As the farm’s leader, one of our core responsibilities is to envision the farm’s future – what the farm could be – and to lead others on the farm toward those goals. Sometimes this can seem like a tall order. The past few years haven’t been easy for most farm leaders, but to paraphrase a well-known quote, “Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor.”

For any business, longer-term thinking is important – and necessary to help our farm thrive into the future. This type of thought requires that we set aside intentional time to work on it.

Otherwise, there’s always something else to do on the farm. Some farm leaders might prefer to work on other, more physical projects, rather than this type of effort. Others may welcome the opportunity to take some time to really focus on the state of their business. It all depends on personality type and preferences, but getting it on the calendar is key no matter what.

Before diving in and really thinking about the future and what the farm could be like in that future, get a reality check around the current state of your operation. Having a gut check lets you deal with the current state of ‘what is’ right now – whether good, bad or downright ugly.

Start with reality

A reality check needs to start with the farm’s financial state and projections for the current crop year. Rather than seeing a projection or budget as a constraint, it can be helpful to view it as a tool that can help you make the best, most realistic plans for the future.

That way, you’ll have a better chance of achieving your goals and targets. This doesn’t mean setting the bar low – it means using your farm’s current numbers to be realistic about what you hope to achieve in the future.

Getting a financial review done with a finance advisor for the farm can be a good starting place – to get an in-depth look at where you’re at right now and then review what you can do to move to where you want to be.

Where are you headed?

Once you’ve done an initial financial review and feel clear about where your operation stands, think about where your farm is headed and what you want it to be like – in five, ten and twenty years, for example.

Then consider getting the farm’s main stakeholders together for a meeting where you get the full group’s input, and start setting goals and targets. It can be helpful to enlist a farm business advisor for that meeting. They’re skilled in facilitating in a way that allows all voices to be heard, helping the family as they navigate priorities and timelines.

It can be a challenge to hold two different outlooks in our minds at the same time: Dealing with ‘what is’, or the current state of our farm business, while also thinking about ‘what could be’ – in terms of our farm’s future. Consider scheduling some time to sit down with advisors this summer as you think about what this looks like for your operation.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress.