"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..

[holwellcourtfarm]

I was in England for A levels, returned to Canada to do a degree in history, all the while reading and thinking’farming’. Was sent to Prince Edward Island at 19 to work on a sheep/ turnip outfit to ‘cure’ me of my illusions. Prepared for law school but started a master’s in history instead , still reading many books on agriculture. Lived in the city and married at 22, had children and then fell seriously ill. Three years later, when I got better, my husband asked what he could do to make me happy and I said move to the country, buy a farm and raise the boys there. 25 years on I am still farming but understand that my serious lack of any practical training- i.e making mistakes on other people’s farms instead of my own, and having someone experienced to guide me ,is an enormous liability. Luckily I am a big reader and seem to tolerate setbacks without giving up.
I have found the farming community’s reluctance to give any practical advice startling. Whenever I asked neighbour’s for an opinion or guidance on a particular subject, the answer was mostly ‘it depends...’
My parents were always a bit horrified that I chose this life when I could have had a life of ease and ‘fun’. I have always been interested in nature, animals, and manual labour and in my teens read Leo Tolsoy’s ‘Anna Karenina’ and was deeply influenced by the character Constantine Levin ( Tolstoy himself) who was an early proponent of the back to the land movement and reconnection to a ‘ simpler’ life.
I have a neighbour’s son working for me this summer ( as his brother and sister have done before him). His Dad sold his dairy herd about 5 years ago so the boy didn’t have much experience besides feeding the calves and doing a few odd jobs but his inate understanding and ability to get jobs done quickly and efficiently is impressive. I had to teach him to drive a quad and a tractor , but he’s a natural. I wish I had his inborn skills. Will he become a farmer? He likes my unconventional approach ( heard it from his mother), but he will probably never make it his life’s work. Shame. Ignoramuses like me jump right in and naturals like him drift away.

That's a real shame. You haven't found the right people to ask yet. There are some very helpful farming folk around.

Anyway, the best lessons are always the hard ones learnt by personal mistakes.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Here's a question to ponder.

You don't have to answer on here, of course.... ?‍

Who taught you how to run a business?
Have you got a coach, or a mentor - other than a spouse or partner?

One of the most valuable things in business is feedback from critical people IMHO

 

[Farmer Roy]

Here's a question to ponder.

You don't have to answer on here, of course.... ?‍

Who taught you how to run a business?
Have you got a coach, or a mentor - other than a spouse or partner?

One of the most valuable things in business is feedback from critical people IMHO

Err, dunno . . .
Sorta picked up bits as I went along.
My father developed Alzheimer's while I was an early teen
I had the good fortune to work for some pretty switched on farmers here early on in my career, which influenced me
Otherwise, it's all down to me searching out information or knowledge , for better or worse

 

[Farmer Roy]

TBH - it's something I've really missed, not having that father, older brother, mentor, to look to for advice.
In hindsight, early on I did work for one farmer in particular who would have been a great mentor ( & who did influence me greatly ), but sadly I realised that too late & he died of cancer too early . . .

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Hmmmm..

Yeah, it just seems a tough row to hoe, the "running a rural small business" bit.
The rest of the job is fairly simple, unless 'things' are making it harder of course.

I think, I am a fairly simplistic grass farmer anyway you look at it . But I still need a mentor or 3 as well as a couple of coaches along the way, to point out the obvious.

Just been digesting a video from the Farm Owners Academy, and realised that it pretty much slots into the general conversation on here. I've been really fortunate with who's "in my circle" and a lot of success lies within "that threat of criticism" as the old man would say .

[FREE TRAINING] The 3-Step System for a Highly Profitable Farm

Learn how to run a successful farming business that gives you more time and financial freedom.

www.farmownersacademy.com

 

[Crofter64]

Here's a question to ponder.

You don't have to answer on here, of course.... ?‍

Who taught you how to run a business?
Have you got a coach, or a mentor - other than a spouse or partner?

