CALF_News_October_November_2020

28 CALF News • October | November 2020 • www.calfnews.net O n a daily basis, I never know what I’m going to be doing. You know what I’m talking about. Anytime you have a plan on the farm, something comes up and derails your plans. 2020 is that derailing element for the world. So many things are out of our control, but there are a few things that you can control. Know Your Numbers In a world filled with uncertainty, knowing your numbers is one of the most important things you can do for your operation. Getting my husband and father-in-law to sit down and do paperwork is harder than pulling teeth. But my husband is the first to want to know exact numbers regarding differ- ent segments of our farm. That doesn’t happen without careful bookkeeping. You have to know what it costs to pro- duce a bushel of corn in order to know what you should sell it for. Listen, Educate and Learn As agriculturists, we must be life-long learners. Everything changes constantly. This can be reading an“old-school” newspaper to Siri telling you the latest news. Be a researcher. Don’t believe it just because it was on the news. Tune in to your farm organizations. There is a podcast for everything under the sun. Anybody and everybody can have a pod- cast, so again, just because it’s on a pod- cast doesn’t make it real. Find ones with reputable podcasters. There are so many new financial programs that are available because of the pandemic. You can’t apply for them if you don’t know about them. Remember Your Why For me, agriculture has been my life. I do it because cows make me happy. I do it because we set our own schedule, or the cows do, anyway. I do it because it is My Forever’s dream. I do it because it’s a lifestyle. I do it because we are feeding the world. I do it because of the freedom I’m allowed. I do it because I’m choosing to. What is your why? Why do you miss children/grandchildren events? Why do you work 18-plus-hour days? Why do you put off the things that you don’t think you have time for? “Because you have to” isn’t a good enough reason. If you are reading this, you have a choice. You are choosing to do what you’re doing. If you don’t want to be doing it, change it. You are in charge of your life. I have seen and been in too many fam- ilies that have been ripped apart because of disputes over land/farming decisions. Y’all, it’s not worth it. You don’t get to take it with you. As far as we believe, you get one chance at this thing called life. Quit wasting it doing what you don’t want to be doing and being mad at the people who should be the closest to you. Don’t Forget the People Like I said, I grew up in a home with both my parents working together and building their farming empire from the ground up. The people we are closest to are the people we snap at. We forget they have needs. We forget the effort they make. We forget the little things. Communicate Men and women are so very differ- ent. I have written a list of things I need from My Forever on a daily, weekly and monthly basis in order to be the happi- est wife. Does this mean he does all of those things? No. But I have set him up for success. He knows when I’m not the nicest version of myself, my love tank isn’t being filled. He has the exact for- mula. Quit expecting your spouse, your business partner, your kids to read your mind. They aren’t going to! Write out what you need. Talk through it. See if it’s reasonable. Then try to fulfill it. Nobody is perfect. Set yourself up for success. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed for any- body. We’ve heard it before. In a world filled with uncertainty and unknowing, do the things you can control. Do the things that are setting your world up for success. This too shall pass.  By Kelsey Pagel Contributing Editor FARMING IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY