Five Farmers Share the Advice They’d Give Their Younger Selves

If you could go back and give your younger self a bit of advice, what would you say? For these five farmers, the answers range from embracing technology and diversification, to letting go of worry and cherishing family time.

1.When you try something new, don’t give up after the first failure. Give it at least three tries. I started with cereal rye and radish in corn, flying it on by airplane the first year and didn’t like the results. The next year, I used a helicopter and removed the tillage radish, but it still didn’t work for me. By the third year, I convinced my retailer to mix cereal rye with the fertilizer, and that finally gave me the results I was looking for.

~Cliff Lane

2. Something I would tell my younger self: be flexible, embrace technology, and don’t assume that just because something worked or didn’t work last year, it will be the same this year. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice or help from others.

~Art Bunting

3. Take risk and diversify cropping and livestock. Chase profit. Not Yield.

~David Kleinschmidt

4. Over the years, I’d climb off the planter in the spring to head to the diamonds, grab a hot dog for supper, and watch my kids play ball. I did the same in the fall for their sports. I never once regretted going to their games and then heading back out to the field afterward. They were here and gone so fast—I’m glad I didn’t miss those moments.

~Dan Meyer

5. I wish I had challenged myself earlier to learn the things that didn’t come naturally to me (especially agronomy). Because it wasn’t something I felt confident in, I didn’t take classes in college or push myself to understand it back then, and I regret that. We never stop learning, and I’m still learning today. Having a solid base of knowledge helps us work more effectively with professionals. For example, understanding soil fertility is crucial as it impacts the entire farm and drives so many of our decisions.

~John Klemm

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