One of the most valuable things in business is feedback from critical people IMHO

My husband and two sons have had influential mentors in their lives( in law, business and health care respectively) . It makes a huge difference in a person’s life, having someone to guide, train and lookout for you. The interesting thing is that of the two most important mentors in my husband’s life ( a professor and an older lawyer) he ended up looking after them, their property and later their estates when they got old and died, and keeping a lookout for their widows and families . He has also , in turn, mentored other young people. And so it goes. I would say this thread has been the closest I’ve come to a farming mentor- I’m lucky to have found it . Actually @Kiwi Pete invited me, so he must be my mentor!

 

[Treg]

My husband and two sons have had influential mentors in their lives( in law, business and health care respectively) . It makes a huge difference in a person’s life, having someone to guide, train and lookout for you. The interesting thing is that of the two most important mentors in my husband’s life ( a professor and an older lawyer) he ended up looking after them, their property and later their estates when they got old and died, and keeping a lookout for their widows and families . He has also , in turn, mentored other young people. And so it goes. I would say this thread has been the closest I’ve come to a farming mentor- I’m lucky to have found it . Actually @Kiwi Pete invited me, so he must be my mentor!

I've got to agree with that last bit, I would have said this thread is the closest I've come to having a farming mentor too , thanks Kp & thank you to the other posters too

 

[Henarar]

Dad and mum mainly and a few others Ihave picked bits up from, I always mixed with older people so most had experience
As for running a business haven't got a bloody clue about that

 

[Treg]

Dad and mum mainly and a few others Ihave picked bits up from, I always mixed with older people so most had experience
As for running a business haven't got a bloody clue about that

I look at my dad as my life coach, he wasn't overly interested in the farm, he'd got a place at art college but his grandfather needed him on the farm, my grandfather died young so the farm skipped a generation. When I say farm it was 16 acres but they made a living from it.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

One of the few useful bits in my HND Ag was the farm business module. As well as gross margins and cashflow planning we prepared a full set of accounts manually, P&L and Balance Sheet, so that we understood what they are all about. Having said that the Holistic financial Planning course was a completely different approach and more in tune with this thread.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

An interesting read:

http://www.bhu.org.nz/future-farming-centre/ffc/information/misc/an-analysis-and-overview-of-regenerative-agriculture-2019-ffc-merfield.pdf

 

[CornishTone]

Termites could be producing 1000 times more CO2 than cattle.

That adds an interesting and uncomfortable element to the debate for those seeking to demonise livestock agriculture!

 

[Henarar]

we should start eating termites

 

[CornishTone]

we should start eating termites

Yum!

 

[Kiwi Pete]

My husband and two sons have had influential mentors in their lives( in law, business and health care respectively) . It makes a huge difference in a person’s life, having someone to guide, train and lookout for you. The interesting thing is that of the two most important mentors in my husband’s life ( a professor and an older lawyer) he ended up looking after them, their property and later their estates when they got old and died, and keeping a lookout for their widows and families . He has also , in turn, mentored other young people. And so it goes. I would say this thread has been the closest I’ve come to a farming mentor- I’m lucky to have found it . Actually @Kiwi Pete invited me, so he must be my mentor!

Thanks - I really wasn't aiming to solicit a response like that, but it's made my day all the same.

It just struck me.. reading thru the odd thread it seems common to have a roughly hewn "plan" in place - but nothing really concrete.
I wonder how many of these small businesses that "need a subsidy" actually really need a coach and a real plan, as to what objectives they want to reach and how they're going to achieve those objectives.

Anyway, on that video it pointed out that basically everyone from singers to athletes to standup comedians have "a coach"; but there seems to be a real dismay in agriculture, to go get one.

How do we improve a business without some clearly written and neatly defined objectives, and feedback?
In a real sense, it seems awfully nice to be busy busy with the 'cows and grass' side of the business, measure, manage them to the nth degree - but not so much with the figures of the partnership or company that owns it all.

