Strategic Farm Planning

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Strategy is an important concept in all business, but how much of it is actually applicable to family farmers, who still make up the majority of the agricultural producers? Maverick Ag co-founder Evan Shout says despite the size of your operation, risk management is a technique that should be practiced on all farms.

Shout… “As farmers, we only get so many years at this. We only get to turn our inventory once a year, which gives us very little time to actually take advantage. So it's more we have to get the focus away from costs, first of all, and more to return on investment. So, what are we actually getting back? So if I spend 20 hours a day in a tractor, am I missing out on marketing? Am I missing out on the strategic planning or getting the debt in the position that I can expand if an opportunity came up? So it's first of all, figuring out that unique ability of what am I good at?”

Shout is also a firm believer that strategic planning can be the difference between making a profit or being in the red.

Shout… “Putting someone in a tractor today with the amount of technology we have, that's not the hardest job on the farm. The hardest job on the farm is sitting and figuring out the strategy. And like you said, where do we go from here? If we're, if we're just making ends meet, how can we actually create more revenue so that we have the ability to grow and through growth, hiring good people and having them do their unique abilities. It's kind of a compounding effect, right?”

That’s co-founder of Farmer Coach and Maverick Ag, Evan Shout.