What sort of aspiring farmer should you be?

I spoke with an aspiring farmer the other day who is in NSW and going through the drought. They have setup a lease arrangement and are cropping.

They discussed that things are really tight this year and that they might struggle to break even.

He was a bit disheartened because of the possibility of failure.

But do you know what I saw? I saw a motivated, clever and proactive aspiring farmer who is ready to be backed onto their own farm with a retiring farmer or investor.

Sure they might struggle to get through financially, even they may have to end the lease, but do you see what respect they will get from a retiring farmer or investor for what they have done? Off their own bat they have found a way to get farming in trying a situation and in a business that is really expensive to get going.

I saw a man who has established a business model that will work when backed onto a farm that they can run with appropriate resources. I saw a top quality farmer who is driven to realise his dream and someone that an investor would be completely confident would work for their best interest and would work hard for them, no matter what happens.

This aspiring farmer was proving his ability to run a farm and to be a steward of money and the land. I was so excited to chat with him because of the potential he has and the proven track record of initiative.

He is building his story which will open many doors for him. His story will be one of initiative and struggle and persistence. A story everyone will love to listen to and people will want to back him to see him succeed.

What are you doing to demonstrate you are farm ready? Are you out looking for leased land? Are you trying to build your wealth and be a good steward of money? Are you proving that you are worthy of being backed by a retiring farmer or aspiring farmer.

Yes you may fail in your endeavours, but your goal is to open doors to the people who will back you onto your farm and it isn’t dependent on you being able to get through an impossible drought, or being subject to commodity price crashes.