The move from the tractor seat to the boardroom chair can be an uncomfortable one, say farm organization analysts.
One of the first challenges a producer faces when taking on a directorship is managing the flow of paperwork.
“I don’t think farmers traditionally are that adept at making their way through mounds and mounds and mounds of documents,” said Murray Fulton, agricultural economist at the University of Saskatchewan.
Being forced to read huge volumes of e-mails and other material can be daunting for those unfamiliar with how to prioritize and digest information that can be mind-numbing.
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Perhaps a bigger challenge is learning how to rely on their own internal filter to assess that material and to resist advances from managers, chief executive officers, outside consultants and other board members who have their own agendas.
Fulton said farmers must develop independence and self-confidence to ask tough questions when needed because that’s where farmer-run organizations tend to excel.
“At their best they bring a completely different way of looking at a problem than what the manager or CEO might be bringing forward,” he said.
But at their worst, farmers can be too hands-on, said Jim Brown, founding partner of Strive, a management consulting firm that coaches boards of directors. Brown is also a former farmer and knows their tendencies.
“We are wired to roll up our sleeves and go and fix something and that is not what a board of directors is called to do. The board’s job is to direct and protect the interests of the owners,” he said.
Farmer directors often cross the line and start doing management jobs.
“You want to have the board member put their nose in but keep their fingers out,” said Brown.
Another shortcoming of farmer run boards is that they tend to be unaccustomed to the scale of business they oversee.
Paying $40,000 for an audit or $150,000 for a CEO’s salary may seem outrageous to them but could be reasonable expenditures, given the size of the corporation involved.
“Compared to the annual revenue, it’s like arguing about whether the salt lick should have cost that much,” said Brown.
Another typical weakness is that their farming operations usurp most of their time and energy, leaving little for the important duty of running a company or policy group.
“What can happen is the only time they think about board work is in the pickup truck driving to the board meeting and at the meeting,” said Brown.
But farmer boards also have considerable strengths. They tend to be more pragmatic and results-oriented than other boards.
“They are not as likely to be tempted to just talk about things in circles forever and that’s a really good thing,” said Brown.
And farmers by nature are optimistic about the future, which is critical for a body charged with charting the course for an organization, he said.
Fulton pointed out that one of the weaknesses Brown identified could also be seen as a strength. The same hands-on mentality that sometimes gets them in trouble can be a valuable asset.
Farmers have “driveway knowledge” about their farm, local elevator or livestock processing plant that can prove invaluable when making boardroom decisions.
“They may actually know something about what the reaction of other farmers would be to a particular policy that the people in the suits sitting around the table simply don’t have,” he said.
