Consider how cash management, diversification, risk management and investments could reduce unnecessary struggles faced by your farm.
Tag Archives debt
Common pitfalls in farm finances
Farm Family Coach: Active management in some key areas can reduce unnecessary struggles for your farm
To debt, or not to debt?
As we head further into 2025, will more debt be essential for a farm’s success?
Glacier FarmMedia — There are many pressures on the agriculture industry and its individual businesses. Our farms are expected to do more at every turn. Every sector is feeling the effects of those expectations. And you don’t need to go far to find a farmer who will tell you the cost underpinning all the programs, […] Read more
Froese: Help! My parents have loads of debt we don’t want!
If your attitudes towards debt are very different from your parents, do you really want to be business partners with them?
Every front door looks beautiful” is one of my favourite Irish sayings. It came to mind in Deadwood, South Dakota, the Black Hills where I was listening to the woes of a young ranch couple. They have a strong desire to ranch as “debt free” as possible, but her parents, the owners are stuck on […] Read more
Froese: Decreasing your money woes by tracking personal expenses
What you think you are spending is very likely much lower than the real number
A wise person once said you can have more money over a long time if you make more than you spend or spend less than you make. The roller-coaster of grain prices has pinched many farm folks who are saying, “I shoulda… ” What you can do is keep better track of what you are […] Read more
Argentina to raise soy export taxes to 33 per cent from 30
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina plans to raise taxes on soybean, soyoil and soymeal exports to 33 per cent from the current 30, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday, as the government moves to increase revenue ahead of a planned sovereign bond restructuring. Ministry officials met with farm groups during the day to discuss […] Read more
Grain World: Farm consolidation key to increasing yields
Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Consolidating farms — going from numerous small operations to fewer, but much larger, farms — is central to improving crop yields, according to grain industry observers Neil Townsend and Jason Newton. Townsend is the chief market analyst for FarmLink Marketing Solutions, while Newton is the chief economist and head of marketing […] Read more
How to ask your lender for money when you need it
Having a business plan that tells your farm’s story increases your chance of success with lenders
In the first article in this series, I introduced several options available to farmers experiencing financial difficulties. I advised farmers to address financial issues sooner rather than later and not to lay blame on anyone or anything (like the weather). In the second article, I presented an example of using debt restructuring and asset sales […] Read more
How a major U.S. farm lender left a trail of defaults, lawsuits
Harrod, Ohio | Reuters — After completing a credit review in a half-hour phone call, a BMO Harris Bank underwriter cleared US$12 million in loans for Ohio corn and soybean producer Greg Kruger in 2013. Kruger had initially asked for a $2 million loan to build a grain elevator. But the Chicago-based bank, one of […] Read more
Rising interest rates, rising risk?
Farm Management: What do today’s rising interest rates mean for your farm’s balance sheet
There are a number of ways that rising interest rates affect farm balance sheets. They can negatively affect cash flow, can create a need to adjust short-term and long-term liabilities and affect the value of farmland that in turn can impact the farm’s asset values. “Higher interest rates will impact operations differently based on how […] Read more
Farm debt in Western Canada
Our debt levels are increasing, but our debt-to-equity ratios are holding steady
The headline of an article released by FCC near the end of September was a little worrying: “What does a new high in farm debt mean for the ag sector?” Between 2016 and 2017, total Canadian farm debt increased by 6.6 per cent to more than $100 billion. In Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the increase […] Read more
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