Growing crops and livestock is one thing.
Growing your operation is another.
Even the most successful farmers find it challenging to manage a complex operation.
That’s because farming and ranching require one set of skills, while managing a successful business takes a completely different set.
At Encore, we’re passionate about helping farmers improve their operations by developing management skills, gaining new perspectives and planning for change.
Hundreds of farmers have worked with us—and they’ve grown, changed and prospered.
Are you ready to begin?
Insights
Better Communication, Less Confusion
Hold quarterly team meetings to keep goals moving forward and communication flowing. Written for PROGRESSIVE DAIRY and originally published in the March 2022 issue. Are you sometimes left wondering if your employees understand the farm's priorities and goals? Do your employees ever feel they get conflicting messages and wonder, "What does the boss want?" You are not alone; communication is always a challenge. When we survey farms, we find that improving communication is almost always one of the top three priorities. The truth is, people power your business. The more engaged and inspired your employees are, the more productivity and value they deliver. It's rare to find a thriving farm that doesn't have great communication. Communication and engaged employees are the secret sauce that allows farms to do great things....
How to Handle Emotional Conversations
Four steps to mediate and solve emotional disputes in your family business Originally published at Farm Futures on 3.10.2022. A couple of weeks ago, Liz and I gave a presentation hosted by PDPWs Dairy Signal. It was a live-streamed conversation with farmers, and the topic was How to Get Your Communication Unstuck. We took questions from the audience, and one question stuck out. We hear a version of the question often, so if you have it, you are not alone. The question dealt with how to deal with the emotions that sometimes come up in tough conversations. Below is the question plus a couple of tips to help you if you ever find yourself having an emotionally charged conversation. Question: What do you do when someone has already jumped off the...
How to get the work done AND Keep Peace in the Family
Clarifying Who does What can make a big difference Originally published at https://www.dairyherd.com/news/labor/clarify-roles-dont-step-toes on 3/7/2022. One way or another, the work always gets done. We know that. But how the work gets done and who is in charge of the work is a much more complicated question. I recently gave a presentation to a group of dairy farmers when one raised his hand. "How do we get the work done AND keep the peace on our family farm?" After a follow-up question, he said his family was going through a transition from one generation to the next and who was in charge of what was getting murky. Frustrations were building because everyone was stepping on everyone else's toes. I believe it was unintentional, but it was starting to wear on...
Keep in the loop
Join our email list