Farm Business Management: The Decisive Farmer

Management research has shown successful farmers have quite distinct personal characteristics which most farmers have seldom thought about. Farmers who are less successful tend to have processes and systems which are likely to be biased. The aim of this book is to help all farmers discover more about these personal attributes that impinge on the success of their management, and to show how their attitudes and personal resources can be improved.

This book is not a straightforward textbook. Rather, it tells the story of a group of farmers who take part in an expert-guided experiment designed to test approaches to improving management skill. The group meet at each other's farms to learn about their issues and develop solutions to improving what is called their "management style" with the aim of removing any identified decision system biases. The book covers issues like optimal decision rule systems and how they can become second nature.

Each chapter is devoted to one of the common issues defining management approaches. One chapter, for example, has the farmers sorting out issues around succession planning, another covers the vexed problem of farmer anxiety, and still another has the farmers learning skills on self-critiquing. Overall, there are fifteen chapters covering both general and specific issues.

The book is designed for all farmers but is also a valuable resource for students of farm management and agribusiness. A strong learning feature of the book are the references to formal theories and explanations provided in addenda to each chapter. These cover and list the main teaching points highlighted in each farmer meeting giving details of where the detailed methods of solving each situation can be found. Exercises and case studies can also be accessed both on line and in other CABI books.
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