Times of transition
As many of you know, Alisa, our beloved flower farmer and my co-conspirator here at Maitri, is leaving the farm at the end of this year. She’s been a joy to work alongside these past three years and has made the work of building up Maitri into a sustainable operation an attainable goal. Her generosity with her time and her efforts to make this change as painless for the Farm (and me!) as possible by diligently working to leave clear records, plans and a book of operational procedures to help us transition her away and with onboarding a new farmer when they join the team is deeply appreciated and very much within character for her.
Just like with any other business, the Farm has to have clear and concise operations and transition plans in place, including easily understandable standards of operations and program business plans, to ensure that the Farm continues running smoothly when key team members are unavailable. This type of planning is a crucial part of farm management and we’ve been developing and refining operational and managerial systems since taking the Farm over in 2022 in order to help us through transitional times with minimal impact to the Farm or the team.
I’ve seen the misconception on several small farms I’ve worked on before that farm operations and transition planning simply means how the property will be distributed from one generation to the next or who stands to take over management of the ag business. But in reality there is much more to it. For Maitri, these plans are more than who gets or does what: it’s a working plan that encompasses the goals and wishes of the current and future program managers while securing the ongoing success of the agricultural operation and programs as a whole. It provides a framework for the continued smooth operation of the Farm during times of change or even when someone is on vacation or has an emergency and has to be away. It is a “roadmap” of the agricultural operation if for some chance the managers or operators were to suddenly become temporarily or permanently unavailable. It contains information about all aspects of the business including program and farm goals, legal and business information. And it puts all of these plans together in one place
Developing SOPs and transition plans, the topic can seem overwhelming but it really shouldn’t be put off for another day and is a big risk I’d rather not take. I don’t want to be wishing I had taken the time to create a transition plan that would have secured a better outcome before a crucial moment develops. Good communication is key on a small farm where everyone working is a crucial part of the team and these plans help facilitate that dialogue.
To ensure the success of these plans, I have to make sure everyone understands why taking the time to do this is important, what good planning consists of, and what’s involved in the planning process. This was a bit intimidating - we’re all farmers here, not business majors - but we still understood the value of having these plans in place in order to assure the all of the Maitri team is prepared and capable of managing the farm business and that the agricultural operations remain successful when transferred from one program director to the next.
Operations and transition planning involves multiple people covering many topics. Building ours has included our management team, attorney, accountant, consultants and Board of Directors. For me, having a management team that meets on a regular basis is a huge help with keeping Farm affairs in order and for keeping our plans up to date and current. They help me in guiding decision making in line with the business wishes and goals and help me in crafting a strong plan that encourages employees to break away from the Farm when they need to and helps avoid burnout and production stalls for the Farm itself. And while I am thankful to have these plans in place to help ease the Farm’s transition after Alisa leaves, they do nothing to ease the sadness I feel knowing that she is leaving. But I guess some things no amount of planning will help.
Take care everyone and talk to you soon,
- Jenn
