Forming Your Advisory Team

How to form your advisory team.

What’s working for Ag – listener or farmer feedback

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o @Farm4Profitllc on Twitter

 Taking prevent plant with Brian Sampson

Forming an Advisory Team

You don’t have to face crucial decisions alone. You can get a team of experts to help you with yourfarming decisions.

Where do you start? Is an advisory team right for your farm? Could it become a board of

directors?

Which farms or operations are a fit for an advisory team? 

Many of farms are set up perfectly for an advisory team.  The one who aren't are the farmers who go at it only being their way.  For the rest of you it is a fit!

How do I form an advisory team? 

You start by listing out the people you think would be a good fit for your advisory team.  They maybe people you already call for advice, or they could be people you've wanted to ask before and haven't.  Then, ask them!  This is the key part, the asking.  What we have learned is when you ask,

more often than not, the team member feels honored to join.  This results in more attentive

listening and invested advice.

Who should be on my advisory team? 

This will depend on your farming operation.  We suggest starting with agronomists, accountants, bankers, financial advisors, commodities broker, retired farmer, peer farmer, lawyer, land lord, veterinarian and so on.  Each team will be different based on the needs of your farming operation.  Also, think about reaching out to someone outside of the AG industry.  As farms continue to get more complex with various entities and structures including a CEO or CFO from a corporate setting could provide unique insight.

How often should we meet? 

This will depend on your farming operation again!  Some of the operations we talked to reach out to specific team members with questions throughout the year and host a full team meeting in the Winter.  Depending how complex your farm business is and how formal of a role you want your advisory team to play this may be different.  We have learned of a farming operation who has their advisory team functioning as a board of directors with voting rights, they meet monthly.

Do I compensate my advisory team? 

The decision to pay your board or team will be your choice.  You will retain team members longer when purchasing their services or compensating for their time.  However, you can also get quality advice from the right personalities for free too!

 Summarize

o Start by doing self-reflection on your ability to accept criticism. Flight school pilots are

separated from good and great by those who can accept criticism the best and own

their faults. They are all trained the same but the best are humble. You need to ask the

people to be a part of your team, otherwise they may not even have a clue. Think about

your weaknesses or areas of challenge and recruit members to fill those gaps. Each

farm will be different so figure out what fits best into your schedule for meeting and

which way you plan to compensate your team members.

 Glen Newcomer (twitter) learned about creating a when I die folder from his

advisory team.

 Challenge

o If you have people you call now for advice, take the next steps to make sure they are

considered your advisory team. Then make it a point to have regular and focused

conversations about improving your farm. If you already have an advisory team

together we challenge you to think outside of the box for an additional team member

(CFO, CEO, HR, etc…)

 Conference Update

o Farm4Profit Farm Business Award – Nomination details to be on the website, awarded

to the farm/farmer most running their operation like a business.

 Submit questions and topic suggestions

o [email protected]

o @Farm4Profitllc on Twitter

 Remember if you aren’t farming for profit, you won’t be farming for long.