9 Tips How To Reach Your Small Farm Goals

Sometimes it can feel like you’ll never reach your goals farm business goals or experience the success you so want, no matter what you do or how hard you try.

It can make your dreams feel like just that, dreams. 

If you are feeling like that right now, I want you to know that most people go through the same thing until they realize how much power they really do have over each day that they’re living. 

You have to in intentional in your farm operations, your daily schedule, and your home life. It all has to work together.

This post is all about helping small farmers learn how to plan and reach their small farm goals.

There are some things you need to get clear on before you can make the changes you need to.

Here are the questions that you need to ask yourself: 

You Need To Have A Long Term Vision For Your Life And Farm Business

Do you have a long-term vision for your farm and personal life? One that gets you excited and that will pul you thorough on the days you don’t feel like getting to work?

If your answer is no then you need to get one. If you said yes. Then you need to get it down on paper.

Once you have a long-term vision for your life, break that down into smaller goals or action steps that get you closer to your vision. 

For example, if your vision includes earning six figures from your farm business, what will it take for that to happen? Figure it out, write it out, and then map it out in concrete terms. 

However, be flexible when time goes on. Because there will be things that don’t exist today but will come down the line and might be a good tool for you to implement in your business. 10 years ago Tik-Tok didn’t exist but there are a lot of people who have had success with it. 

You don’t have to be super clear on everything that is ahead of you. Just focus on what is clear right now. As you keep going you will start to see clarity in the distance.

You might realize something down the road about your audience like a place they like to hang out on the internet. Or you might find a new product that you could offer that you didn’t see when you made your plans to grow your business. 

So be flexible with the path you take to get to your dream goal but always keep your end goal in mind.

Use your end goal as the filter when you are making choices about the things that you are going to work on.

You Have To Break Down Your Long Term Goals Into Short Term Tasks

Once you have a vision, you should break that down into smaller goals that are doable tasks that you can complete within a year. Why do you need to break them down instead of just going after the big goal?

You wouldn’t try to drag a whole tree and expect it to look nice and neat on your wood pile, would you? No, you would break it down into small manageable pieces.

The reason you don’t worry about a time frame longer than that is like I said there will be so many changes you can’t see coming so we are going to focus on the things we can see and control right now.

Chose 2-3 things you are going to work on this year. Then take your one-year goals, break them down into monthly and even daily goals that will lead to your success for the longer-term goal. 

If you want one of your farm animals to pay for themselves in the next year you need to break down what you need to do in order to make that happen. 

What is your marketing plan going to look like? Are you going to start a Facebook page?

Or maybe you were going to start a YouTube channel that will also feed into other income streams down the road but right now you are simply marketing that animal?

How To Break Down A Project That Will Lead To Success

For simplicity’s sake let’s say you’re going to start a Facebook page.

• You need to log on and set up the Facebook page in your Facebook account.
• Then you need to add a description, header image, and profile photo.
• But then you also need to decide what are you going to post and how often are you able to post?
• You need to take a bunch of pictures so you have some at the ready when you need to make a post about the animal you were raising or the vegetable you are selling.
• Then you need to decide how much you need to make in order to have your expenses covered.

Taking something big and breaking it down will make it seem far more attainable and you will also see the progress you are making and be able to keep going even when you feel tired and like giving up.

Having things broken down in a spot where you can access it on your phone while you are on the go will give you a list of tasks that you do when you have just a few minutes to get something checked off your list.

You will be surprised how far you can get if you keep your eyes open to opportunities to get even one small task completed.

Just like one straw piece might seem insignificant on its own once a bunch of staw pieces are bundled together they are big heavy and useful.

Are You Taking Daily Action To Reach Your Small Farm Goals

Every goal you have needs to be boiled down to action steps that you take each day to reach the goal. Let’s Keep going with the Facebook page analogy. let’s say you only have 15 minutes a day to work on your business. 

• One day you can create a Facebook page. 
• Then the next day you are going to create the header image and two posts that you can publish on your Facebook page. 
• Then the next day you were going to invite the people you know to come and follow the Facebook page. 

Do you see how I’m going about this? You break it down into specific really small things that you can do to get that goal completed. The goal is only a wish until you create an action plan to get the steps done.

Once you know what has to be done put it in the schedule so that it gets done. Because life will get in the way if you don’t.

Successful Farmers Take Massive Action

No goal or vision you have whether it’s to get better farm equipment, switch to organic farming, or expand your farming operation will come to reality unless you take massive action.

You won’t get abs without working out, you won’t lose weight without eating fewer calories, you won’t start a six-figure farm business without doing the business things you need to do each day that brings you closer to that goal. 

You need to plan your actions to coincide with the vision you’ve created for yourself. Will all of your ideas and tasks pan out? No. But you won’t get there any faster unless you try a wide variety of things to get you closer to your goal.

If you don’t take steps and implement action, you may end up at your goal by accident, but it’s not likely. Or you will be working way harder and longer than you have to.

Good Small Farm Business Goals

Small farms can be a great way to reduce your reliance on grocery stores and get back to basics, but they can also be a lot of work. Before you set out to start your small farm, you should sit down and figure out what you want the farm to achieve. Once you’ve decided what you want your small farm to do, it’s time to come up with some goals. Your goals should be realistic and achievable, and they should help guide the decisions you make about your farm.

• Are you looking for a self-sustaining farm that doesn’t require much work from you? Or are you looking to produce your own food and sell the surplus?
• Create A Small Farm Business Plan
• Get organized
• Learn how to take advantage of technology and online resources
• Put yourself out there
• Decide what types of crops or animals to raise
• Set up a farm business bank account
• Create a farm financial plan

Create A Farm Finacial Plan

Farmers need to create a farm budget plan if they want their business to be successful. A well-thought-out budget will help you stay on track with your expenses and make sure you are not overspending. The first step in creating a farm budget can be done one of two ways.

1. Figure out the total income for the year. This includes crops, livestock, and any other income sources.
2. Or figure out what your possible income is for the year and keep your expenses and other operating costs under that.

Farmers should then estimate their expenses for the year. This includes items like seed costs, fertilizer, fuel, and land rental fees.

It is important to be realistic when estimating expenses overestimating is better than underestimating.

Don’t forget to account for things like repairs and replacements. Once the farm budget is created, farmers can use it to track their expenses throughout the year.

Set Up A Seperate Bank Account

This is so important to do because it can be easy to overspend on your farm when everything comes from the same pot. This is one thing where beginner farmers mess up. 

Even a family farm needs to have its own bank account. There is your family bank account and your farm bank account. When if you are a solo show. 

Having a separate bank account will keep you from being tempted to splurge on something that is more of a want instead of a need.

If you want to run a farm for profit you need to do everything that will lead to your success.

Create A Farm Business Plan

When starting a backyard farm business, it is important to have a business plan in place. This will help you to stay organized and focused on your goals. It is essentially your business model telling how you will make money and your business goals.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple and to the point is best.

A business plan should include an action plan that outlines the specific steps you need to take to reach your goals. Having a business plan will help you make informed decisions about your farm business and will help it to grow successfully.

Ask Questions 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions from anyone. While people in the farm service agency may not understand a lot on the marketing side they do have a lot of helpful info. Your family’s living expenses being covered may depend on it.

If you really want to achieve something, anything, you can do it if you craft a plan that helps you reach the goal in a timely manner.

It’s just putting in a fence. You wouldn’t just start putting posts in the ground without having the spots marked would you? You may get it somewhat, straight by guessing as you go, but you’ll be much more likely to have a straight line if you plan it out first.