An example of that is the “Optimizing Wellness on the Farm” presentation by Kim Moffat at CrossRoads 2023, a crop production conference held in Edmonton, Alta., in January.

Moffat has a background in psychiatric nursing and is a certified crisis counsellor with 30 years of counselling experience. She spoke to Grainews prior to the Crossroads 2023 conference about what kind of advice she has for farmers to help them manage stress.

In Moffat’s view, early 2023 is the right time for farmers to have frank, honest conversations with themselves about the state of their mental health.

“Given the droughts over the past few years and the huge disruption COVID brought to everyone’s lives, it’s time we all ask ourselves, how are we really?” she said.

“Many of us suffered some significant losses and stress over the last few years. These losses included the deaths of loved ones, missed celebrations, disconnection from loved ones and the ongoing stress due to year after year of severe crop conditions. Many of us feel like there was no time to really process what was happening, and now we are seeing the results of that lack of processing and chronic stress play out in ourselves and our families.”

Mental health studies

Moffat noted two national surveys focusing on the mental health and well-being of producers (published by the University of Guelph in Ontario in 2016 and 2021) highlighted the need for Canadian farmers to make mental health a priority. 

The surveys were part of research spearheaded by Briana Hagen and Andria Jones-Bitton that aimed to uncover sources of stress for farmers and the effects of those stresses. Other objectives were to increase the rate at which farmers seek out stress management resources as well as to help build better mental health services for those in agriculture.

The research found farmers were less likely to seek help for their mental health challenges compared with non-farmers. This was attributed to a number of factors, including the stigma around mental health, the belief that self-reliance is sufficient, the cost of counselling, a lack of flexibility with counselling services and perceptions that counsellors don’t understand how farming works.

Moffat said some of these potential barriers have been reduced significantly. For one, the availability of online and telephone-based help has increased dramatically — one silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Higher rates of alcohol consumption during the pandemic could have made matters worse for farmers dealing with stress, anxiety and depression. “It’s not uncommon for people to feel overwhelmed with the stress and trying to find someone to talk to can sometimes be a challenge when we are not thinking clearly,” said Moffat.

She acknowledged dealing with the multiple stressors and challenges in farming these days is far from easy. Moffat said part of the answer is for farmers to recognize so much about farming is outside of their control and to focus on things they are able to change.

“It all starts with producers taking stock of their lives and determining what is working and what needs to change,” she said. “Recognizing that many aspects of farming are not within our control, it’s important to notice how much time and energy we can needlessly spend worrying over things we have no ability to change.”

Warning signs

According to Moffat, raising self-awareness can help farmers see some of the warning signs of increasing stress. “By paying attention to their behaviors, feelings and thoughts, farmers can recognize when they need to increase or change their coping strategies,” she said.

Some of the warning signs you should watch for in yourself and others around you could include:

• Difficulty in concentrating on tasks
• Irritability
• Feelings of overwhelm and panic
• Drinking alcohol more often
• Overeating
• Using drugs to calm yourself or just feel normal
• Difficulty sleeping or not feeling rested after your normal sleeping duration
• Other physical symptoms such as stomach pain, chest tightness and headaches

Fortunately for farmers, there is a range of simple strategies available for improving day-to-day mental health. These include daily exercise and eating well (omega-3 fatty acids and many other supplements can aid in brain function and building resilience), relaxation activities such as getting a massage or taking a short drive to see a favourite view, and looking at how tasks might be better organized or delegated to others. Curtailing social media use may be a positive step for some. There are many other suggestions online — choose those you are relatively sure will help, or sound like they may be worth a try.

Moffat said regularly speaking with a trusted family member or friend about how things are going is also important to reduce stress and keep it manageable. Everyone has stress in their lives, and even regular short texts or emails to loved ones near and far can help us feel connected and better able to handle what the day might throw at us. In turn, offering what support we can manage to others can give us positive feelings related to accomplishment, connection and more.

Farmers who are struggling should also consider getting assistance from those who are trained and experienced in assisting others with improving their mental health. Moffat said she recognizes that stigma around mental health is still a barrier for many, but she highly encourages farmers to talk to professionals about their stress level, sources of stress and how to best manage stress.

