The 3 Meetings that Saved a Family and a Farm
Communication. We all know it’s important. However, in our farming world, many of us thrive on “hard” skills and would prefer to bypass the “soft” ones. When family members are all wired that same way, they can each go 100 miles per hour in their own direction with little collaborative conversation.
And it works … until it doesn’t.
That was the case for one farming family, as Jay Joy from Bridgeforth LLP shared on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast (Episode #25, From Fighting to Thriving: How this Farming Family Got on the Same Page)
Two generations were part of the business, which includes both farming and feed yards. The parents and three children divided up duties between the several thousand acres of crops and the cattle yards, which were located more than 100 miles apart.
Working hard was not a problem. They were all good at that. But over time, performance began to slip and financial pressures tightened during a time of uncertain markets. As you can imagine, the family relationship was strained too.
The loan officer had suggested they find a new bank.
And that’s when they finally decided they needed some help.
As Jay shares on the podcast, he started out talking with each family member individually. These conversations uncovered the root of the problems: a lack of alignment. Each person was working, but they weren’t working for the same goals. In fact, they had never really sat down to talk about their shared goals. Like many farm families, it went assumed and unsaid.
The solution: To get everyone on the same page, regularly and consistently.
Here’s how they did it.
They started to actually talk to each other through a structure of three meetings, facilitated by Jay:
Weekly meetings - The key managers (the three siblings) have a standing virtual meeting each week. It covers a simple agenda focused on the operations:
- Update on what is going on at each location
- What is working well
- What is not working well
- What does the manager need help with.
Monthly meetings - Dad (the general manager) goes to each location and spends time with the manager on site, walking through and talking through the operations.
Semi-annual meetings - Twice each year, a family business meeting is held with the purpose of setting a strategy for the next 12 to 24 months. The first meeting is held in February or March, after year-end financials are complete. The second meeting takes place after fall harvest.
Three years later, what could have been a family divided is today a farming business posting its best years to date and a family that enjoys farming and working toward the same goals, together.
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