Financial management can sometimes be frustrating for farmers, especially when problems arise because of circumstances beyond their control. This summer’s weather challenges — drought, hail and excess rain —will result in financial problems for many farms. It’s bad enough when this happens for one year, but it can be-come nearly impossible to survive when the […] Read more
Stories by Terry Betker, PAg
Net operating profit is important indicator of farm health
Profit, or lack of it, is the number on the bottom line of your annual report. Or is it? A lot of revenue that contributes to the bottom line can be generated by activities not considered part of the core business. However, it’s the profitability of the core business that will sustain your farm over […] Read more
Attain financial goals through forecasting and projections
Many variables affect financial performance and business outcomes. These factors can make decision making and analysis difficult, and some are outside a farmer’s control, which adds further complexity to management. All businesses, including farms, are tracking somewhere financially. They have an existing financial direction. Analyzing past performance is straight forward: calculate key ratios and look […] Read more
Using business ratios to determine performance, make decisions
I recently had the opportunity to lead a two-day workshop on farm financial management. Near the end of the second day, one of the families asked me if I could provide a process that they could follow on an ongoing basis. The family wanted to become better skilled at understanding and applying financial management in […] Read more
Benchmarking helps producers know where they stand
Top producers understand their farm business. They know their financial and production profiles and they use benchmarking to compare the performance of their operation against that of their peers. Benchmarking helps them identify their operation’s strengths and weaknesses as well as areas that need improvement. It helps them set future goals and improve production levels. […] Read more
Financial performance targets help with decision making
All businesses are headed somewhere financially. Past performance is an ex-cellent indicator of what the financial future for a farm will look like, but what about the future? How can we analyze future performance? Farmers make management and ownership decisions all the time about operations, investment and financing. Are these decisions getting farmers’ financial performance […] Read more
Good things can happen when farmers talk shop
Farmers have used external resources for years to help with management challenges. Accountants, lawyers and lenders are long-established sources of advice and assistance. More recently, farmers are using advisers who have expertise in production and marketing. As farms increase in size and complexity, more farmers will look to people who can provide them with the […] Read more
Develop farm succession plan to meet specific needs
There is no shortage of information available on farm succession plans, but many farm families are still confused and uncomfortable with the subject. Many are uncertain about what a succession plan looks like, and there are questions about what process to use and what to include in the plan so that it can meet their […] Read more
Managing through difficult times requires goals and vision
We had an excellent discussion recently in a class I’m teaching at the University of Manitoba when I asked students what could be done to help manage through difficult situations. Good times are generally not a problem, not because problems don’t exist then but because good times tend to mask the underlying issues. Problems and […] Read more
Management responsibilities can hold up succession planning
It’s not the farm your parents started. Nor should it be. Businesses, farms included, grow, evolve and often become more complex over time. As a result, they should be managed differently to achieve optimal results. Adjusting management practices to keep pace with changes in the business is challenging and becomes even more difficult when it […] Read more
