What makes a good farmer?
The old adage goes something like this ‘‘80% of farmers believe they are in the top 20%’’
Well we know this can’t be true, but most of us, like it or not, most of us will begrudgingly fit within this 80% bracket.
What makes a good farmer? It’s a question I’m sure all other farmers will have a few opinions on. For me it’s some observations over the years of friends and fellow farmers who I regard as being on top of their game that helps me draw a few conclusions on.
With this in mind, key performance indicators in farming resulting in how farmers regard their peers have not changed a lot in the last twenty years or so but I think we are transitioning our views away from a total production assessment towards a more holistic or rounded view.
As factors that determine value change so will our perception of farming excellence.
Good farmers focus on revenue. In these modern times of bespoke advice be it through agronomists, chemical consultants or fertiliser advisors to name a few it’s easy to push the default button and defer all these important decisions to others.
Good farmers will seek advice, but they don’t necessarily act on it. As the prevalence of ‘‘corporate farming’’ grows with larger holdings becoming the norm it’s likely that more decisions around revenue will be shared around various advisors who will have more autonomy within the farm boundary.
With the process driven farming systems that rely on data to make decisions, good old fashion intuition seems to be on the wane. I firmly believe that observation and intuitive decision making are still the cornerstone behaviours of successful farmers.
Good farmers have an intuitive approach around decision making, yes they may use information to guide them but for the most part they cultivate and trust their own intuitive self.
There’s and old quote that sums up intuitive farming ‘‘use observation and books to learn and when the two contradict each other, throw away the book’’
Good farmers may not display or have a ‘‘trophy wall’’ which is evidence of intelligence in the conventional sense but they display in their day to day workings what I would call an observational intelligence, they look and pick up on observable details which they convert into actionable knowledge.
Concentrate on the little things and the big things seem to work themselves out.
I believe it’s important as farmers to continually trust one’s instinctual self, then follow up with actions. As another old saying goes, you either use it or lose it. Family members of Alliance Group farmer shareholders are being encouraged to apply for one of the co-operative’s undergraduate bursaries.
The $1500 per annum Shareholder Undergraduate Bursary is open to the children of Alliance shareholders who intend pursuing a course of study in areas relating to the