Peer advisory groups are an invaluable tool for progressive and business-minded ag producers. In this article, you’ll learn how peer advisory groups work, their benefits, and how you can join one. These groups offer a unique opportunity for agricultural producers to generate knowledge, improve their operations, and be more profitable!
Peer Advisory Groups
Continuous learning and adopting innovative practices and technologies are crucial for farmers and ranchers to stay ahead. Among the numerous resources available, one invaluable tool stands out for progressive and business-minded ag producers: peer advisory groups.
Unlike larger corporate entities, most agricultural businesses, particularly family-owned ones, often see their managers making crucial decisions alone. The lack of challenging and diverse ideas usually means that producers miss business opportunities or fail to implement beneficial changes for their operations. Here’s where peer advisory groups act as a reciprocal advisory board that helps farm businesses generate knowledge and improve management strategies that can impact their operation.
A peer advisory group is formed by ranchers and farmers willing to share their experiences and make the most of each member’s talents to solve problems and make business decisions. They constantly exchange information, knowledge, ideas, experiences, and opinions. Each group is comprised of 8-12 producers who periodically meet on each member’s operation. This group size helps maintain the intimacy and trust necessary to obtain the best results from each group member.
Essentially, a peer advisory group serves as a reciprocal advisory board. It allows its members to have advisors who are top producers who have skin in the game without the fiduciary liability or governance authority associated with a corporate board. Rest assured, the advice and insights you receive from these producers are backed by their experiences in the field.
Several peer group systems have different methodologies for agricultural producers to achieve their goals. One notable example is the peer advisory group developed through the collaborative efforts of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and funding from Southern Risk Management Education. This group focused on the production risks associated with new production systems while addressing the economic, financial, and organizational aspects of running a successful business.
Are you interested in joining a Peer Advisory Group?
This year, we are organizing a new peer advisory group through the leadership of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and funding from the Southern Risk Management Education Center.
During these meetings, participants will implement new production concepts in their operations and continue production education with facilitators and peers. We will continuously learn about the economics of grazing-based operations, emphasizing beef cattle production among peer group participants. We will also focus on the cost of production analyses, measuring progress, benchmarking within the group, group management skills, and business management. By joining, you can effectively mitigate production risks related to new systems, implement innovative production methods and business strategies, and enhance your enterprise’s economic, marketing, financial, and organizational aspects.
Contact Information
If you’re interested in joining the new peer advisory group organized by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, please contact Francisco Abello at 940-647-3908, fjabello@tamu.edu, Tim Steffens at (806)651-2781, tim.steffens@wtamu.edu, or Andy Holloway at (806)323-9114, andy.holloway@ag.tamu.edu. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to improve your ranch’s economic, marketing, financial, and organizational aspects!