As the year winds down, December offers a unique opportunity for reflection – both looking back at the successes and challenges of the past year and setting your sights on the future. It's a moment to evaluate your business from all angles and ensure it’s aligned with your long-term goals.

What if you were your farm’s adviser, tasked with giving a report on improvement? What constructive feedback would you offer yourself? In family-run operations, emotions often play a significant role in shaping performance. Taking a step back and viewing things through the eyes of an outsider can provide valuable insights that help break through any stagnation and drive growth.

Reflection doesn’t just have to be an individual practice. Others can help you see your farm from fresh perspectives. Who is in your corner, providing constructive feedback? This could be your veterinarian, your nutritionist or any external adviser. How often do you bring these key individuals together around your table? If the answer is never, it’s time to change that – whether you're managing a 50-cow, 500-cow or 5,000-cow operation.

If you’re already bringing your advisers together, the next question is: Are the right people in the room? It’s common to involve the veterinarian and feed consultant, but how often do you invite your technology suppliers to the table? As more data is collected on farms, the role of technology providers becomes crucial in improving your operation. Don’t overlook these partnerships – getting others involved in strategic discussions can offer fresh, surprising insights that help optimize your farm’s performance.

Building a feedback loop: Empower your team to share ideas

Creating a feedback loop is also about fostering a culture where your team members feel valued and confident in sharing their ideas. As successful teams know, silence isn’t golden. Silence can signal disengagement or a lack of trust.

To ensure your team members are actively engaged, encourage them to think about the meeting topics ahead of time. This gives them time to reflect and shows that their input is valued before the discussion even begins. When people feel that their contributions matter, they’re more likely to speak up during meetings – whether one-on-one or in team sessions.

Creating an environment where team members feel safe and supported in sharing ideas is essential for both short-term problem-solving and long-term innovation. Remember, a team that shares ideas is a team that grows together.

Turning ideas into action: The importance of follow-through

A meeting without follow-through is like a game without a game plan. To ensure the great ideas generated in meetings don’t get lost, designate someone as the facilitator – someone who will take notes, organize the outcomes and make sure the follow-up actions are tracked. This will ensure that opportunities don’t get left behind in the meeting room.

A powerful method is the Change Management Framework, which involves defining clear goals and understanding the necessary actions to reach them. You can structure this framework by defining what to start doing, what to stop doing and what to continue doing.

For example, to save time, one farm that was using a whiteboard to record incidences of lameness decided to switch to a digital whiteboard connected with their animal health management software. To implement this new system, they had to not only install the new technology and start using it, but also stop using the old whiteboard for the same purpose. They also ensured that they continued to include their process for highlighting severe cases within the new system. As a result, the farm achieved improvements to lameness detection, better follow-up and better overall hoof health, ultimately leading to increased milk production.

Make goals visible, accessible to everyone and easily seen. There are great tools to support this, like the digital whiteboard described above, which is placed in a central location and mirrors important strategic communications being pushed to and from your team’s mobile devices. These tools also help track progress, keep everyone accountable and celebrate milestones along the way. By keeping everyone aligned and empowered, you set your team up for long-term success.

Building a winning team: How one farmer empowered his employees

One farmer I spoke with had a vision for growing his business. He wanted his employees to experience the joy of the business and to feel personally invested in the farm’s growth and success.

His approach? He gave the two brothers working on his farm the opportunity to own a cow. They were given a calf to raise as their own and, as a result, developed a plan to make the most out of the cow, knowing it would lead to a bigger payout down the line. As the brothers came with more ideas how to improve, they came with new ideas, like a way to reduce mould and improve forage quality, which they might not have done if they did not feel personally invested. 

When a sudden financial need arose for the brothers, they were forced to sell the cow four months earlier than planned. Seeing their dilemma, the farmer stepped in and purchased the cow for the planned value, helping the brothers recover their loss.

The value of employee ownership: Creating a culture of engagement

When you offer responsibility, you tap into a deeper level of engagement. Employees who feel that they have a stake in the farm’s success are more likely to show up with enthusiasm and dedication. However, it's important that employees understand the full value of the opportunity they’ve been given.

For example, imagine two farm assistants talking about their salaries at a barbecue. One says he earns $2 more per hour. The gap might seem significant, but what the second assistant might not realize is the secondary benefits included in their compensation package – such as discounts on housing, performance-based rewards or opportunities for training and development. Understanding these benefits can lead to a more well-rounded view of compensation and increase job satisfaction.

Invest in training and team development

Just as you invest in your cows and equipment, invest in your team’s development. Give your employees the tools they need to succeed and foster a sense of belonging – help them feel like part of the “herd.” When people feel they’re part of something bigger than themselves, their performance improves and they become more committed to the farm’s goals.

Encourage self-reflection among your team members. Provide them with regular feedback and support them in developing new skills. Make it a habit and show them it’s something you would also do yourself. Empower them to grow both personally and professionally. When employees feel that they have a clear path for advancement and growth, they’re more likely to stay engaged and contribute to the farm’s success.

Are you ready to invest in your employees?

At the end of the day, success on the farm isn’t just about cattle – it’s about people. If you want your farm to thrive, invest in yourself and the team, give them ownership and provide them with the opportunity to grow alongside your business. And who doesn’t want to add another cow to the herd?