How people farm as well as what people grow varies from country to country, state to state, county to county, and farm to farm. It is easy to acknowledge only our own backyards. When talking about how different other areas, or forms of agriculture are, we also need to recognize how different we are in the eyes of others looking at us! So, let me … [Read more...]
Making changes? Start with what you can most easily control!
There are a lot of things in farming that are beyond all of our control. Prices, weather, and global issues just to name a few items that we can't begin to try to control. There are most certainly steps you can take to mitigate your risk and control as much as you can, but you have never have total control over certain things. So when times … [Read more...]
Tough Times Call For Tough Decisions
Tough times call for tough decisions, especially when it comes to debt. In tough and trying times such as these you may find yourself making decisions you made have not made under other circumstances. You may decide to cut some corners you may not have even thought about in the past or restructure debt in a way that would have made you cringe in … [Read more...]
How To Deal With Market Uncertainty
Don’t let what you don’t know get in the way of what you do know! I am writing this for all those I have talked to in the past couple of weeks who are so worried about things they can't change that they are not working on the things they can. Do not lose sight of what you know and what you have already accomplished. Jump out the slump and dig … [Read more...]
Why All the Fuss About Equity?
I know this is how a lot of farmers are feeling right now. Why am I hearing SO much about equity right now?! No doubt equity has always been an important factor in assessing the financial condition of a farm operation, but with commodity prices making cash flow tight - equity could be the saving grace. When cash flow and ability to … [Read more...]
How to make it through 2017
We are all very aware that 2017 will require some planning to make it through. The current price environment is making everyone take a hard second and third look at their current operation. In talking with farmers the question that I have been getting the most (or hearing the most as many have been asking multiple people) is " How are we going to … [Read more...]
The Most Expensive Sentence You Can Say
When you think about expensive, what exactly do you think about? Some think about a house, car, or possibly jewelry. Did a sentence ever cross your mind? I've heard tell of this "so called" most expensive sentence you can speak for some time now. What is that sentence? Simple - "I have always done it this way." How is that sentence expensive? … [Read more...]
Real Talk – Shortages
Do you see a shortage on the horizon? It gets to a certain point of the year when you can really see how your crop is going to turn out. You will start running all the numbers in your head to determine how much revenue the farm will produce this year. If you have some doubts of whether you will be able to make all debt payments or pay your … [Read more...]
Strategies to G.R.O.W.
Working Sharper? Agricultural Wealth Strategies To G.R.O.W. There is a story that tells of two lumber jacks in a race to cut down the most trees in a day. Both had the same style ax, the same amount of time and the same opportunity. However,they approached the work very differently. The first man never took a break. He chopped relentlessly all … [Read more...]
How Sensitive is Your Ag. Portfolio?
I have written several articles concerning how risky a farmer’s operation is. However; they are not the only ones who should be contemplating their level of risk. If farmers begin to fail for a variety of different reasons, what will your loan portfolio look like? What percentage of your portfolio would then be considered troubled or downgraded … [Read more...]
