On the farm, as in any business venture, most of us would probably say that the definition of a successful farm is a financially successful operation. That’s absolutely a valid answer. A farm operation that is chronically unsuccessful in the financial arena simply isn’t going to stay in business for very long.

Maybe it’s a good starting point to say that a successful farming operation needs to be financially successful – that it needs to make money. But from there, what does a successful farm operation look like? How can it be defined?

Unique answers

The answer is going to become a lot more personalized at that point. Since every farm operation is unique, every farm ownership team will probably have a slightly different take on what success looks like for their operation.

So what does that mean for your operation? Does your operation currently have a definition of what success looks like? Being able to answer this for your farm is critical. Without a vision of success, you – and everyone else in the operation – can’t know whether progress is being made toward that vision, toward that success.

Three starters

Here are three ways to start thinking about how to define success for your operation.

Related:K-State lands $2 million grant to modernize sorghum N guidelines

Get perspective on the market

Related:K-State lands $2 million grant to modernize sorghum N guidelines

One aspect of the farm that also requires clear definition of what success looks like is the farm’s marketing – and many farmers say that grain marketing isn’t their favorite thing to spend time on. Yet grain marketing is one of the top business drivers impacting the level of success that the farm operation can experience.

Farmers have also found that working with 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 current 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.waterstreetconsulting.com.