A leadership mindset sets successful farm owners apart and is crucial for the sustainability of family-owned farms.
Mindsets are ways of looking at your farm, family and even the ag industry. They are fundamental to the decisions you’ll make and the results you’ll reap. But what are the mindsets of legacy-focused owners? More often than not, I see at least one or a combination of these five mindsets on the best-run farms:
Continuous personal development
It’s about not just cultivating crops but also nurturing a family of learners. Embracing continuous personal and business development ensures that both the farm and its leaders evolve. And it’s not just with new technologies, but also with new ways of leading people, adapting to changing markets and being open to new opportunities.
Take data. Use data to make proactive and forward decisions through the use of new, powerful data analysis tools that look for subtle ways to save money or improve outcomes. This technology is highly disruptive to many industries, including agriculture. However, when we adopt a learning mindset, it propels us.
Stewardship
A farm owner’s commitment transcends the responsibilities of an employee. It’s about making decisions that impact the future of the farm and the family. This mindset focuses not on our own desires and immediate gratification, but rather on what is best for the generations to come. Stewardship is a long game, and we act differently when we take a stewardship approach. Among other responsibilities, stewards protect and teach family values, ensure economic farm business growth, execute successful succession plans, and improve long-term assets.
Abundance
When we believe in abundance rather than scarcity, we make better decisions. I don’t understand psychology, but it’s proven that people who focus on protecting scarce assets don’t accomplish as much as those who have an abundance mindset.
Instead of competing for a limited piece of the pie (such as compensation, ownership, titles, labor or land), an abundance mindset focuses on expanding the pie for all. This means growing the farm and others — regardless of whether they share the same last name.
For example, farmers with an abundance mindset share labor, new ideas, equipment and agronomy practices. A neat thing happens in communities with an abundance mindset: Those farms are among the most progressive and profitable.
Collaboration
In farming, collaboration isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a necessity. Long gone are the days when each farm could rely only on itself. Agriculture, especially at scale, requires collaboration. Collaboration goes hand in hand with the abundance mindset.
When farm owners and their families work together to share ideas and responsibilities, great things happen. It takes trust, respect and unity toward goals. It’s about finding solutions that benefit the entire farm.
Proactive stance
Being proactive often makes the difference for survival. Waiting until the issue reaches a critical point is seldom successful. Proactive doesn’t mean trying to see the future. This mindset is more about taking on tough issues head-on, even if the change or issue is uncomfortable.
Years ago, many farms turned a blind eye and hired illegal labor. However, proactive farms got right with the law and figured out how to use various labor programs. Complying with immigration rules wasn’t fun, but today, these proactive farms can rest easy. They don’t have to worry about an ICE raid hauling off their labor force.
The mindset of farm owners and future leaders is a game-changer, but it is not something that can be bought off the shelf. No one-size-fits-all solution is available. While each of these mindsets is important, how you make them work is unique to you.