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South Dakota | Its definitely a culmination of things that adds up. First and foremost, for myself and definitely not saying this is necessary, I attribute a lot of my business acumen to getting a degree that focused on numbers and business then working in the corporate world for a while before venturing back to the farm. I learned a lot about various levels of business, making numbers work, detail, negotiation, ect.
As it pertains to my farm business, be willing to learn and ask questions. In my experience, if a farm looks successful and has been around a while, be willing to ask them questions, id bet they are willing to help you out. These farms (or many businesses for that matter) tend to be the ones whom others say "aren't going to make it and are just lucky that they've been successful." Even if its been decades or generations of success. You will want to sharpen your research and negotiation skills. You never know how much making that one last call to a different/new retailer/wholesaler can save you, especially when you are willing to call out a little further than you'd think you need to. Scrutinize every business dollar spent. You want to spend money, whats the ROI? How does it benefit you now? How about later? Does it open new avenues down the road? Risk management and maximized ROI is the focus on this farm. Always look at alternative ventures when looking at ROIs when you're looking to spend some money. Many consider, and naturally so, things like cattle/pigs/birds/ect as forms of investment that diversifies your operation. I would challenge, does it even need to be ag related? For me, ag related or not, I want a decent ROI that is relatively consistent and requires less day to day management.
Grain marketing and the risk management with said marketing is probably #1 for me. I don't get too crazy with puts and things of that nature, I like incremental hedges during times that statistically prove to be the best time to hedge and leave a little for later spikes. Its all about risk management and averaging well, in the long run, you will win.
While I do what I can to maximize yield with proven year in/year out agronomic practices, I tend not to subscribe to the "put all of this into the crop and it'll be amazing" as I tend to hear "well, I figure it at least breaks even" from the farmers that use all the products. You can make a crop really expensive for in to "maybe breakeven" when good ole Mother Nature is the true dictator. Just look at the past few years. Did many just all of a sudden become the best agronomic farmers ever? (or worst because of the 2011/12 drought) Or did Mother Nature show how much influence she truly has? Marketing was a big differentiator for many the last few years....('12 was statistically an anomaly year)
Good luck, Honky, I'm glad you are willing to ask! If you have any questions, just let me know.
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Advice please
