As we head into year-end and make last-minute adjustments to income and expenses for tax purposes, next year’s planning also moves to the forefront.
To give you a leg up on the process, David Widmar, an ag economist with ageconomists.com and Purdue University, shares six management tips to jumpstart your thinking process.
- Know the economics of your business and where to squeeze costs to improve margins.
- Develop a marketing plan. “Plans are never 100 percent right, but help identify opportunities,” noted Widmar, who is involved in the family farm in eastern Kansas where he grew up.
- Recognize the role of skill versus luck. This will direct your decisions.
- Take time for strategic thinking – and then execute on your plan.
- Instead of aiming to be right with every decision, focus on not being wrong more often.
- Recognize the importance of time. It is your most valuable nonrenewable resource. Widmar encourages everyone to carve out one extra hour – per month, per week, per day – for financial management.
To hear the details of how to employ these steps - and to hear Widmar’s assessment of the farm economy and his crop and livestock outlook for the year ahead - register for one of Frontier Farm Credit’s free GrowingOn 2019 meetings in Kansas, December 3 to 7.
