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What does your holiday card list have to do with your farm?
3 Min Read
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It’s the holiday season – and many farmers might feel it snuck up on them this year. Many on the farm are still working hard on tasks that are still on the to-do list due to a later than normal harvest. There hasn’t been much time to think about planning or preparing for the holidays.
Does your family or farm send out holiday cards to friends and family? What about sending them to landlords, lenders and other business partners? I know many farm families who send personalized holiday greetings to each of their landlords. Some even send their landlords a holiday present each year, just as a thank you.
Most wonderful time of the year
It’s great to communicate with and thank the people in our lives and our businesses this time of year. But it’s probably something that needs to be happening throughout the year, not just at the holidays.
Farm leaders can be proactive about doing so, especially when it comes to communicating with landlords and other key stakeholders. Communicating regularly has many benefits for your business – including staying up to date and “on the same page” about what’s going on in your farm business, as well as the ag world in general.
Four tips to stay connected
Here are four tips to help keep communication going like clockwork.
Who needs to know. First, determine the people outside of your operation who really need to be in the loop. Make a list of names. Your list might include landlords, lenders, advisors, and key vendors and suppliers.
How often. Now, think about how frequently each category or person on the list needs to hear from you. The frequency of some might be higher than others – for example, your banker probably needs more updates, say monthly or quarterly, depending on the size of your operation and what you have going on. Others may need to hear from you just a couple times each year.
Who they are. Put yourself in their shoes. Think about their relationship to your operation from their perspective. How much do they know about the ag world in general? How connected – or not – to farming are they on a daily basis? Will they need education from you about the business of farming or about your operation in particular – or both? Is there a gap between what they know now and what they need to understand about your farm? Knowing this will help you better tailor your communication to each person on your list.
Schedule it – and prepare. Put each scheduled communication – whether it’s a phone call, in-person meeting, written note or card – on your calendar, at the right interval of time you’ve planned between each communication. That way, you’ll have helpful reminders without having to recall a lengthy schedule.
Following these tips can help make landlord, lender and stakeholder communication a little bit simpler – even during busy times of year. You can talk with our advisors for the farm more about how good landlord and lender communication can benefit your operation. Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holiday season!
The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress.
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