Begin With the End in Mind
Before a single fence post goes in the ground, a smart farmer already knows what kind of farm they’re building.
Is it a small, profitable, low debt operation that supports your family? A regenerative ranch that feeds hundreds? Are you trying to grow, gain efficiencies, and employ a dozen workers while managing from the office?
Stephen Covey’s book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ is one that I have read several times. One of the 7 habits, Begin with the End in Mind, is the mindset shift from working hard to working toward something.
Don’t Just Build. Design.
Too many new farmers jump in headfirst—buy land, get animals, grow too much, and end up in financial ruin. Why? Because they didn’t define success at the start to have clarity on where they are going.
Your end goal shapes everything:
The infrastructure you invest in
How much land you need
Where that land is located
How you diversify
When equipment is traded in vs repaired
If you want employees—or solitude
Begin with the wrong end in mind, and you’ll build a business you grow to resent.
Before you scale, ask:
Will this decision move me closer to the farm—and life—I actually want?
If not, it’s a distraction dressed as progress.
Design your farm like it matters. Because it does. Your land. Your time. Your legacy for the next generation.
