Alliances to Remain Profitable
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Our Mission Statement Must Embrace Change
| You can't succeed today without a mission statement. That is the message that businesses and organizations are hearing from everyone that is trying to help them be successful. Car dealerships have mission statements. When I go to church I see a mission statement. If you sit in my office, you can read the OSU Extension- Clark County mission statement. Yes, there are farmers who have mission statements.
Mission statements alone will not save the family farm, but they keep us focused on who we are, what we are about and our primary mission, which is farm profitability and serving customers. Our mission statement must embrace change. Let's suppose our mission statement is: "to be a world-class efficient producer of corn and soybeans." This may be O.K. in 2001, but if Brazil's production explodes and U.S. subsidies decrease or ends, soybeans may not be something we will want to grow. (I'll address the loss of soybeans in my next article). Successful farm operations of the future must and will want to embrace change. I heard a recent speaker say, "Agriculture is changing faster than the computer industry." That is not change at the speed of light my friend, but it's getting there in a hurry. The United States looses 500 farms per week either by retirement, death or resistance to change. We must embrace change. We must view it as an opportunity, not another nail in our coffin. As your Extension Agent, I have been through the best of times (1978-1980) and the worst of times (1981-1985). We must spend more energy embracing change than growing commodities that can only sustain us with off-farm income. I can give you many examples of people who embrace change; i.e. Little Miami Flower Company, Woodlawn Farms, Meadowview Growers, Clark Farms, Beaverdale Farms and many more. Lets look at one; Young's Jersey Dairy. When you study Young's Jersey Dairy, two things stand out. First, they are never comfortable with the status quo. They see their customer change, so they must embrace change. Secondly, the focus is on serving the customer. The customer is King. In farming, we need to focus more on the customer. We need to adapt so that so that we can capture more of the consumer dollar. Embracing change is not easy. It is extremely difficult and uncomfortable, but something we must do. There is a lot of resistance to change. Let me give you an example. In the middle of February OSU Extension and Ohio Farm Bureau held three Farm Income Enhancement Seminars across the state. They were limited to 60 people at each site. The Marion site was cancelled due to no enrollment. The New Philadelphia site had 10 farmers. The Springfield site was the most successful with only 20 people. I was proud that 60% of the participants were from Clark County and I'm sure they gained a lot from the experience. However, only 30 farmers across Ohio who grew corn, wheat and soybeans, which are worth very little, chose to attend. Resistance to change is rampant! My mission is farm profitability. We have formed an alliance of 15 Clark County farmers and the Chamber of Commerce to jointly address enhancing farm profitability. We need to provide an environment for those willing to embrace change to become more profitable. In conclusion, a changing agriculture creates new opportunities. Winston Churchill once said: "We can take change by the hand or rest assuredly, change will take us by the throat." In 1962, I memorized a creed that began, "I believe in the future of farming…" Forty years later, I still do. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868 Updated: August 2001 |