“It is well worth the investment of time for farmers to take care of themselves, so that (they) can be resilient in the face of difficult times and enjoy all the fruits of (their) labour,” said Moffat.

“The inclusion of mental health-related presentations at most agricultural conferences is an excellent indication people are ready to get more information about stress and use that information wisely on a consistent basis.”

Moffat provides counselling services for farmers through in-person, online and telephone appointments. For more information, go to kmoffat.com. Other helpful resources for improved mental health include the Do More Agriculture Foundation and The Farmer’s Toolbox.

Business plans and mental health

Farm Management Canada published a mental health report in 2020 called “Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms: Exploring the Connection between Mental Health and Farm Business Management.”

The national research project highlighted how creating and following a written business plan is an effective coping mechanism that can help reduce stress for farmers. In fact, 88 per cent of the study participants who followed a written business plan for their farms reported the plan had contributed to their peace of mind. 

At the same time, however, the study found that only 21 per cent of participants regularly followed a written business plan. 

Farm Management Canada says a farm business plan should start with assessing the farm’s current business situation against the vision and goals of the farm and everyone involved. The benefits of this process include the following: 

• It gets everyone excited about the journey ahead.
• It enables identification of different strengths and potential opportunities, but also areas of weakness and unknowns.
• In the face of inevitable challenges, it provides guidance that helps curb natural feelings of uncertainty and overwhelm.
• It allows positive coping mechanisms to surface during the process of revisiting the plan to go over options. These mechanisms include financial analysis to work out the best solutions, examining the most likely and worst-case scenarios and asking for help from farm business advisors.

Farm Management Canada has resources available for helping farmers create successful business plans, which you can find at fmc-gac.com.

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Farmers who invest in a business plan are better prepared to take advantage of opportunities and overcome challenges, say experts.

According to Farm Management Canada’s Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms report, only one in five Canadian farmers say they regularly follow a written business plan. Those that do, however, also tend to follow other business practices — record-keeping, sticking to a budget, benchmarking performance, training and communicating about the future of the farm with family and employees. Not surprisingly, those are the same key practices that give Canada’s top farmers a leg up on the competition, which translates to greater income.

Business planning “is kind of like opening up to a new world of farm business management,” said panelist Heather Watson, FMC’s executive director. “The fact that business planning can, kind of, unlock those practices is a very significant finding for us.”

Panelist Reg Dyck teaches a farm business management class through the University of Manitoba’s ag diploma program. One of the key messages he passes on to his students is small changes can produce big results. He said he often tells his students the average return on corn in Minnesota over many years is US$0.10 per bushel. If farmers can increase that return by $0.05 per bushel, they increase their profit margins by 50 per cent.

“It’s not a very big amount to increase your margin from $0.10 to $0.15, but you’ve increased your profit by a huge amount,” said Dyck.

What does it take to increase that margin? “A little bit better management style, better management preparation, bit better budgeting, (and) better analysis,” said Watson. In short, the outcomes of business planning.

Panelist Rob Hannam, founder and president of Synthesis Agri-Food Network, said business planning offers four key operational benefits, all of which can contribute to a healthier business. It sets a farm’s business path forward, it identifies goals, it provides a platform and opportunity to better communicate with your team, and it clarifies contingency plans.

“Certainly, it’s worth the effort,” said Hannam. Come what may, those who invest time in business planning are much better prepared to capture opportunities and mitigate challenges, he added.

Improved quality of life

In addition to financial incentives, business planning offers improved quality of life. A whopping 88 per cent of farmers who complete written business plans say doing so directly contributes to their peace of mind.

“They are able to sleep at night. They are able to manage under greater amounts of stress because they have an idea of where they’re going and that foundational piece to reference back to when it comes to making tough decisions or responding to factors (and) making decisions,” said Watson.

Also, FMC’s research shows farmers who use a written business plan are also more likely to choose healthy lifestyle options and better stress management strategies than their counterparts who don’t pre-plan.

On the other side of the spectrum, FMC’s Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms report says nearly half of all Canadian farmers rarely or never use a written business plan. Of those farmers, 41 per cent say they don’t write a plan because they are “succeeding without.” Watson wonders if those farmers may be cutting themselves off from even greater success.

