Commodity agriculture is an unforgiving, low margin business not for the faint of heart. National net farm income statistics may show that the industry is in trouble and some sectors are losing money, but this masks the fact that even in hard times some do well.
The Western Producer’s Sean Pratt talked with farm management experts who have mined producers’ account books and studied prosperous operations to determine the factors that help make the difference between failure and success.
One conclusion is that cost control is critical, particularly ensuring that land holdings are large enough to make the most efficient use of large machinery.
But attitude, particularly a willingness to learn and try new things, is also important.
