Farming might seem like a completely different thing to the average business, but it is just that – a business. That means you need to treat it like any other business if you want to get through the peaks and troughs to build up a successful agricultural company.
With that in mind here are some important agricultural tips that you should consider:
Always be willing to embrace change
The world of agriculture is changing with issues like Brexit and climate change policies making the old ways redundant. If you want to survive in this industry, you need to be able to embrace these, and any other changes that come along, and treat them, instead of a hassle, as a way to get creative and try something new. Fail to do this, and your business will stagnate and your may end up losing it completely. Farming may be a tradition, but that doesn’t mean it can’t, won’t and shouldn’t change.
Think about the future
If you run an agricultural business, it’s always a good idea to have one eye on the future. Carrying out regular audits of your company is one way to do this. It will enable you to understand what resources you have, and show up any areas of the industry that you could have a hand in, but currently do not.
Of course, as well as auditing your own company, you should be looking at what the competition is doing, to see if you could also adopt similar practices in the future, and you should be looking at farming journals, scientific papers and any other means of predicting the direction that agriculture is likely to go in, in terms of technology and practice, so that you don’t get left behind.
Know the law
Many agricultural entrepreneurs are thwarted by not knowing the rule and regulations around farming and agriculture. They think that as long as they own their land and pay their taxes, they can basically do what they want, but as any good agricultural solicitors will tell you, things are rarely that simple, and agriculture is an extremely regulated industry. You need to understand those regulations if you want to be as successful as possible and avoid falling foul of the law. From the pesticides, you use to the people you can employ, be sure you’re doing the right thing and you won’t have to worry.
Delegate
As an agricultural entrepreneur, you should be spending your time building your business rather than simply working on it. You can hire labourers to feed your animals, patch up your cowshed and whatever else you need doing, but you’re the only one who can run your business, from planning new projects to finding new sources of investment, so focus on that aspect as much as you can and delegate the rest. This may be difficult when you’re starting out, but once you have a decent amount of cash flow to play with, it should be a priority.
The agricultural business can be tough but these tips will help you thrive.
