MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Finding and keeping employees will probably be the top issue for today’s young farmers, said Jonathan Small of the financial consulting firm Myers Norris Penny.
Speaking to the annual meeting of the Saskatchewan Young Ag-Entrepreneurs, Small said human resources would be a bigger challenge for this generation than it was for their parents. Today’s farmers have to learn how to hire people and, even more important, how to retain them.
“You’ll do less and less of the fun stuff like driving the tractor or feeding the animals. You shouldn’t be doing $14, $15 an hour work when you can do $200 an hour on management.”
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Small outlined some other crucial factors. He urged the young farmers to keep good records and analyze them so they know how much money they are making and in what areas. Without this insight, they will not be learning the lessons they need to. In a quick hands-up survey of the SYA delegates, he noted most do their own bookkeeping. Small said that was not typical of the usual farmer crowd. Most producers, when asked their annual income, look to their accountant for the answer.
Sales is another area that is painful for most farmers, he said.
“Review how you did against the market average. There will be people who got more than the average and people who got less. Which one of those are you?
“If you can’t beat the average, then you should just sell 1/12 of your crop every month.”
Small would not tell the young farmers whether they should own or rent land and machinery because the answer depends on so many factors. But analyzing your individual situation will help find the way to control assets, which he said is the key to success. That could mean trying new ideas such as forming partnerships with other farmers, bringing in foreign workers or working at an off-farm job to build cash.
