With delayed planting this spring, seasons have been overlapping making things very hectic for producers. In a normal year, producers would move from seeding one commodity to the next, but this spring producers have switched between crops depending on which fields were ready to plant first. Some fields were planted earlier and some later, causing an overlap of planting and spraying seasons. When seasons overlap, available resources get spread out, logistics become a challenge, and execution is not always timely. This can all lead to increased stress if not managed properly.
Delegation helps ensure work gets done. It involves entrusting someone else with a task or responsibility, and it is a great management tool to help increase efficiency, productivity, and success when implemented effectively.
Delegation can improve the quality of a process since it allows people with direct knowledge and experience to monitor, direct, and provide advice on actions that can help with pressing challenges and concerns.
Without proper delegation on your farm, you will surely feel excessive stress, burn out, and overwhelm. That said, delegation can be ineffective or difficult to incorporate due to a lack of trust, understanding of who can help, or idea of where to start.
Maybe you are concerned that others will not be as meticulous or involved as you would hope or expect, or maybe you are hesitant to try something new and let go of the reigns a bit.
It is important to push past these barriers and allow others to tackle the many tasks you have at hand because this type of delegation can allow you achieve more in less time, and do the very best you can.
Good delegation begins with a clear outcome or objective.
Ask yourself: what do I want to achieve?
From there, think: who can help me achieve these results?
You have a specific set of skills, whether that is operating equipment, managing finances, scouting fields, fixing implements, tracking farm data, or something else entirely.
Everyone has specific competencies and specializations – what are yours?
When you consider these things, you can start to assess what is truly holding you back, and get a better idea of what aspects of your operation may be worth delegating elsewhere, to those with greater knowledge or a greater capability of deriving the desired outcome.
Shifting certain tasks to others allows you to focus on what you are especially good at and the key tasks that you have time for. This way important tasks don’t end up getting forgotten about or pushed to the side – an issue that can cost you over the long term.
We understand that it can be hard to let go and entrust others with various aspects of the farm, however the right delegate will match your energy and your drive for success. They will also be trustworthy, verified in the industry, capable of helping you reach a variety of objectives, and able bring a scope of experience, knowledge, and new ideas to your operation.
Hiring a professional agronomy service is one way to delegate the important task of monitoring crop development on your fields throughout the growing season. From planning to execution, trained agronomists can efficiently cover your acres, provide timely advice, and help you make difficult decisions in the face of adverse conditions that so often make us change our plans.