“It kind of begs the question, ‘What does success look like?’ Are we measuring success by family harmony? By the bottom line? Are we in the black, in the red? Are we measuring it by how much yield or production we have? … It would be interesting to dig into that a little bit and say are you succeeding? In what way? And could you be, perhaps, more successful with a business plan?” said Watson.

Of those who don’t use a business plan, 33 per cent of respondents reported lacking the time they think creating a plan would require and 26 per cent reported being roadblocked because of the “constant updates” a plan could demand.

“There is certainly a perception that business planning is this thing you do ‘over here,’ and the rest of the stuff is farming,” said Watson.

Rather, farmers should be looking at business planning as an integrated part of day-to-day farming and everyday thinking. A business plan isn’t a sit-on-the-shelf document that you invest in once a year. Instead, it should act as a bridge between “now” and “later,” a critical link between the daily or seasonal operational decisions a farmer makes and a farm’s strategic (i.e. long-term and directional) planning.

“It’s a continuity plan,” said Watson. “It’s something that you’ve come together as a family, as a farm team, as people united around a vision and values to decide what you want your future to look like and what you want it to look like together.”

Some farmers choose not to invest in business planning because, as they correctly point out, there are so many uncertainties in agriculture there’s no way to predict the specific opportunities or speedbumps that could affect a farm business in the short or long term. However, that uncertainty is exactly why business planning is so critical.

“(We need to be) getting away from that idea that business planning is predicting the future — that it’s your crystal ball. It’s more about being prepared for whatever happens, and looking at (the questions), ‘What are the risks and opportunities out there? How can I position myself the best and take a proactive approach to maintain prosperity, success, and family harmony?’” said Watson.

The post Want more success? Plan for it appeared first on Grainews.

We all know there are endless excuses for not having a farm business plan.

But a recent research study has found that farm business management isn’t just good for business — it’s also good for mental health.

Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms, a research study from Farm Management Canada, explored the relationship between farmer mental health and farm business management, looking to identify how one can help or perhaps hinder the other.

“I wondered if, for already busy and overwhelmed farms, our encouragement to improve farm business practices was adding stress to an already stressful situation, or whether we are helping,” Heather Watson, executive director of Farm Management Canada, explains of the research’s premise.

The verdict? Business management practices can play a significant role in producing healthy farms and farmers.

In fact, the research study, which surveyed 1,735 Canadian farmers, found that 88 per cent of farmers who follow a written business plan say it has contributed to their peace of mind.

However, Watson notes there is a flip side to that promising finding. With more than 75 per cent of survey respondents indicating they are experiencing medium to high levels of stress, she says it was surprising that 41 per cent of farmers are not following a business plan because they believe they are succeeding without one.

“It just doesn’t add up when you consider the sheer number of farmers experiencing significant stress,” Watson says, adding that women and young farmers stood out as having particularly high levels of stress as a result of farm transition and family conflict.

“We hope that our research findings can help farmers start to redefine success and what it means not only for themselves but for their farm team.”

What’s stopping so many farmers from using business management practices? Watson explains that a lot of it comes down to misconceptions about business planning. A prime example of those misconceptions: once a business plan is in writing, it’s written in stone.

“Farmers tell us the agriculture sector is too unpredictable and complex to put any plan in writing. Many cite they have a plan, but then point to their head. However, writing the plan down is key, as it’s not the plan itself that is the most important, but rather the process of planning — thinking about your end goals, risks and opportunities, and inviting others into creating the vision for the farm, family and themselves,” explains Watson.

“Planning ahead does not mean predicting the future — it means preparing for whatever might happen in the future.”

It’s no secret that risk management is a key ingredient for planning ahead. However, Watson notes the common status quo practices aren’t adequate. She explains there is a need for the agricultural industry “to be bold” in taking a more comprehensive approach to managing risk. That means having risk management go beyond just the financial side of things and include business planning factors, like human resources, marketing and production.

“What good is a profitable farm if its people are stressed and heading towards burnout or worse? What good is a profitable farm if its people are compromising their farm safety and taking unnecessary chances with their lives?” says Watson.

“We must, as an industry, realize and promote the interconnectedness of managing risk, including mental health, and managing the farm through proven business practices.”

