Michael Boehlje, Craig Dobbins, and Alan Miller
Keywords: financial management, strategy development, relationship management, leadership, risk management
To be a good production or plant manager, apart from outstanding production characteristics, there are several other, less talked about business management functions that farm managers of the future must perform well in order to achieve success. This publication provides lists of indicators and detailed checklists for each business function including production, procurement and selling, financial management, personnel, strategy development, relationship management, leadership, and risk management. The checklists help you perform a self-assessment in each area discussed, and are tools to stimulate your thinking about the activities farm business managers must perform. Over time, they can help you to track your progress in developing business management skills. At the end of this publication, you will find an annotated list of resources for each area discussed. If you choose to improve your skills in a particular area, these resources will provide useful starting points.