Get serious about the farm’s numbers. The operations that will not only survive, but thrive through the downturn continue to buckle down on their financial management skills. More importantly, they take management action to create improvements in efficiency based on what they discover. These leaders are focused on what they can do to become better managers and create a better farm operation. They work to make incremental improvements constantly and consistently. They know their farm’s numbers and analyze them regularly with the help of advisors, and then take action to improve. They don’t beat themselves up about any areas where their operation struggles, but instead simply move forward with new plans for improvement.

Get serious about your team. This includes both the people on your employee team on the farm, as well as your wider team that includes your lenders, suppliers, vendors, dealers and advisors. Getting serious in this area means taking a close, careful look to determine whether you have the right people on your employee team – and on your wider team. The right people have your farm’s best interest at heart, whether they’re a family member, employee or someone you deal with from another business. If that doesn’t seem to be the case, a change may be in order.

Get serious about marketing plans. In today’s ag economic environment, grain marketing requires careful, flexible planning from farm leaders. Markets are a factor that none of us can control – but you can control the way you plan and how you create a strategy to best take advantage of opportunity. Partnering with an advisor to help as you plan and execute your marketing strategy for 2019 and beyond is a major factor in your farm’s success – one that you have immediate control over right now.