Top 5 Business Management Actions on the Farm/Ranch

As we wrap up 2019, I want to share with you what comes to the top of my mind as actions that farms and ranches take when they are serious about their business management. If you are hitting the mark on these, well done! If not, then what will your strategy be to improve in 2020?

1.Effective Communication –
Have regular WITB (operational) meetings and WOTB (strategic) meetings. For WITB they should be brief, focused and end with something written down in a visible spot, listing who is doing what by when. For WOTB meetings they need to be focused with limited distractions, allow for creative thought, be inclusive and also end with an action plan.

2.Clear Roles and Accountability –
Are all the roles of your business being filled? Is ownership clearly setting the mission and vision? Is management developing plans that include strategies with contingencies and communicating those to everybody? Is labor effectively balancing all the duties and working with the end in mind? Most farms and ranches are owned and labored while few are effectively managed.

3.Plans Developed and Communicated –
Does your business have the following plans written down:
Economic plan showing the projected profit for the coming year. 
Financial plan which shows the projected cash flow for the coming year.
Grazing plan that shows where the animals will be, for how long, planned rest periods and planned stocking rate. 
Disaster plan for drought, fire, blizzards, or floods.
Organization structure listing who is responsible for each aspect of the business.

4.Professional Development – What is the plan for the coming year? What areas does the business need training in? Each key person should develop their own professional development plan for the coming year and get buy-in from the business leadership.

5.Healthy Balance of Work and Life – If you are spending all your time putting out fires in the business something has to change. Sure, we all go through periods of super-human effort, but if this is the norm it isn’t sustainable. If you want different results, you must take different actions.

From all of us at RMC, thank you for your support over this past year. We are so blessed to get to work with some of the best people in the world who are taking care of God’s creation and feeding the people.

Best wishes for a joyful and prosperous 2020!