Land values came up recently at a meeting I had with a farm family. It wasn’t a surprise, considering that land values have been a top-of-mind subject lately at a lot of meetings. There are usually two parts to the discussion: value and availability. What land values will do is anyone’s guess. Same goes for […] Read more
Stories by Terry Betker, PAg
Organizational development important for family farms
Managing a farm business’s workforce is as important as managing production and marketing. Employees’ responsibilities are typically defined by what they do, who they report to, and for managers, who reports to them. Over time, these definitions are assigned to positions in the organization rather than to specific individuals. The relationships among these positions can […] Read more
Get the most from your investment
A key motivation in farm business management is increasing shareholder or owner value. This is accomplished by sustaining profit over the years and leaving as much of it as possible in the business. A farm can increase its value through capital appreciation of land and quota. There is also an accumulation of machinery and buildings, […] Read more
Separating family, business priorities creates challenges
When I ask farm families to list what they value most, “family” usually makes it into the top three positions, if not the top. However, mixing family and business can be tricky. It can be a strength and a weakness. It is a strength because the support of family can help individuals and the business […] Read more
Vital farm information needs proper storage
I recently gave a university lecture on succession and estate planning that included the importance of storing important information in a secure and known location. I also talked about the importance of summarizing and storing contact information for key resource people along with this information. Preparing for the lecture made me remember five discussions I’ve […] Read more
Consider working capital needed before restructuring debt
No grain movement means no cash flow for a lot of farmers. Declining prices compound the problem. It doesn’t take long for insufficient cash flow to become a management challenge. The situation is difficult now but will become worse as we approach spring with operating loans at their limits. Farmers may be wondering what they […] Read more
Families must confront issues to ensure smooth transition
There are certain issues within the succession planning process that some families find difficult and may ultimately slow or stop the succession planning process altogether. They are often referred to as the “soft” issues and can sometimes be more difficult to deal with than the “hard” issues such as taxation. Families can prepare to address […] Read more
Examine retirement needs, goals to ensure sufficient finances
The financial needs of the retiring generation are often not worked through in detail when developing a succession plan. This critical piece of the plan is unintentionally lost in tax and estate planning discussions. It’s important that retirement living costs be analyzed in detail to ensure that enough money will be available to support the […] Read more
A bumper crop puts money in the bank; now what?
Back in June I wrote the crop could be a bit late but that it may be off to a good start. I further commented, “it may be fair to say that it’s not lost yet and that there’s some potential.” For a lot of you, this has turned out to be quite the understatement. […] Read more
Bad habits formed in good times difficult to change in bad
I participated in an excellent discussion this summer about the recent good times in farming, including what was observed as being both the positive and not-so-positive outcomes. The discussion took place during the International Farm Management Association Congress in Poland in July. Close to 200 people attended, representing 37 countries, including nearly 20 Canadians. The […] Read more
