The next 16 months present an interesting opportunity for estate planning with the current exemption put in place by Congress.  Ben Metzger is Director of Estate Planning at Water Street Solutions.  He spoke recently with Cyndi Young of the Brownfield Network about some of the challenges and opportunities for planning for your farm's future.  Listen to the interview here.

If you've been following us here online for a while, and want to get to know us face to face, this year's Farm Progress Show is the perfect opportunity.  Water Street Solutions' display will be in the Varied Industries Tent #9606.  We're happy to talk with you about your farm, your concerns and the future success of your business.  Market Advisors and Crop Insurance Specialists will be giving updates and sharing insight into the challenges with the coming harvest and what that might mean to you.  The show is August 30, 31 and September 1 near Decatur, IL.  For more information about the show itself, click here.

Who doesn't feel overworked right now?  If you raised your hand, you're likely not a business owner.  You need a vacation, right?  But then you'll need another one when you come back and see how much work stacked up while you were gone.  There's a better way.  Water Street Solutions President and CEO Darren Frye talks about developing a plan for this in this week's Finance First post on www.farmfutures.com.  Read it here.

Number two in The New Rules of Profitable Farming is the importance of having and executing a plan.  Water Street Solutions President and CEO Darren Frye talks here with Ken Rahjes of KRVN about this piece.  You Need a Plan - Frye AUDIO

There's so much to know on the farm to keep all of the elements moving in the right direction.  If you hire some of this out, it's important that you still stay involved enough with a consultant to understand and make the business decisions.  Darren Frye, President and CEO of Water Street Solutions talks here with Ken Rahjes from KRVN about why it's important that you know.  You Need to Know - Frye AUDIO

Days on the farm get long.  There's always work to be done.  And you're the one who does it.  You're a business asset.  So you need to keep that asset in top shape.  In this week's Finance First column on www.farmfutures.com Water Street Solutions President and CEO Darren Frye talks about this topic - and why a recharge is important.  Read the column here.

Farming sure has changed.  Understatement.  How do you keep up?  Water Street Solutions President and CEO Darren Frye has compiled his thoughts on this topic and will be sharing those in segments over the coming weeks.  Here's his first visit on the topic in an interview with Ken Rahjes from KRVN. The New Rules of Profitable Farming - Frye AUDIO

If we're always growing and changing, we're bound to make mistakes.  The key to successful mistakes is the opportunity we have to learn from them.  For more, take a look at the Darren Frye's latest post to Finance First on www.farmfutures.com.  Read it here.

Making purchases in these two asset categories, machinery and land, usually comes with some emotion.  Think about the color of the shiny new paint or the convenience of the nearby land that you finally have access to.  Willie Vogt from Farm Progress spoke recently with Water Street Solutions' President and CEO Darren Frye about these issues, and he filed a report on This Week in Agribusiness.  You can watch the video here.