Communication is KEY!



My personal opinion about communication is that it is key in every aspect of life.  Without communication how would the ones around us know how we felt about them.  How would people know what our hopes and dreams were?  How would you know what your bosses expectations for doing a good job was?  In farming I think communications is key and probably the most important aspect of this job.

Think about it for a second.

Whether you are the farmer, the family member, the wife, the co-op, the land lord, or the employee of the farm, if nothing is being communicated to you, how can you possibly know what to expect.  As the farmer if your crop consultant, or your seed supplier doesn't tell you that you need to irrigate more or you should use one seed over another how could you possibly expect the best crop.  Passed experiences help, but I always say the more people involved the better.  If you are the employee and you come to work and no one tells you to go plow the field next to the farm, then you might go plow up the field that has just been planted.

I know some of these examples are extreme (or probably even unthought of) but I am sure many of you that have lived on a farm have had some extreme experience that probably could have been avoided by taking the time to communicate.  I also think it is important that when coming into the farm to work or live one should understand the dyanmics of how the farm works.  What are the expectations of the employees, who is in charge of the books, who is the CEO and what is the plan for the handing down of land.

I have gone to several Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher's conferences where they discuss this exact topic.  I am still really new to this lifestyle because of having to work full time.  But now that I am here, it is more important than even I realized.  Right now I am learning the names of fields but I hope to one day understand how the operation side of the coin works.  I want to learn these things so that we can one day pass down a fully functional and well put together farm for my children, god willing they want to come back to the farm.  I sure hope that is their dream because lord knows I am loving this life!