Whether you’ve farmed for less than a year or spent your entire career farming, there are probably several things you’ve noticed that help keep you going.

Farming and running a farm business certainly isn’t a job for someone looking to do something that’s easy or without risk. In today’s world, there are any number of careers to choose from. So why do you – and other farmers – choose farming, year after year, season after season?

‘What’s keeping me farming?’ is a serious question to ask yourself, especially if your operation is facing tougher times or a more challenging operating environment. When you know exactly what’s keeping you running, you’ll have the right motivation and thought processes to carry you through when the rubber hits the road.

Family lore

Some farmers will say that farming is simply “in their blood.” The older generation or generations of their family were farmers and helped to pass down the love of the farm to the younger generation. They may have also passed along a family farm business and legacy to you, too.

That’s wonderful – but it also can come along with certain pressures and worries. If you’re the current leader of a longtime family farm operation – say, you’re the fourth, fifth or sixth generation on the farm – you might feel the weight of carrying on the businesses’ success into the future.

Related:What’s for breakfast?

You want to honor what previous generations worked so hard to build and grow. You want to make sure it’s able to thrive into the future. You want to make sure you’re doing your part to achieve the best production that’s possible for your operation.

Reasons and seasons

Many farmers love the opportunity to work outside during different seasons on the farm. Many also say they enjoy the chance to “get their hands dirty” in the field or by working on machinery. There are also very positive things that come along with stewarding the land that you farm – whether it’s land that your farm owns or a landlord’s land that you’re taking great care of and working to improve.

Some farmers have a passion for creating and operating an excellent ag business. They like working on business and financial plans to improve their farm bit by bit, year after year. These farmers might also like bringing side businesses into the operation as new ventures to help diversify the farm – and maybe also they like to operate additional businesses.

Back to basics

It can feel like a challenging operating environment out there – and that can lead to worry or anxiety because of a great deal of uncertainty right now. So first go back to the basics: Why do you farm and what keeps you farming?

Related:Navigate the right path forward for your farm

Knowing exactly why you’re doing what you do every day will give you the encouragement and fortitude you need to keep going when times get hard. You already know there’s no such thing as a ‘fair weather farmer’ – the weather is always going to have a mix of favorable and not so favorable forecasts. The real question is what you choose to do when the storm is coming.

How are you navigating this market?

Farmers have found that getting some third-party perspective from 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 rapidly-changing grain 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.waterstreetag.com.