Why I wrote this book

Why I wrote the book:

As Farmers, we can sometimes get caught up in giving all our attention to our Farms. Sure, they play a big role in our lives, but how many Farmers give the same amount of attention to themselves? 

Since coming back to the Farm, success is all I wanted to achieve, and I would do anything to push for this outcome. Over my journey to date, I have built a network consisting of high-performing business owners both within the farming sector and outside. From having these mentors, I discovered that I was focusing on the wrong things. I wasn’t giving any attention to the most valuable asset in my business. Me. If I am not at my best, how can I expect my Farm to be at its best? From these experiences came a book. The idea is to provoke thought in the reader, to challenge the reader and to elevate the reader. There are a lot of conversations in the farming communities that are very important, but they just do not seem to happen. This book is designed to open those conversations up to normalise them. 

Book overview:

You Are Not Your Farm: What the top 5% of farmers are doing that the average Farmer is not.

We all want to achieve this ideal of being successful in Farming, right? But what does that even mean, and how do you know when you have achieved this?

I have been fascinated watching the journeys of many Farmers and understanding the way they think. Diving deeper into this, I discovered that the elite Farmers, the ones who are playing in the top 5%, are doing things a little differently to the average Farmer. They have a different way of looking at their success. Along with a different way in which they measure their success.

Inside …… you will discover:

⭐ How the top 5% of farmers define their success

⭐ The use of vulnerability in Farming and using it to your advantage

⭐ How the elite apply networking to elevate their success

⭐ What your focus can achieve for you personally and in your farming business

... and plenty more!

This book is designed to open you up to new ways of thinking. To break the mould of previous generations and to elevate you to play at a higher level. The secrets of the elite farmers are no secrets at all. 

Everything you will read about in this book is free to implement. It is all there waiting for you to discover and bring success to you and your Farm. Are you happy with who you are as a farmer? Or is it time to make a change? You have nothing to lose but an endless amount to gain. 

The choice is yours; make it today.

Available for purchase here: 

https://www.amazon.com.au/You-Are-Not-Your-Farm/dp/0646893416

Vulnerability in Farming:

I speak about vulnerability in chapter three. A hidden power that we all hold but never seem to use it. Generally speaking, farmers are a very tough breed of humans, very resilient and hardened through their experiences. But it is okay to say you’re not okay. It is okay to say you’re struggling. At the end of the day, we are all human. Having this stigma that farmers are “tough” is BS if you ask me. Why us? It doesn’t have to be that way. There are a lot of uncontrollable things in Farming, but there are also plenty of things we can control. Especially the vulnerable conversations we have with trusted people. I give plenty of tips on how to implement this into your life safely because your vulnerability isn’t for everyone. This is a very uncomfortable topic for most farmers to talk about. I get that. But I was given some very wise words a few years back. They were a problem shared, is a problem halved.’ The pressure you release from yourself when you have a vulnerable conversation with someone you trust is one of the most underrated tools anyone can use. 

Sharing to grow, not to brag:

I think we all know someone who loves to outdo you with their stories. It’s a great achievement to get high-yielding Crops, high Lamb survival rates, or an increase in fleece weights. These outcomes should definitely be celebrated within your business. However, what I have noticed in the top-performing business owners, both in Farming and outside of Farming, is that they share their results to grow, not to brag. They welcome feedback on how they can get the extra 1%ers. They also share and embrace their failures. What can I do differently next time so this doesn’t happen again? I watched ten farming businesses do this in a board room over two days, and I was blown away. They opened their business up for evaluation in a trusted environment. This was next level and nothing I had experienced before. When they had an unemotional review of their business from nine other Farm business owners, nothing was off limits. That was the key, “unemotional”. As Farmers, we are often emotionally attached to what we do and why we do it. This is quite common in multigenerational Farms. However, when emotion is taken out of it, in these reviews, you can start to make high level business decisions that can result in a positive way towards your Farm. 

Regards,

Jack Owen