Small Bites – The Benefits of On-Farm Problem Solving
Authored by Coach Abby Sadauckas
Small Bites are short, informational articles with practical ideas about stress reduction, improved communication, and farmer well-being. They are written by coaches from UMaine Extension’s Farm Coaching team. Farm Coaches are available at no cost to work remotely with farmers and farm families.
The Benefits of On-Farm Problem Solving
What do you talk about in farm coaching? One aspect is to reflect on what’s been happening on the farm and what’s worked well. Referring to the past to inform the future can help with problem solving on a daily basis. And it helps to take time to reflect.
Consider:
-
Has this been a challenging season on your farm?
-
How have you and your farm team been coping?
-
Can you think of a situation this season where you and your team were able to work collaboratively to solve a problem or rise to a challenge?
When you think about these questions, who was involved? If your time worked collaboratively, how did you reach agreement? If you had trouble coping, what additional resources might have been useful?
Reflections like these are part of the farm coaching methodology. Farm coaches work to help you consider past challenges and use them to create a pathway for you to use in approaching future situations.
Schedule a one-on-one farm coaching session and let’s get started! It’s free and a session can be arranged soon after you inquire.