Do the dollars and cents add up?

In every conference there is a speaker who has everyone tuned in and taking notes, Sam Johnsson from Farm Owners Academy had everyone grabbing a pencil and taking notes.

On our conference day we want every attendee to walk away with a new key to making better decisions and increasing the sustainability of agricultural businesses across the district.

What Sam covered may have been a little confronting for some, what he said was not controversial, it was just asking people to step back and ask some simple business questions. Those questions included-

-          Are you paying yourself a wage*?

-          Are all family contributors to the farm being paid a wage?

-          Is that wage comparable to what you would get paid if you were working off-farm?

*wage- a package of benefits that may include monetary, house, car, electricity, fuel, food etc.

Unfortunately, some landholders will answer no to all of the above questions and most landholders will answer no to at least one of these questions. There are lots of reasons why a landholder might have answered no, but it is important to recognize where you and your farm are at.

‘To truly be a business your farm needs to pay you a market comparable wage AND deliver you an acceptable profit to compensate you for the risks of farm business ownership’ Sam Johnsson Farm Owners Academy.

Sam took the attendees through calculations that you can use to work out how much money your farming business needs to earn for everyone in your business to receive a wage.

As farmers we are often on a treadmill looking at the next job that needs doing and the next bill that needs paying. We sometimes forget to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. That bigger picture can sometimes be confronting and that is ok. It is only in light of that bigger picture that you can make positive life-changing decisions. 

By stepping back we can make greater strategic decision, the CEO decisions, ones that change the trajectory of your family. Sometimes we don’t want to step back because we are scared that we will have to admit failure, but without stepping back and looking at the full picture we will never find true success.

If you want to step back and look at the full picture, but don’t know where to start, Farm Owners Academy offer a free 1 hour no obligation coaching call as well as some free downloadable resources on their website- https://www.farmownersacademy.com/resources