As some of you may be aware, I have had an extended period of time off work due to a neck injury.  This has meant colleagues covering for me whilst being away and making use of insurances to pay for additional labour.  It made me think when we were asked for our monthly management tips, how would our clients cope if this happened.  So, there’s the question; how would you cope?

Imagine you suffered an illness or injury and had to spend a prolonged period in hospital or away from work.  Could the remaining staff cope?  Could you afford to pay for additional labour to come in and cover the work you normally do?  Do the rest of the team know what to do, when to do it or is it all in your head?  If nothing else, this period of time off has highlighted that it is so important to ensure that all team members know what’s going on, and are able to access data for clients and understand what clients require.

The same is true on farm.  Do you have protocols for calf rearing, silage making, drying off, breeding, reseeding, etc., so that someone new coming to the farm can pick up how things are done easily and quickly?  LEAN farming, which I have mentioned before has its principles underpinned with protocols, so that the task is carried out the same no matter which team member is completing it.

The key to managing the risk in this situation is to have protocols for all operations on the farm, have a simple system and carry key man insurance.  Could you say this is true of your business?

If it’s not, contact Phil Cooper at pcooper@fcgagric.com or your local FCG office to discuss how you can reduce the risk to your business.