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The actual issue might not be what seems to be happening at first glance.

Darren Frye, CEO

May 20, 2019

3 Min Read
One rural barn in the middle of field landscape on the sunset and stormy sky background
FTiare/iStock/GettyImagesPlus

When it comes to troubleshooting and problem solving, farmers generally get quite an education during the first years of their farming career. Because there’s so much going on at the farm, with many different moving pieces, farmers learn to be good problem-solvers quickly within the environment of their operation.

That’s a great skill to bring to leading the operation. Diagnosing and creating solutions to the problems we encounter on the farm is something that happens probably every day, in some way, for all of us on the farm.

Sometimes, though, the problem at hand requires a bit more digging – which can even mean literal digging out in the field! But especially on the business side of the farm, leaders are often facing problems that are quite complex.

What’s the issue?

It can be difficult to define exactly what the problem is. Pinpointing the exact problem is often where we need to spend most of our time and energy up front. Otherwise, we can spend a lot of time spinning our wheels, trying to fix an issue that may not be the actual cause of the problem we’re trying to solve.

Overall, it’s key to make sure we’re getting to the “root” of the problem. When it comes to an agronomic issue, that could mean literally investigating the plant’s root system. Without knowing what’s beneath the soil, we don’t have a full picture of what’s going on. The roots might contain some important information that’s going to inform our whole strategy and solution.

We need to first thoroughly investigate the problem or issue. Then, we can get to the root cause of the problem – and plan how we’re going to address it.

Take the steps

Often, farmers have found that when they dig more deeply into business challenges on the farm, the root cause might be a little different than they expected. For example, problems that on the surface appeared to be a human resources issue or a credit line issue turned out to have a different root cause.

Digging deeper is important – otherwise, we can waste our time solving a bunch of “problems” that turn out to be surface level issues. Meanwhile, the real problem goes unsolved and continues to bother us because it’s down deeper – where we haven’t looked yet.

Here are three steps to take when confronting a major new or ongoing problem in your operation:

  1. Define the problem clearly. Take your time with this. Try not to jump to conclusions about causes.

  2. Look beyond surface issues. Dig deeper. Ask: What’s causing this? What’s really at stake here? Continue digging deeper until you identify possible root causes. Test to see whether each one is the real “root.”

  3. Once you’ve uncovered the root cause, get a clear solution plan in place.

Farm leaders have found that having someone – an advisor for the farm – to troubleshoot business issues alongside them can be a lifesaver. Our advisors also help farm leaders create and put clear plans in place around grain marketing and the financial side of the farm business.

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

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