A Vision for Your Family Farm
When undertaking any type of planning, including farm and ranch transition planning, the first thing you need to do is gain clarity about your objectives. As Stephen Covey used to say, you need to “begin with the end in mind.” If you can clearly and succinctly state your objectives, then you and those you involve in helping you have an exponentially greater chance at success. One valuable exercise is to spend time with the incoming generation thinking through those objectives and create a mission and vision statement. The farm's mission and vision statements will help guide the farm business while communicating that mission and vision to customers and suppliers. It will help guide your decisions about marketing strategies you employ and enterprises you undertake.
A mission statement is a set of guiding principles and values, that describe why and how you farm. A vision statement describes what your farm or ranch, and the community in which it exists, will look like in the future. In writing your vision statement, some of the questions you should focus on are:
What do I want my farm business to be?
How do I want my farm business to be perceived?
What values do we have as a farm business that will not be compromised?
How will the farm business serve:
the owners and their family;
the employees and their families; and
the customers?
In writing your mission statement you should consider the answers to some of the following questions:
Why does your farm exist?
What purpose does your farm serve?
What products does the farm provide?
Who are the farm's customers?
As fall turns into winter, take some time to write the mission statement and vision statement for your family farm. While there are many places to find more information about creating your mission statement and vision statement, one of the best remains the classic book by Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In addition to Covey’s book, many of the Extension offices around the country have published great guidance on developing a mission statement and vision statement. It will become an important tool as you move forward in the farm transition process.
This post is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between Hallock & Hallock and the reader.