This is a multi column series for farmers cons ider ing ret i rement . Considerations for farmers in their mid-fifties are of utmost importance. Decisions made ahead of time can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars on the balance sheet. Yes, really. In addition to the financial impact, relationship and family issues […] Read more
Texas In The Lexus Or Dodge In The Lodge, Part 1
Building A Roadmap To Farm Succession
Many farmers we talk to want to get started creating a succession plan, but nearly all just don’t know where to start. Often emotions and feelings complicate an already complex task. When working with clients we generally follow a four step approach. We recently met with Neber Leben DeFarm and his son Angus Anxious DeFarm. […] Read more
How To Harness The Power Of Planning
MANAGEMENT MINUTE Do you believe in the power of planning in your business? You should! It’s perhaps the most common practice amongst successful businesses, large and small. Would you head out to the field with a new piece of equipment without so much as a minute invested into understanding how to run it? Would you […] Read more
How To Ease Into Farming
We have had a number of calls in recent years from young professionals who left the farm, went to school and now have good jobs. After a few years, these young professionals realize their hearts never really left the farm. Starting farming can be terribly overwhelming when you consider the huge investment in land, machinery […] Read more
Investing In Iron: How Much Is Too Much?
A question that commonly comes up in our discussions with clients is, “What is the right machinery investment for my farm?” In our analysis we see a wide range of investment in iron which can have an impact on cash flow and, more importantly, net income of the operation. In order to illustrate this point […] Read more
Play The Market Or Play It Safe
If we could, we’d all sell at the top of the market and sit on our money until the bills were due. It doesn’t work that way, of course, which makes deciding when to market crops one of the most frequent questions we field. Our advice to many of our clients relates to risk. Understanding […] Read more
Does Size Matter? – for Sep. 6, 2010
It is a common question that seems to consistently rear up in our discussion with farm managers: What is the optimal size for a farm operation? You have probably heard that it isn’t the size of the vessel but the motion of the ocean that matters and farming is no exception. We have found that […] Read more
Three Strategies For Coping With A Disastrous Growing Season – for Jul. 23, 2010
It’s over. I’m finished.” This was the first thing out of Robbie Rubberboots’ mouth at the end of June. We knew there was trouble when the phone quit ringing in early June. With only 50 per cent of the crop sown on a lot of farms guys knew there was a problem but didn’t know […] Read more
Should You Buy That New Sprayer?
$ 6,000 Additional Repairs and Maintenance on Existing Sprayer: $ 8,000 This included rebuilding wheel motors and continued boom repair Repairs not anticipated on the newer sprayer Net Custom Work: 1,500 acre Fungicide @ $2.50 & 1,500 ac Preharvest @ $1.50 $ 6,000 Total: $14,000 Al estimates his cost per acre at $4.00. The Net […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
