Using family dynamics on the farm to promote our image off it

Friday, April 8, 2016

Consumers can relate to the way families run their farm business. But each member must bring a necessary skill to the table, plus a good work ethic and a commitment to the farm's future

by REBECCA DAVIS  

There is a lot of buzz around the word "transparency" in agriculture. As consumers demand changes to production systems and ask questions about the way their food is produced, farmers are pressed to open their doors and show how food makes it to the table.

To show consumers transparency, we have to look at our farms with untrained eyes. We have to be willing to engage in conversations about all farm practices, not just the ones that are easily explained. We can't afford merely to show our strengths; we have to admit our weaknesses as well. On my family farm, we are really good at loading pigs and making our own feed, but we are currently experiencing a PRRS outbreak. We share both of these things publicly. By showing all the sides of the farm, we become much more relatable. We need consumers to see the farm as a living, breathing, changing thing.  

When we look at our farms with an outsider's eye, it doesn't have to stop with our production practices. We can look at our personnel that way, too, especially when we are working together as a family. When families work together, we tend to see each other in the same light as we do in our family structure, not as we might be in the organizational structure.  For example, many farms have to transition to a new generation or two that have to work together to make management decisions. In the family, grandpa and grandma may be the head, but on the farm, maybe the granddaughter is the final decision-maker.  It's healthy for the business to put the most qualified person in each position.

Whenever we are working with family, we have to treat each other like "other" people, respecting each other's input, sharing ideas and being realistic about each other's skills. It is often hard for the older generations to see the younger ones take risks and sometimes make mistakes, but it is the only way that leadership skills can be tested
and honed.

That being said, family members need to earn their place on the farm. Each person must bring a necessary skill to the table, along with a good work ethic and a commitment to the longevity of the operation. We want a culture of ownership but not of entitlement within the family farm.
Family members need not only to respect each other, but show that respect outwardly to other farm employees. We need to show that, as a management unit, we are united in our decision-making.

Besides working together every day towards our goals, my family uses absence to give me leadership experience. Mom and Dad will go on vacation and let me manage things for a week or two at a time. I have to work through problems and make quick decisions on a daily basis. I make mistakes, but I gain confidence in my ability to handle the unexpected, and show the farm team that I am a capable leader.

We can use our family dynamics on the farm to help promote our image off it. Every consumer can relate to family dynamics, and the fact that we work together through our problems can be incredibly endearing. When we are challenged to be more transparent, we can use it as an opportunity to make better business decisions, inside and out. BP

Rebecca Davis is the third generation earning a livelihood from the family-owned Barton Farm Company located near Homer, Mich. Her blog is posted at fittofarm.blogspot.ca