Managing a farm is incredibly complicated. In fact, many would argue that it is one of the hardest types of business to run given that you’ve got the most living things to look after. That’s why it’s important to ensure that you’re managing everything effectively and giving your farm the best chance at success. The strategies in this piece are designed to help with that:
Look After Your Machinery
Crops and livestock are usually the main focus on a farm, and while this makes sense, they’re alive after all, machinery maintenance can sometimes get overlooked since it doesn’t live and breathe. Your machinery, however, makes keeping your crops and animals alive much easier, so it’s wise to ensure things are properly maintained.
This can be as simple as making sure your grape harvesters have genuine Braud parts, or as complex as maintaining multiple schedules for servicing and equipment care across various types of machinery. It really depends on what equipment you have on site. But the bottom line is that effective farm management hinges on diligent machinery maintenance, so don’t be tempted to skip a service here or there.
Operate in a Sustainable Manner
Farms rely heavily on the climate they operate in for their success. Too dry, and everything wilts. Too wet, and your crops will flood, Too windy, and your animals and crops may suffer.
Because of this, it’s important to operate sustainably so future generations can also enjoy their love of farming. One way to do this is to practice social procurement. This basically means that elements in your supply chain provide more value than their standard purpose, i.e. reducing waste or benefiting the local community.
Keep on Top of Your Records
Just because your time is spent on the land, doesn’t mean you can avoid paperwork. This mundane task is crucial to running any successful business, so it’s vital that you keep on top of your records. We recommend doing this digitally as it makes keeping on top of things a whole lot easier.
There are some super helpful programs for planning and forecasting that require a few basic data inputs to work. Just remember to run a good backup and disaster recovery system so that if anything ever goes wrong and your data gets lost or corrupted, you’re not up the metaphorical creek without a paddle.
Market Your Products Appropriately
Different types of farms will need to present themselves to the world in different ways. For example, there’s no point in marketing to end consumers if you only operate in a business-to-business capacity. By the same token, those who only sell their produce locally won’t get much value from running a campaign that targets the entire state.
To ensure that you’re marketing your products appropriately and putting your best foot forward online, we suggest engaging the services of a digital marketing agency to help you create your website and establish your brand presence. You’ll also benefit from the creation of an expert strategy, and if you need to pivot or want to introduce new offerings into your product range, your assigned specialist can help.
Running a farm is tough, and there are a whole host of elements you need to keep on top of if you want things to run smoothly. That’s why it’s important to focus on efficiency and find ways to keep on top of everything. The strategies above were designed to help farmers improve their operations – we hope you found them useful.
