The farm economy is not known for great timing.

Just as a generation of young people came back to join the family farm business, we hit a skid that is now three years old and shows no signs of recovering. That means the risks for every farmer, young and old, are much higher than they were in 2013.

Even as net U.S. farm income heads to its lowest levels since 2002, agriculture continues to evolve, and these days the change is all about farm data. There has been a recent explosion of companies and solution providers in the Agribusiness space, and according to one research company, one of every four commercial farmers are investing in these services despite low commodity prices. 

This seems like good news for young farmers. Sure, not all millennials are digital natives, but they did grow up in a digital world, and that will serve them well as they begin using the new and evolving tools that can build more efficient, profitable and sustainable farm operations. Agriculture is more mind over muscle these days. From finance to field maps, much of the business of farming now involves a cloud or computer, and that seems to suit younger farmers just fine.

This generation’s leadership is more important than ever, especially in the times we live in today. It will define agriculture for the next generation. The pressures of earnings, risk management, work/life balance – these are all the realities of working in today’s business world. Leadership is critical, not just for the health of your business but also to your family, community and industry. It’s needed now more than ever as agriculture works through tough times.

Good news?

On that front there’s good news, although this may sound a bit twisted. Farming in 2016 is a test of your ability to perform well under pressure. The same will be true in 2017. Working through a downturn now could be one of the best things that can happen to a young farmer. 

“The guys who got hammered in the ‘80s and stuck it out, they learned,” says Danny Klinefelter, a Texas A&M ag economist and former Farm Credit bank officer. “When you were an Ag lender back then, one of the best ways to judge a person’s management ability was how they handled the bad times. It’s stressful, but it’s one of the best learning experiences you’ll ever have.”

Then, as now, lenders look for certain characteristics as clues to success: Are you willing to make changes? Are you willing to drill down into your numbers? Are you continuously looking for ways to get better? Everyone is experiencing this same farm recession, but you are competing against a lot of people who are tradition-bound, so being able to think different does matter.

In good times life is easy and money seems to fall off trees. So you see no reason to make changes in how you do business. In hard times you quickly realize:  You can’t keep doing things the old way. You look for advice on how to get better, how to survive, how to thrive – how to do things differently. But the best thing that can happen to a young farmer right now is to simply work through these lean times and learn from this experience.

If you can get through tough times you will have many years of great profits, even when prices seem lousy.

The changes agriculture has gone through in the past 30 years will make your head spin if you think about it. But one thing has not. Problems always create opportunity for those prepared to act on them. The first to solve a problem has a competitive and economic advantage compared to those who give up in frustration.

Every problem contains the seed of a solution. If you can spot those, you are on your way.