???

 

[Farmer Roy]

Hey @Clive
You might be interested in this article. Grant Sims, from the regen Ag clip I shared earlier

Regenerative Farming Practices Lead to Improved Soil Biology, Healthy Crops

Crop Farming “down under” is not that much different from farming in North America. Like U. S. no-tillers, Grant Sims, a sixth-generation farmer from north central Victoria, Australia, and his family focus on soil biology and managing inputs while raising cash crops, year-round cover crops...

www.no-tillfarmer.com

 

[Jameshenry]

Noticing a lot of yarrow in my fields this year

 

[texas pete]

Thanks - I really wasn't aiming to solicit a response like that, but it's made my day all the same.

It just struck me.. reading thru the odd thread it seems common to have a roughly hewn "plan" in place - but nothing really concrete.
I wonder how many of these small businesses that "need a subsidy" actually really need a coach and a real plan, as to what objectives they want to reach and how they're going to achieve those objectives.

Anyway, on that video it pointed out that basically everyone from singers to athletes to standup comedians have "a coach"; but there seems to be a real dismay in agriculture, to go get one.

How do we improve a business without some clearly written and neatly defined objectives, and feedback?
In a real sense, it seems awfully nice to be busy busy with the 'cows and grass' side of the business, measure, manage them to the nth degree - but not so much with the figures of the partnership or company that owns it all.

???

Pete, you talk too much sense for this forum at times, you really do.

A coach, mentor, chief motivator, however you want to describe them, is as important as having the defined objectives in the first place. It's correctly acting on the feedback that can be the tricky bit.

In business, having the correct structure is key. From personal experience, of being involved in a dysfunctional family partnership, where roles aren't defined and difficult problems and decisions are best ignored and left for another day, or generation to deal with, it can seem very difficult to set and deal with the objectives, at times. That's where the mentor can help. Still not easy though.

Apologies for the ramble, I know what I mean...

 

[onesiedale]

Pete, you talk too much sense for this forum at times, you really do.

A coach, mentor, chief motivator, however you want to describe them, is as important as having the defined objectives in the first place. It's correctly acting on the feedback that can be the tricky bit.

In business, having the correct structure is key. From personal experience, of being involved in a dysfunctional family partnership, where roles aren't defined and difficult problems and decisions are best ignored and left for another day, or generation to deal with, it can seem very difficult to set and deal with the objectives, at times. That's where the mentor can help. Still not easy though.

Apologies for the ramble, I know what I mean...

I know what you mean too

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Pete, you talk too much sense for this forum at times, you really do.

A coach, mentor, chief motivator, however you want to describe them, is as important as having the defined objectives in the first place. It's correctly acting on the feedback that can be the tricky bit.

In business, having the correct structure is key. From personal experience, of being involved in a dysfunctional family partnership, where roles aren't defined and difficult problems and decisions are best ignored and left for another day, or generation to deal with, it can seem very difficult to set and deal with the objectives, at times. That's where the mentor can help. Still not easy though.

Apologies for the ramble, I know what I mean...

I know what you mean, too.

Roy loves to remind us of the "buggy whips" analogy, and in this respect there's a real need for us to make sure our business model is current and up to date... so many are farming for cheap labour and fuel that no longer exist, their model is outdated but the important bit is that they aren't changing anything important.

It's quite disturbing when you look at "production agriculture" as a whole, because so much of it hangs in the balance, fighting a war it really can't win - because the tools that make it work are behind us... cheap labour, cheap steel, cheap fuel and a predictably stable climate.
And also a huge chunk of chemistry, no longer works or is deemed unacceptable.

None of those things will ever really return, so IMO a good business coach would suggest to look for better tools, or better ways to use the old tools?
The forum would simply get defensive, and blame everyone from the customer to the NFU along the way - blame the Irish beef producers, the kiwi sheepshaggers, basically do nothing that makes a difference ?