Farm Operations
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DTN AG Summit – Day 2
I have already written a previous post on one of the first sessions at DTN AG Summit yesterday, but here is my recap of the rest of the day. The president of International Farming Corporation gave a presentation on their efforts to both create long-term value to their investors and their tenant farmers. This is […]
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It May Be More Important To Not Overpay for Land Than Have Too Much Leverage
Two speakers from Kansas State Univeristy indicated that overpaying for land in their analysis was more likely to be more harmful to a farm operation than having too much leverage. Their bottom line objectives for their land buying decisions in 2011 is that the perceived land rent value should be at least 4.50% of the […]
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DTN AG Summit – Day 1
I attended most of the afternoon session of the first day of the DTN AG Summit in Chicago. There appeared to be around 600 Agri-business leaders there of which about half were farmers. The potential slowdown in economic growth in China may negatively affect the American farmer in 2012. Although growth of 4-5% would be […]
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Don’t Forget The New Veteran’s Credit
A new tax credit for farms that hire unemployed veterans is in effect now the President Obama has signed the legislation officially eliminating the 3% withholding on government contractors that was scheduled to begin in 2013. I think I have seen more laws get initiated and eliminated in the last 3 years than I ever […]
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Executive Women in Agriculture Conference – Recap
After a long flight home Friday night, I have had a couple of days to reflect on the the First Annual Conference for Executive Women in Agriculture and here are my conclusions: American Agribusiness should be proud of the women who are active in running a farm or an agribusiness. Based upon the women that […]
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Should You Switch Your LIBOR Debt?
With the Euro Zone upheaval in the financial markets, farmers may want to consider changing any LIBOR based debt that they currently have or anticipate having in the future. Almost all loans these days are based upon some type of index. The most common ones are the Prime Rate, LIBOR and some type of US […]
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Happy Thanksgiving!
With Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of days, I wanted to take the time to say what I am thankful for: My wife of 29 years, Patty Neiffer, for putting up with me for all of these years and for some reason still in love with me. My four sons, Garrett – 24, Grant […]
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Sustainability Test – Part 3
Today’s post is our last part of the sustainability test. Although this is designed for all businesses, most of all of these items apply to farms too. If a key manager or administrator suddenly became incapacitated, someone other than the owner/CEO could assume his or her duties within a week. Have you done a good […]
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Sustainability Test – Part 2
We continue our sustainability test from yesterday. Our company can withstand the financial impact of a “bad” job or lower than anticipated revenue and still comfortably absorb overhead expenses. Do you stress test your budget each year to see what your break-even point is? Have you locked in enough revenues to cover overhead costs including […]
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Sustainability Test – Part 1
A reader gave me a 10 part questionaire regarding how sustainable your business is. This questionaire applies as much to farming as to any other business. During this week, I will list the questions here with my comments. If you can get a true response on at least 7 questions, I would say your farm […]