The techniques, management methods, and approaches required to survive and make an impact in today’s modern farming system have changed significantly.

For young farmers, agriculture should no longer be seen as a hobby, rural development initiative, or retirement project, but should be appreciated and seen as a business like any other that requires a high level of intricate management and commitment.

Although passion, dedication, and commitment are very important requisites for any farming activity to thrive, they are unfortunately not enough to guarantee long-term success.

In Africa, particularly in Namibia, farming is shaped by numerous external forces beyond a farmer’s passion, dedication, and commitment. These are external factors such as unpredictable weather patterns, delayed rainfall and prolonged dry spells, and disease outbreaks such as foot-and-mouth and lumpy skin.

Other setbacks for local farmers include pressure from global trade wars, rising stock theft, and volatile prices, which can drive market shifts and increase feed and overall maintenance costs.

Very few farmers, especially those young and upcoming, are ever prepared for these kinds of unplanned eventualities, as these challenges don’t ask whether you are passionate or not. They come to test whether you can endure the pressure or not.

Most young farmers who are trying to make a living from farming often tend to pour all their savings into different agricultural ventures without fully grasping what is truly required of them to survive in this business

Many think there is quick money in farming and, therefore, expect quick results. Yes, there is money in farming, but unfortunately, not quick money as many might think.

Farming is a long-term game, where returns on investment are unpredictable and may not be immediately apparent. The early stages of farming for inexperienced farmers are an emotional rollercoaster and often break more farmers than drought ever will.

Like I always say, passion and a vision are what start your journey as a farmer, but it is perseverance and adaptability that keep you going when all seems impossible.

All successful farmers that you see at auctions, on the front pages of big magazines and newspapers, and on your social media feeds, have all lived through unbearable seasons they never talk about.

But they have chosen to remain in farming not because conditions were favourable, but because they learned the importance of adjusting, protecting capital, and keeping going even when quitting felt reasonable at some point – that is, mastering the art of perseverance and adaptability.

Perseverance and adaptability are about redesigning systems rather than giving up, tightening control when money is tight, focusing on survival during difficult seasons, playing the long game when short-term rewards disappear, and understanding that successful farmers are not moulded by perfect seasons.

Core principles

Farming is not just any random undertaking; it runs on algorithms, just like computerised systems. It is all about what you put in, the management processes and systems you apply, and how that will determine and influence your output.

Young farmers should understand that successful farmers are no luckier than others; they have spent years learning, understanding, and appreciating the importance of executing through better management systems.

Speaking of algorithms, farming is an ecosystem where everything aligns and responds to what you put in. Animals don’t grow because the grass is green; they grow because water, feed, and access are balanced.

Feed given late never catches up to lost growth, which is why timing is part of this algorithm. A missed heat [mating season/period] is not bad luck; it’s a timing failure in your system as a farmer.

Again, I maintain that lack of money doesn’t fail farmers, poor timing and bad management do. It is also important to strike a balance between your stocking rate and the field recovery period, as overstocking breaks the system before drought does.

Farming doesn’t reward effort; it rewards correct variables. Two farmers can share the same land and the same rain but yet produce very different results, and that difference is all about getting your algorithms right.

Young farmers need to master the basics, control the variables, and let numbers guide their decisions, as that is the only way they will stand out and make an impact.