Common Practices of Top Tier Farms
Let's talk about something that can really make a difference in your farming journey—professionalizing your farm. If the word professionalizing doesn’t resonate with you, then let’s call it being Intentional. Intentional about what?
As someone who works across all sectors in agriculture, it’s my humble opinion that dairy is the most complex. Yes you need great animal husbandry and good milk production, but there is more. So why do some farms tend to pull ahead over time? Why do some farms just have “all the luck?” It’s not luck at all, but rather intentional focus and execution in several key areas. These are my observations from working with many top farms. Here are some tips.
Building Strong Relationships
First things first, surround yourself with good people. Successful farmers know the importance of fostering collaborative relationships with bankers, accountants, landlords, family members, and employees. It's all about creating a supportive environment where everyone can succeed together. These relationships are not just feel good, but built on respect and trust. Although the employees will never show up on a balance sheet, they get more attention than any other asset.
Heads Up vs. Heads Down Farming
While production is crucial, the best farmers look beyond the immediate tasks at hand. Heads up farming involves applying general business principles to agriculture, looking over the horizon, and creating a common vision. This approach includes attending peer groups and conferences, being proactive on the business side, and holding regular owner and manager meetings to manage conflict, review data, and solve strategic problems. Most everyone likes to drive tractors or work cows but the biggest challenges are often solved with a spreadsheet and some quiet time to think. On these farms, off the farm education and skill development is not only encouraged, its often a prerequisite to come back to the farm as an owner.
Maintaining Momentum
Top-tier farms avoid getting stuck in cycles of indecision or intra-family politics. They make decisions, implement changes, and keep moving forward. If a decision doesn't work out, they reassess and try again. These farms don’t finger point or cry over spilled milk. They clean up the mess, correct the mistake, and keep moving. When a decision is made everyone gets on board even if it wasn’t their idea.
Scaling Business Systems
As farms grow, their management structures must evolve. What once worked for HR, financial reporting, equipment maintenance or data management often doesn’t work with 2x the cows. You can’t shove 2x the cows through a parlor at max capacity any better than you can shove 2x through your office, shop and support systems. When the cow numbers increase the rest of the system is intentionally increased as well.
Take these tips from across North America and determine if you need to professionalize as you scale up. All farms don’t have to reinvent the wheel and it’s not about luck. We can all borrow great ideas from each other.
Written for MILK Business Quarterly and published Aug 2025.