a well-respected leadership coach who talks about the Law of the Lid. Even the McDonald’s restaurant franchise fell victim to this theory, which basically states the success of an organization will never excel beyond the ability of its owners to effectively lead and make an impact on its business. The well-known book, Traction, speaks to the Entrepreneurial Operating System. It warns you cannot build a successful organization that lives beyond the owners if it is designed to crumble the minute you step aside.

I have fallen guilty of this myself in my consulting business. I had reached a point where I needed additional resources, and to a certain extent, it was limiting my own growth. I broke through these barriers after joining a mentorship program and surrounding myself with other like-minded individuals. Everyone in the group held each other accountable and challenged growth with actionable follow-up tasks to further our development.

Issues that drive farmers to seek coaching and peer groups are as varied as the operations themselves. For instance:

These are just a few of the areas where a farm business may need additional resources. Others could include strategic planning, financials, human resources, management skills, technology, managing equipment and machinery costs, carbon credit programs, FSA programs, risk management strategies, landlord lease relationships or tax planning and accounting.

Where could your operation benefit from management expertise in a specific area? Could you benefit from a coach? If any of the above resonates, I think you probably know the answer. Personally speaking, it not only improved the effectiveness of my business, but also the quality of my work-life balance.  

Downey has been consulting with farmers, landowners and their advisors for the last 24 years. He is a farm business coach with UnCommon Farms and also facilitates family farm transitions. Reach Mike at [email protected].