Two Types of Farmers: What We Can Learn from the World’s Oldest Profession!

Caught your attention, didn’t I, and you obviously want to point something out to me!

But now that I have your attention, think about the honorable profession of farming — it’s been around almost since the beginning of time.

And it’s a profession that has involved a lot of trial and error; failure and success; and a heck of a lot of innovation.

Often, during a keynote, I will tell the story that there are really two different types of farmers in the agricultural industry. And I make the point to the audience that their attitude towards innovation should be considered in the light of the attitudes carried by each type of farmer.

The first type of farmer is what we might call the ‘apathetic minority’, who share these attributes:

• they are not optimistic about the future
• they tend to seek the “same old advice” from the “same old sources”
• they have a high intolerance for risk
• they’re not convinced they can continue to make a comfortable living despite all the contrary evidence
• they’re skeptical of their potential since they feel they’ve seen too many ups and downs in the industry

Then there is the second group we might call the ‘future positive‘ type of farmer. They share these attributes :

• they’re quite optimistic about the future
• they’re very business-minded, using all the latest tools and ideas at their disposal
• they are very innovation-oriented, willing to approach everything in a new way with new ideas
• they are very collaborative for advice, seeking ideas from anyone and everyone
• they’re often focused on planning, profit, growth, with clear objectives in mind

So here’s a good question: when it comes to you, or the organization that works for, what type of farmer are you?

Here’s a good video clip where I go into this storyline on stage. Enjoy!