Goals, Skills & Resources Worksheets

If you need help or want to see these worksheets in the context of the lessons they are a part of, please visit the Getting Started section of this site, and go through the Goals, Skills and Resources tutorial there.

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Inventory Your Resources

1. You can be as specific or as general as you'd like in responding to these questions. Some people like to list individuals by name in the third question, while others choose to simply write categories like "neighbors", "co-workers" etc. More detail can be more useful in indicating people who can help you, but it's a matter of personal preference how you choose to do it.
2. Who are the people involved in your farm who need to be directly involved in daily decision-making?
3. What buildings, tools and equipment do you have?
4. Who can be a resource to your farm, whether as a potential customer, source of moral support, or technical support. Think of people you know, and also organizations that could help.
5. What other resources do you have? (home, office, livestock, special skills, etc - this is a catch-all category)
6. What financial resources can you draw from? (don't list specific accounts or private information, but you could say "savings", "income from off-farm job", "income from chicken sales", etc.)

 

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Identifying Your Values

1. The purpose of this exercise is to help you reflect on your values, beliefs and aspirations.
2. What kinds of things do you get excited about? If the things that come to mind are things or activities (new tractor, travel, etc) try to list what it is about that thing or activity that excites you.
3. What do you need in order to be happy? (consider money, time, relationships, health, spirituality, beauty, nature)
4. If you didn't have to work, how would you spend your time?
5. Why does farming appeal to you?
6. Now, piece together your responses above into a few sentences that summarize what your life needs to be like in order to be happy. This set of statements should grow and evolve over time. Think of it as an "internal mission statement" for your life.

 

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Brainstorm Elements of Your Mission Statement

1. Choose 1-3 words that best describe the focus of your farm business:
2. What do you want your business to be known for?
3. Why do you farm (or want to farm)?

Based on your answers above, write a first draft of your mission statement below.

1. The mission of our farm is to:

 

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2. Have each member of your planning team draft personal goals as well as one or more short-term and long-term goals for each functional management area of your business. It's important to share these with each other and talk through them to make sure that you all have agreement in key areas. Keep in mind that only registered users can view their submissions at a later date.

Identifying Your Goals

1. Short-term Goals (1-5 years): What major milestones do you want to achieve? How much revenue do you need the farm to generate?
2. Intermediate-term Goals (5-10 years): Most farmers don't expect to be profitable until 5-7 years. What do you want your farm to look like in terms of products, labor, revenue and profit in 5-10 years?
3. Long-term Goals (10+ years): This is hardest to imagine. When you survive the frenzy of start-up and achieve profitability, what will your legacy be beyond 10 years? Who will be involved, and how will you secure the farm's future?

Prioritizing Goals

1. Which goals are most important for family well-being and for business success?
2. Which short-term goals, if attained, would help you achieve long-term goals?
3. Which short-term goals conflict with or impede your long-term goals?
4. Which goals are so important that they should be attained even if it prevents you from reaching other goals?
5. List your top five goals by priority:

 

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