Commentary: Have you ever had the pleasure of building a fence w/ your daughter?

Have you ever had the pleasure of building a fence with your daughter? I had that pleasure this past weekend.

From Dad Duty to Grain Marketing: Lessons Learned

Now, this isn’t the first time we have worked together on normal chores around the house. But it may have been the first time I wasn’t in a hurry. Maybe, just maybe, she seemed more interested in learning and doing instead of holding, goffering, and whatever else she could do to get away. This weekend I made her operate the equipment, measure, make the wrong cut, then the right cut, drill the post hole, then dig the rest out because we are 6 inches off (you know the drill). Your experience may not have been with your daughter, but I’m sure most of you have been in the spot to influence the next generation. It made me think about all of the mundane tasks that we do that we often do for the children instead of “teaching them how to fish.”

The Value of a Good Customer: A Partnership for Success

As I continue to ponder the deeper aspects of parenting, I received a call from a customer that I have worked with for over 8 years. This is one of my best customers. What makes a good customer? The type that we visit often discusses his local market, what’s happening in the futures market, and strategies to implement to take action in his marketing plan. He is not a “YES MAN” as he doesn’t always do what I say. He considers my recommendations and then makes sure they fit his operation. Over the years, we have built a great friendship. I know his family and have never met any of them. To be honest, he’s the type of customer that makes me better at my job, as he often makes me think.

Passing Down the Knowledge: Why Involving the Next Generation Matters

Making people think can be a very good lesson. In fact, that’s exactly what his father did. I worked with his father for 6 years before that. He told me he wanted his son to open an account. At the time, the son only ran 100 acres, and the father called all the shots on the main farm with his son listening. He required him to make all his own marketing decisions, use his own money, reap the rewards, and pay the losses. I only worked with both for a short time because the father suddenly passed. I watched the son seamlessly take over the business decisions of the operation. I know there are many aspects of the operation’s business, and it’s not only marketing. I have to assume he included his son in all decisions.

📸: @seanfboggs via Canva/Featuring a farmer surveying the farmland with his son.

I wonder how many of us take the time to pass on the skills of trade because we can physically see the importance of them but forget to allow or force them to be involved in the business side of the operation. What would your farm look like if you didn’t show them how to operate the equipment, repair equipment in the hot sun or pouring rain, and gather cattle when they are on the road in the middle of the night because that fence didn’t get fixed right?

Equipping the Future: Sharing Grain Marketing Expertise

I am no estate transition expert and will not provide any advice on such matters. However, I hope this makes you think about sharing your grain marketing experience with the ones you hope to be making these decisions with in the future. I can assure you that I will always take the time to help educate all involved in the operation because the transition will be much easier when that day comes.

I know that I will always have to look at that post that is 6 inches out of line and the extra post we had to put in to fill the gap. But I will always remember that day. I plan to make a few more of those days.

📸: @freemixer via Canva/Featuring a mother and son overlooking their family's corn farm.

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