Farming is a complex job with many unique challenges, but can also be a rich and rewarding career that is full of opportunities. Following the author's Farm Business Management series, this new textbook takes the core principles and techniques and distils them into an accessible student resource. Written by an expert with decades of teaching and research experience around the world, this book also incorporates two brand new chapters on farm accounting and computer systems and software. Providing a hands-on learning experience for students of agriculture, it will continue to be a much-used resource throughout their farming career.
Management research has shown successful farmers have quite distinct personal characteristics which most farmers have seldom thought about. Farmers who are less successful tend to have processes and systems which are likely to be biased. The aim of this book is to help all farmers discover more about these personal attributes that impinge on the success of their management, and to show how their attitudes and personal resources can be improved. This book is not a straightforward textbook. Rather, it tells the story of a group of farmers who take part in an expert-guided experiment designed to test approaches to improving management skill. The group meet at each other's farms to learn about their issues and develop solutions to improving what is called their 'management style' with the aim of removing any identified decision system biases. The book covers issues like optimal decision rule systems and how they can become second nature.
This book discusses the methods to determine optimal systems in farm business management. The methods are all about problem solving, as any decision situation implies choice and, therefore, requires a method for deciding which alternative maximizes the objectives. The book is not, however, about carrying out the optimal plans. Most of the chapters relate to quantitative methods and qualitative analysis. The book has a penultimate chapter discussing a number of analytical models that are commonly used in urban business but which are less important in primary production. The results of farming systems analyses can have a major impact on good decision-making in any primary producing community. Some of the methods might be used by farmers themselves, but more likely by farm advisors and consultants, and by farm management researchers interested in, firstly, providing farmers with guidance on optimal systems, and, secondly, providing governments with advice on the impact of farm policy measures.
Farmers face ever-changing production systems, markets and regulations. This means they must constantly review their long-term plans to ensure continuing economic and environmental sustainability. The challenge for the future is for farmers to assess opportunities strategically as they appear and overcome the temptation of just meeting the demand of day-to-day tactical decision-making. This long-term view is the world of strategic planning. This book explains how to be a "strategic farmer" in an unusual way. Rather like a novel, it tells the story of a newly reconstituted farming couple who are searching for a new property on which to carry out their primary production plans following their departure from a family farm which was being assigned to the next generation. In a previous book in this series (Farm Business Management: The Decisive Farmer), this same couple were involved in a team approach to improving decision-making. This book is a valuable resource for all farmers and students of farm management and agribusiness.
The underlying economic factors that affect primary production are frequently studied and written about - soil quality, animal health, climate, machinery - but this is the first book to explore the role of the decision psychology of the manager running the farm business, the person responsible for staff, strategic and operational decisions and the success or failure of financial and other objective outcomes. This second edition addresses fundamental questions such as the process of decision making, personal skills, and methods to improve managerial ability. It is an essential reference for farm managers and students in farm economics and management. Key Features: This is the first farm business management book published worldwide focused on human factors and decision making in primary production The second edition introduces two new chapters covering the key decision method, intuition and its enhancement, and the importance of human characteristics in a range of decision topics and areas
This book outlines the human components of what makes a person, and why a farm manager acts in particular ways. The following chapters bring past and new work as well as developments and theories from other disciplines, including psychology, to provide a well-structured set of ideas for understanding managerial ability. The book consists of eight chapters. Chapter 2 contains outlines of the characteristics of a farmer that defines his modus operandi, and how these characteristics might be measured using psychometric tests. Chapter 3 looks at the relationships between the factors that define a manager. Chapter 4 reviews the possible decision criteria and processes used. Chapter 5 contains an outline of the competencies necessary for successful farm management. Chapter 6 outlines the common errors, or biases, and, therefore, highlights areas that require special attention when improving ability. Chapter 7 considers the factors that give rise to the objectives held by the farmer. Chapter 8 then reviews whether success is possible from using management improvement programmes.
The underlying economic factors that affect primary production are frequently studied and written about - soil quality, animal health, climate, machinery - but this is the first book to explore the role of the decision psychology of the manager running the farm business, the person responsible for staff, strategic and operational decisions and the success or failure of financial and other objective outcomes. This second edition addresses fundamental questions such as the process of decision making, personal skills, and methods to improve managerial ability. It is an essential reference for farm managers and students in farm economics and management. Key Features: This is the first farm business management book published worldwide focused on human factors and decision making in primary production The second edition introduces two new chapters covering the key decision method, intuition and its enhancement, and the importance of human characteristics in a range of decision topics and areas
Based on research carried out within the farming community and academic studies, this book assesses and explains the core skills needed to become a successful farm manager. Observation, anticipation of plan outcomes, and risk management are identified as key requirements, and each of these categories is broken down into isolated skills such as problem definition and visual observation, which are in turn dissected and analysed. Practical methods for acquiring or improving each skill are covered in detail, with practice exercises to engage the reader in active participation. This book is an essential resource for farm managers and students.
Successful farm management is based upon excellent decision making by the farm owner. In practice most decisions are made intuitively rather than the result of careful data collection and analysis, or analysing others' views and associated factors. Thus the farmer's intuitive decisions have a major impact on the business practices, efficiency, profitability and success of the farm. In the form of a character driven novel the author guides the reader through a series of lessons for farmers to improve their intuitive decision making. The story follows Ben, a New Zealand farmer, as an important member of a discussion group. The experimental programme is set up by a management researcher, Tom, to explore the best way to improve farmers' intuition. The farmer group has different characters in different situations each one of which leads to interesting dilemmas and lessons. Each chapter addresses a different issue affecting farmers, such as risk management, benchmarking, budgeting and planning, negotiation skills, active listening and farm ownership. By the end of the novel the reader will have absorbed important farm management principles and practices through the activities and findings of the group. The Intuitive Farmer follows on from successful business management books such as The Goal, which communicate business ideas and strategies in novel form. This is the first such book applied to agricultural management practices, providing a dependable source for farmers, agricultural and farm management students and people involved in agriculture industries. 5m Books
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