Farm Operations
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The Budget is Your Road Map
Most farmers prepare a budget at the end of the year to present to their bankers and then promptly put it away and forget about it until the following fall. I like to envision a budget is similar to a road map. A map has many ways to get from point A to point B. […]
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Great way to test for moisture
On a recent episode of Agday, there was a small feature on a product from Reichhardt called a minibatt. This is a very small hand-held portable combine that allows the farmer to harvest a small amount of grain and get a very quick reading on moisture levels of the crop. I know growing on our farm, […]
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The Old Way to Make Money – Earn It!
I saw a great post by Chuck Schwartau from the University of Minnesota Extension deparment. The post was related to the dairy industry, but is applies to all farming and any business. For the last twenty years or so, it seems that most people thought they could make easy money by borrowing more than they […]
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March 1 is file your taxes time
Farmers are unique. The IRS allows them to pay their income taxes later than almost anybody else. Noramally all returns are due on April 15 of each year and taxpayers need to pay in their taxes by either having enough withholding taken out of their wages or paying 4 equal quarterly estimated tax payments in order to not […]
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Super Bowl of Farming
The Super Bowl of Football is coming up in about two weeks. I have always thought that the game of football has many similarities to the business of farming. During the off and pre-season, the team is acquiring talent based upon their needs and goals for the upcoming season. As farmers, during this off-season, we […]
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Down Time is Go Time
This time of year for most farmers is a period of down time. There may some crops that are planted, but dormant. Some farmers spend time maintaining their equipment for the new year. I think this time is what I call “Go Time.” This is the time to: Prepare and review your operating budget for […]