How To Tell A Good Farm Manager

The success or failure of a farming enterprise depends a lot on management. As our agriculture sector develops, more farm owners are hiring managers to run the day to day farm operations.

Below are some indicators that the farm manager is not up to the job.

Indecisiveness: Fearing to make a mistake, the farm manager will avoid making a decision, hoping someone else will bail them out.

Secrecy: To protect their jobs, many farm managers hide vital information from their subordinates, or from their bosses. Team and sharing information is important. A farm manager who hides information about a disease outbreak on the farm, or keeps quiet about a health hazard that threatens the lives of other farm workers is a danger to the farm.

Fear to deal with difficult people or situations. A manager who fears to confront a worker who is slow in carrying out their duties, or handle a hostile situation between co-workers is only worsening the situation.

Obsession with procedure. This is common with managers who have previously worked on big government and private farms where every action is preceded by a a lot of paper work. The other culprits are fresh agriculture graduates, who have a lot of academic theories but very little practical experience. They use procedure to hide their lack of experience.

Associating more with incompetent workers: There is a serious problem if the farm manager feels insecure dealing with the sober enterprising workers. A competent farm manager will always try to identify and encourage good workers

Poor time keeper: The farm manager who cannot set, and stick to deadlines, cannot be relied on.

Always in a crisis: If your farm manager is always in a crisis, that means they have no time to plan or innovate. Without the manager setting aside time to plan ahead and strategie, there is no way the farm can progress.

Unable to separate personal issues from work related issues.

Works long hours: Poor farm managers always work very long hours. They think this is a sign of commitment, but in reality it is just a sign of incompetence.

To work effectively, you must prioritise and you must pace yourself. The farm manager who leaves work late, reports early and does not take time off cannot manage themselves.