How to stay a step ahead

Being curious and willing to test new ideas can be a competitive advantage, says John Barrett.

I’ve always been interested in the farmers who stay one step ahead. Not necessarily the biggest businesses, those with the newest machinery, or the greatest appetite for technology. But the ones doing something different.

Often, they’re some of the most questioning people I meet. They want to see the figures, ask difficult questions, and know who has tried something and whether it made a difference.

So what makes an early adopter? I don’t think it’s simply a greater appetite for risk. I think it’s a willingness to learn and act sooner. Increasingly, I wonder whether that is becoming a competitive advantage in its own right.

Knowing sooner

In farming, some information has a shelf life. Knowing that an input market is tightening before you need to buy gives you time to consider your options. Seeing a new technology on farm before investing can save an expensive mistake. Understanding how your costs compare with other businesses gives you time to do something about them.

That’s the important bit. Knowing something before you need to act gives you the opportunity to investigate, compare and test. Knowing when you have to act can leave very few options.

Certainty vs. evidence

Farmers are used to making decisions with incomplete information. We never have a perfect view of the weather, markets or what costs will look like six months from now.

The most forward-thinking farmers I meet don’t expect anyone to guarantee that something will work. Instead, they work out how to get comfortable enough with uncertainty to test it.

That might mean trying something on a small area, comparing two inputs, running the numbers, or speaking to another farmer who has already tried it. Rather than waiting for uncertainty to disappear, they use evidence and experience to reduce it.

AHDB’s Strategic Cereal Farms reflect that approach, testing research and innovations on commercial farms and sharing the results. The point of a trial isn’t necessarily to prove an idea right. Sometimes its greatest value is finding out that it isn’t right for you.

Curiosity is key

There’s a tendency to think an early adopter is simply the farmer who jumps in first. I’m not convinced. In 2021, AHDB research found that 69% of UK farmers showed a strong preference for a ‘theorist’ learning style, compared with 22% for an ‘activist’ style.

That challenges the stereotype. Early adopters may not say ‘yes’ fastest. But they ask the best questions quickly: ‘What problem does this solve? What does the evidence say? What’s the return? Who has tried it? Would they do it again?’ Ultimately: ‘Does it make sense for my farm?’

The farmers I see staying ahead look beyond today’s decisions. They watch markets, compare costs, benchmark performance, talk to other farmers and test assumptions. They aren’t trying to predict the future. They’re trying to be ready for it. The cost of being late isn’t always making a bad decision. Sometimes it’s simply missing a better one.

Benchmarking yourself

Another trait I see in successful farming businesses is a willingness to look honestly at their numbers. AHDB analysis in 2024 found that the top 25% of beef and lamb, cereals and oilseeds, and dairy farms typically generated £50,000-£120,000 more than the bottom 50%. Factors included costs, attention to detail and attitude to change.

Baroness Batters’ Farming Profitability Report 2025 highlighted similar themes, including input costs, benchmarking, market understanding, financial planning and strategic decision-making.

And for all the talk about AI, data and technology, one of farming’s most valuable sources of intelligence remains other farmers. Seeing something working on a real farm, then asking the person doing it what they would change, provides context that a brochure can’t.

It’s why we recently created our AF Agronomy WhatsApp group, where AF Members can ask questions, exchange ideas and share knowledge without fear of judgement. The response showed me how valuable those connections can be.

Progressive doesn’t mean new

Ultimately, I don’t think early adopters are driven by technology. They’re driven by improvement.

Will making a change reduce costs, save time, improve output, reduce labour, provide better information or make the business more resilient? They aren’t chasing every trend. They’re looking for the next useful thing.

Most farmers rightly spend a lot of time thinking about what needs doing today. But those I see consistently staying ahead also make time to think about what might need doing tomorrow.

That, to me, is the psychology of an early adopter: being curious enough to look ahead, commercial enough to investigate, connected enough to learn from others, and willing to test an idea before you have to act.

The farmers I admire most aren’t necessarily those who get every decision right. They build businesses capable of making better decisions. Sometimes, the biggest risk isn’t adopting too early. It’s learning too late.

John Barrett is chief agricultural officer at the AF Group. For details, visit af.farm or email john.barrett@af.farm