Just two days ago, I got off the phone with a 25-year-old corn farmer named Billy who recently became a father. He explained to me that only a few days after the baby was born, he was given the chance to see the farm’s financials for the first time. He was shocked to find out […]
Rule #2: Don’t Be a Jerk
It got to the point that every time Parker saw Beau’s phone number on his cell’s call display, his gut turned over because he knew his brother was going to yell at him about something else again. They hadn’t had a pleasant conversation in months, and Beau treated his younger brother Parker like a “rented […]
Earn Your Respect Daily
What is going on in the mind of your partner when they are about to hit that alarm clock?
Are they thinking about what has to get done today with excitement or just hitting snooze and getting another 20 minutes sleep?
What they tell themselves in that first five seconds of the day will dictate where your farm is going to be in five years.
Lace Up Your Boots
About 12 years ago, a guy named Jack called me up and, although no one in his family knew it, he had terminal cancer. Succession planning had suddenly become a priority, and he didn’t know what to do. His youngest son, Ken, was 29 and had been working on the farm for eight years and […]
Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing?
If you are constantly bickering with family members to some extent, how can you have strong family support necessary for strong mental health?
The ’80s Farm Crisis vs. the Coming Farm Crisis
To survive this upcoming crisis, the first thing you have to assume is that you are the underdog and you must do everything you can to survive a worst-case scenario. You need to rethink everything!
Killing John Wayne with Five Fingers
If you are constantly bickering with family members to some extent, how can you have strong family support necessary for strong mental health?
How to Maximize a Successor’s Potential During COVID
It’s wonderful that so many farm kids are renewing their interest in agriculture. Yet, it’s creating many unanticipated problems and could create an exponential number of succession problems down the road.