Water Street Solutions and Farm Progress Companies sponsored the Closing Learning Center Session Saturday at the 2010 Commodity Classic is Anaheim, CA.  The 2-hour panel discussion was a great opportunity for growers to learn things they do have control over on the financial end of their operation.  A summary of the contents of the session is posted today on Farm Progress web sites, and you can read it by clicking here.  In the coming weeks, video from this session will be shared here.

Having a successful farming operation all starts with having a plan.  And there's a little more to devising that plan than you might think.  Dean Heffta talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about the strategery.....um......strategy behind a strategic plan.  Listen in.  March 1 2010 Strategic Planning for Your Farm - Heffta.mp3 (3.23 mb)

Here's a tool to help you start your strategic plan: Strategic Plan.pdf

Agriculture is so diverse and changing so quickly that it's difficult for a very successful producer to be an expert in all of the elements of the business.  As you build, it's important to grow a network of advisors to help you along the way.  Our Dean Heffta talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about who you should have around your campfire, and how to go about starting this process of growth and development.  

February 22 2010 Whos Around Your Campfire - Heffta.mp3 (2.01 mb)

You have less than a month now to put your ducks in a row when it comes to risk management through crop insurance.  Our Steve Jackson talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about recent changes in the program in Nebraska, and things to watch for when you're sitting down with your Crop Insurance Specialist.

February 15 2010 Crop Insurance Notes - Jackson.mp3 (1.14 mb)

Steve Johnson, Farm Management Specialist with Iowa State University is another Steve and another guy who spends a lot of his life thinking about crop insurance.  He told those attending the Top Producer Seminar recently that you need to work with an agent who KNOWS crop insurance.  It's safe to say you'll find that expertise here at Water Street Solutions.  Click here and you'll see what I mean.

Moving the farm from one generation to the next is a tricky process!  In many situations the son who is farming the land reaches typical retirement age before he becomes the owner of that farm.  The danger lies in not have a plan for passing it from one generation to the next and not even having a good conversation about what each generation wants.  Chris Monroe, and his business, CPS, have teamed up with Water Street Solutions to provide Succession Planning and Estate Planning services to our farmer customers.  Here he talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about his business and how he works with farmers.

February 8 2010 Succession Planning - Monroe.mp3 (4.00 mb)

Another great resource on the topic of blending business and family is a book written by Neil N. Koenig, Ph.D..  It's titled You Can't Fire Me I'm Your Father:  What Every Family Business Should Know.  I found it on Amazon. 

You might feel like you're negotiating mostly at the equipment dealership or when you're buying inputs, but negotiating skills are important all the time.  And these are skill sets you can learn to improve.  Dean Heffta talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about the important steps in the process.

February 1 2010 Successful Negotiating - Heffta.mp3 (3.68 mb)

Making your way through agriculture these days is a little like navigating through some town you've never been to before.  If you were suddenly plopped down in the middle of a foreign city, it would be nice to have a good map, or maybe a GPS device that spoke English.  Now that you've found yourself plopped down in the middle of farming, 2010 style, a really good "map" is a financial analysis.  It can help you understand where you are, where you'd like to go, how long that might take, and the best ways of getting there.  Since we're on a travel theme here, I'll let Chip Nellinger and KRVN's Ken Rahjes be your guides for the rest of this discussion.  Click on the link to hear their discussion about the workings of a financial analysis.

Jan 18 2010 Why Do a Financial Analysis - Nellinger.mp3 (1.93 mb)

You've set goals for your business in the past, but maybe that didn't seem to get you where you wanted to go.  Were your goals SMART?  Did you have a BHAG?  There are some pointers to make goal setting work for you, including the incorporation of those two acronyms.  Dean Heffta shares these with KRVN's Ken Rahjes.

Jan 11 2010 Goal Setting Continued - Heffta.mp3 (1.93 mb)

Want to build a successful 2010?  Now's the time to start with some serious goal setting.  Dean Heffta talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes, outlining a way to go about this.  One of the first steps, he says, is evaluating how things went in 2009.

Jan 4 2010 Goal Setting - Heffta.mp3 (1.50 mb)

There are more opportunities for profit if you just look closely.  Chip Nellinger talks with Tom Steever from the Brownfield Network about the places to look, in this report.