That “one big thing” - isn’t that all we need?

Posted by Brendon Walsh on 15 May 2017

Farmers are always working hard to get somewhere in their businesses. In the constant search for improvement, many answers, solutions, and techniques are trotted out. Many are trialed, worked on and reported over various timeframes, sometimes many years, but still most sheep and beef farmers are facing the same old issues and same old results. The problem? It is usually all about “the what.”

We often hear the words “the big thing that will cause the breakthrough,” or “the next game changer” or even the classic “copy what that farmer is doing and do it too.” Here’s a couple of examples: single trait genetic selection or XYZ crop. In other words, farmers are being told what to do in the belief that “the what” will bring the rewards. “Just change what you are doing and you will get way better results.” In theory it sounds good but in practice, well….just look at how the long term results have generally tracked in sheep and beef farming - poorly!

Don’t get me wrong - the “what” can be very important at times, but the key to moving forward with great results is usually a combination of things, done well together. In other words, it’s more of a process where that combination of things worked on step by step start to bring incremental improvement. Even Usain Bolt trained for years in obscurity to get to his outstanding level!

The “why” is incredibly important because that brings tailored meaning, purpose and personal buy in by the individual farmer. From there, the “what’ options can be assessed for suitability. The “how” is just as important because each farmer has different visions, goals, strengths, weaknesses, abilities, resources, and support. A method that works fine for some people may be the worst one for others, but a similar goal can still be achieved.

The “when” and the “who” are also critical because the ideal timing and people may vary according to those parameters listed above. So, the process is more important than the “what,” which is only part of the process. If the process is well considered and worked through solidly, the results are more likely to be favourable, as originally intended.

One of the big issues is we have been so conditioned in society and farming to believe that we are just one simple step away from big success. If we just do this one thing we will be rewarded with results beyond our wildest dreams around the next corner, or at least take a huge step towards it! But nature doesn’t work this way!

Consistent application of the things you need to do to make the changes necessary builds momentum and newer, more successful habits. As long as we keep on the path and making those changes, that momentum and those new habits continue to build. We see more good things happening and nature builds on itself. Success breeds success! During this process, there is always adjustment from learning, up or down, and that just adds to our abilities to think more effectively and make our own great decisions to bring about those results. After a period of this, better results start to come into being and then we realise that not only have our results changed, we have too. We are growing!

But…..this takes effort! Most of us humans tend to want big results without expending too much effort or expense. It’s too uncomfortable to go to too much effort! That is why most of us want to believe that it only takes one big thing and we will be set. Just look at the Lotto queues around NZ on a Saturday! However, once we are practiced in the incremental process, we can confidently make decisions that bring about much bigger results faster, but we have to have done the learning and grown through the process.

Be very careful when you hear out there about the “next big thing” or the latest “game changer.” Chances are it is on the track of “single trait selection.” It may be useful, but only as part of a bigger process.

If you are curious about how the GrowFARM® System can help sheep and beef farmers generate the profits they really want, contact me here.