To move your business from "good" to "great," you need specific objectives that everyone on the farm knows and understands, says Allan Gray, a Purdue University ag economist who spoke at The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers.

"Objectives are the end results of planned activities and should answer the question ‘What are we trying to accomplish?’" Gray says. They should state what is to be accomplished when, and help set a direction in concrete terms and with performance targets.

Gray offers this simple formula for setting short-term objectives for your farm business:

S – Specific. The objective needs to be specific and achieve a particular, detailed result.
M – Measurable. There needs to be a means to determine when you reach the objective.
A – Attainable. The objective is within economic and physical capabilities.
R – Rewarding. Any objective must be profitable and self-satisfying.
T – Timed. Set specific deadlines for objectives.

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