In addition to proving a positive connection between farm business management and mental health, the Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms study also identified 24 comprehensive recommendations. Those recommendations include a range of actions from raising awareness about farmer mental health and improving mental health literacy for farmers to providing risk management support and advocating for farmer-specific mental health services.

“Our research results provide a road map for Canada’s entire agricultural industry to support mental health and, likewise, farm business management,” Watson explains. She adds that Farm Management Canada is working to ensure the study doesn’t “sit on the shelf collecting dust,” and has incorporated the findings and recommendations across all of the organization’s services and programs.

“We have a chance to really step up our game as an industry and support our farmers where they need it most.”

After all, as the study title suggests: a healthy mind goes hand in hand with a healthy farm.

Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW) is a public campaign held annually during the third week of March that focuses on the importance of safe agriculture. The 2021 campaign, Safe and Strong Farms: Lead an AgSafe Canada, takes place March 14-20. CASW is presented by Farm Credit Canada. For more information, visit agsafetyweek.ca.

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But how a farmer plans his or her business — and associated risks — can help lower that statistic.

The report, titled “Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms: Exploring a Connection between Mental Health and Farm Business Management” sought to improve understanding of how business and lifestyles influence a farmer’s mental health.

“The Canadian farming population is more stressed than the rest of the population within Canada, for sure,” said FMC executive director Heather Watson.

Ontario-based Wilton Consulting Group worked with FMC to conduct the study, which found 62 per cent of Canadian farmers are categorized with mid-stress scores and 14 per cent with high stress.

Watson said the report follows other recent studies calling for improved mental health supports for farmers, including one conducted by a parliamentary committee in 2019.

“We’ve kind of always felt that business management practices must be impacted by mental health, in terms of your ability to make decisions, think rationally, handle stress and have coping mechanisms,” she said, noting that was all more anecdotal. “We hadn’t really looked at it from an analytical point of view.

“Throughout the research, we kind of had two sides of the same coin: how does mental health impact farm business’ management, and how does farm business management practices affect mental health?”

Overall, the report indicated 21 per cent of farmers regularly follow a risk management plan, while close to half – 48 per cent – do not.

There is evidence suggesting that should change, as 88 per cent of farmers who reported using a written business plans say it contributed to their peace of mind.

“When they did do a business plan, it seemed to result in doing other business practices as well,” Watson said, noting those same farmers were the ones more likely to use advisors or do budgeting.

Watson said 88 per cent of those who had written business plans could look to those plans as a “guiding light” during difficult times.

“Having business management practices isn’t going to reduce the stresses out there. Stressors are out there, whether it’s the weather or markets or whatever, but it does impact how you react to those stressors,” she said. “We found farmers who had business plans had more positive coping mechanisms.”

‘Stuck in an office’

Those who do not have a written business plan often cite their success without one as the reason why – and the thought of making a plan can be stressful.

“I’m interested to see if the context we find ourselves in today (with COVID-19) might shift that thinking a little bit, because business isn’t very good for the majority of farmers right now and it’s a completely blindsiding situation,” she said, questioning if business plans that included a worse-case scenario contingency plan may have helped farmers now.

The report found some demographic differences, with women and younger farmers
showing signs of higher stress levels. For young people, the study suggests they are generally less effective at coping with stress and less likely to practice business risk management plans.

Business planning “is not something that farmers like to do, or want to do,” Watson said. “It doesn’t resonate with them, they didn’t get into farming to manage people or be crunching numbers stuck in an office, so how do we bridge that gap?”

To better support farmer mental health, FMC says continued awareness on the importance of it is needed alongside support in improving mental health literacy within agricultural circles.

FMC also says it and the broader agriculture community need to deliver business management advice, focusing on risk management literacy as a means to face uncertainty. It also calls for more advocacy to expand farmer-specific mental health support services.

“We’re hoping that a lot of groups will look at these recommendations and actions and say, ‘we’ll do a project on that,” said Watson.

In all, the report had 24 calls to action that resulted from an extensive survey involving 1,735 farmers, 14 focus groups and 72 one-on-one interviews with farmers and industry representatives.

Watson and FMC are hoping the study can be used as a reference during the next round of policy development for agriculture.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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No. 5 on the list is knowing your cost of production. I break costs of production out into three components: direct, variable and fixed costs.

