Accepting the fact that the United States and the world have ample supplies of major crops, this year’s GrowingOn® meetings shifted emphasis. While keeping costs in line and, in many cases, restructuring loans to help cash flow and capital needs would be a viable option, the potential to boost income got added attention this year.
A total of almost 300 customers and association staff attended the meetings, which took place during December.
To kick off each meeting, local Frontier Farm Credit leaders shared grain production agriculture’s “universal truths”:
- Fixed costs (including land, machinery and family living), not variable input costs, are the main factors that separate high-cost, medium-cost and low-cost operations.
- While appropriate, working on variable costs likely will not fix overall cost-structure issues.
- The time to act is now!
Click to view the Association’s PowerPoint.
Steve Johnson, farm and ag business management specialist with Iowa State University Extension, shared his outlook for the year ahead, including a beefed up section on livestock. A new feature included this year was weather prospects – particularly for South America – provided by DTN Meteorologist Bryce Anderson.
In his presentation, “Solutions for Success 2.0,” Johnson again employed three case studies to demonstrate how various strategies can improve farm financial conditions. He revisited “Larry Landholder” and introduced “Bill Beginner.” Of special interest was “Marty Merchandiser,” whose proactive approach to grain pricing put him solidly in green-light territory for financial measures.
To hear Johnson’s outlook and learn the lessons provided by these case studies, watch the following video:
For more information regarding crop insurance or GrowingOn content, contact your local Frontier Farm Credit office or call 800.397.3191.