Direct costs are those expenses that have a direct impact on your production capabilities. These are your inputs: seed, fertilizer and chemicals.

Variable costs are those such as labour, machinery, utilities and cost of living.

Fixed costs are the costs of land, buildings, taxes, and overall farm financing costs.

If you have an aggressive production plan, your total projected input costs may be a little scary, but if you hit your yield and pricing targets, the profitability will be there.

Buying or renting more land could impact your debt servicing ability, but may improve your earning potential by maximizing your machinery usage.

You can’t guarantee yields, quality or price, which determine your total gross revenues, but you can control the costs of production that determine your net revenues.

Assessing risks

The risks of farming are many and varied. From loss or destruction of property to production risks, loss of livestock, loss of life, family discord, health issues or liability for others.

As the business owner or manager, be aware of where the risks are and what you can do to reduce or mitigate those risks.

Budget and financial plan

To manage your farm’s financials, you will need to be able to see how your information varies from year to year, and to benchmark your farm against industry peers.

You will need consistent numbers. The best way to get those is to use accrual accounting practices. This will give you consistent, comparable numbers which will help you make better management decisions.

Year-over-year comparisons of your farm’s financials give you a quick and clear picture of how your farm is doing, if it’s growing or falling behind.

Are your expenses outpacing your revenues? Where are expenses increasing? Could you take on more debt to buy land or machinery? Maybe you’re overpowered with machinery for the land you have. Can you improve your cashflow?

For benchmarking information, visit the Alberta Agriculture website and look for Agriprofit$ cropping benchmarks.

You are likely already doing a lot of this, but maybe not writing it down in a formal plan, inputting it into a software program, or sharing it with others on the farm.

Start by creating a vision of what you want your farm to be in five, 10 or 20 years. Include those that will be there at that time. Analyze risks for that farm vision, so you’ll be prepared for the future.

Have conversations with those who can help make your vision a reality. This could include accountants, bankers, consultants, agronomists, and insurance advisors. Most importantly, talk to your family members. Often.

Seven key practices

I’ve previously mentioned Farm Management Canada’s research and its findings of seven key farm business practices that top farm managers use. These seven practices are:

1. Ongoing skills development, lifelong learning.
2. Make business using accurate financial data.
3. Seek the help of business advisers/consultants.
4. Have a written business plan, review it annually.
5. Know your cost of production and what it means for your profits.
6. Assess risks and have a plan to manage and mitigate risk.
7. Use a budget and financial plan to monitor your financial position and options.

The post Seven strategies of successful farms appeared first on Grainews.

Let’s say your family members have taken personality and risk tolerance evaluations and discussed the results. This helped you clarify why some people react the way they do when making decisions or in stressful situations. This work can be classified as “lifelong learning.”

This discussion will help your family decide who’s responsible for each aspect of the business.

Discussing individual personality types and risk tolerance levels can help everyone understand who is willing to take on more responsibility and who is better suited to take on a specific role such as managing production, livestock, finances, safety or human resources.

Accurate financial data

Now that there is someone specifically responsible for the financial management of the farm, someone with an interest in numbers and budgets, that person will want to track and benchmark the farm’s financials against accepted industry standards to see how the business is doing.

First, they will need to meet with the accountant and banker. Proper year-to-year comparison and benchmarking requires good financial data. That starts with accrual-based financial records.

Seeking help

You have already engaged your accountant and banker in your financial discussions. You may already be using the services of an agronomist and a marketing advisor.

Starting a plan or strategy is just that, a start. Implementing the plan or strategy is where real change comes from. This is arguably the most critical point in the process and most likely the time when you most need the support of an advisor.

A written business plan

Your business plan should be a multi-level plan. A yearly plan focuses on the upcoming production cycle. A future vision includes plans for expansion and or capital improvements. A human resources plan details if more family members will work on the farm, or if there will be employees. What if someone gets sick? You will also want to include your transition plan, so you know how long each generation is willing to be an active part of the business.

Now, as the farm management team, you need to decide what the business of farming looks like on your farm and write it down.

What markets will you focus on? Specialty markets, commercial markets, seed markets, breeding stock markets? What do you need to do to meet those market requirements?

Who is responsible for which parts of the plan? Who is managing production? Purchasing inputs? Signing contracts? Maintaining records?

This written business plan will help you make better decisions going forward.

To be continued.

Seven key practices

I’ve previously mentioned Farm Management Canada’s research and its findings of seven key farm business practices that top farm managers use. These seven practices are:

1. Ongoing skills development, lifelong learning.
2. Make business using accurate financial data.
3. Seek the help of business advisors/consultants.
4. Have a written business plan, review it annually.
5. Know your cost of production and what it means for your profits.
6. Assess risks and have a plan to manage and mitigate risk.
7. Use a budget and financial plan to monitor your financial position and options.

The post Taking farm management to the next level – Pt. 2 appeared first on Grainews.

Your success may be production-based, profit-based, financial, or managerial — as in improving the way you monitor your farm’s performance. Or, your success may be becoming a more sustainable and safe business.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen some unusually hard harvests that left grain out in the fields. I’ve have seen a marked difference in the struggles that farmers have faced.

You would think the struggle would be worse for those with the most grain left in the field until spring, but in fact, those that struggled the most were the ones who harvested their grain but then struggled to manage the quality and took heavy losses due to spoilage. Those with grain in the fields weren’t having the best of times, but if they were able to manage their quality, between sales revenues and insurance they had their costs covered.

In hard years, those who follow higher-level management practices set themselves apart from those who don’t. This becomes evident when you look at bottom line per-acre returns.

Higher-level management starts with basic tasks, such as taking the numbers you jotted down in your pocket field book and putting them into a management software program so that they can be used for decision-making. Or tracking expenses such as fuel as a total cost of operations, but also on a per-unit basis, so you can calculate operating costs for each piece of equipment.

Field mapping with agronomic data and yield data will help you make better cropping decisions for the coming year. Financial indicators can help you analyze your farm’s financial health, which will help you make better capital investment decisions.

Making tough decisions

Everyone makes decisions differently. This is due to individual personality types and risk styles — characteristics that can be changed through learning and practice.

Personalities range from aggressive to passive. Risk tolerance levels can range from daredevils to avoiders. There are tests you take to help you understand your personality type and risk tolerance level. It is interesting to have family members complete these tests separately and then come together for discussion. This helps people see why they don’t always agree with others when decisions are made on the farm.

Look at the personalities of the people currently making decisions on the farm. Maybe some aren’t comfortable stepping outside of their risk tolerance level. Can you help them get beyond that roadblock? I have seen this with farm clients. There is often someone else within the business with the opposite personality. I suggest that those two people discuss decisions and make them together. Both parties can expand their risk tolerance levels and take their game to the next level.

If the two parties can’t get along, it’s best to bring in a third party with a more neutral personality and moderate risk tolerance. This person can act as an arbitrator and help the others learn how to better communicate and compromise, which is hard for some aggressive daredevils!

Seven key practices

I’ve previously mentioned Farm Management Canada’s research and its findings of seven key farm business practices that top farm managers use. These seven practices are:

1. Ongoing skills development, lifelong learning.
2. Make business using accurate financial data.
3. Seek the help of business advisors/consultants.
4. Have a written business plan, review it annually.
5. Know your cost of production and what it means for your profits.
6. Assess risks and have a plan to manage and mitigate risk.
7. Use a budget and financial plan to monitor your financial position and options.

The post Taking farm management to the next level – Part 1 appeared first on Grainews.

FMC and the Canadian Association of Diploma in Agriculture Programs (CADAP) recently opened the 2015-16 edition of their Excellence Award for Agricultural Students, with a top prize of $1,500.

The awards program, held each year since 2008, is for students who are at least 16 years old (as of Dec. 31, 2015) and are enrolled in agriculture programs at recognized post-secondary educational institutions.

This year’s program calls for students to set up either a multimedia presentation, a video, a Twitter chat, a blog or a Wiki, addressing FMC’s chosen question, by the deadline of May 6, 2016.

This year’s two-part question is: “What top three priorities should Canada’s agricultural industry focus on in order to be a leading agricultural body going forward? How will you, as a new graduate, positively contribute to these priorities?”

More information on the program and how to apply is available online.

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