It's amazing the correlation between successful people and those who have been able to take their mistakes and turn them into something positive.  In this interview, Water Street Solutions' Director of Development Dean Heffta talks through the process of making mistakes into a growth opportunity.  He shares with KRVN's Ken Rahjes seven key points around learning from our mistakes.  And the last one's a really good one.

July 19 2010 Learning From Our Mistakes - Heffta.mp3 (5.05 mb)

You have a lot of decisions to make on the farm, and some of those decisions are made by default as you run out of time before the next season.  Many times the timeline is set by others.  Imagine what would happen if you created the timeline by working ahead and being strategic about your farm - instead of being reactionary.  Water Street Solutions' Director of Development Dean Heffta talks about this topic with KRVN's Ken Rahjes.     

July 12 2010 Changing Your Decision Cycle for Better Strategy - Heffta.mp3 (3.39 mb)

Profitable farming requires keeping a close eye on your financial metrics.  Return on Equity is a number that your banker is going to pay attention to.  Here Darren Frye, President and CEO of Water Street Solutions talks about this metric, and when it's a better number to watch.

For the text of the video, click here:  Understanding Return on Equity

You can see progress in the field throughout the growing season - but when it comes to the business part of farming, that's sometimes a little harder to measure -- unless you're getting a report card.  Darren Frye, President and CEO of Water Street Solutions talk here with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about what's on this "financial report card" and how to use it in propelling your business to the next level.

June 21 2010 The Importance of a Report Card.mp3 (5.14 mb)

For the text of the interview, click here:  The Importance of a Report Card

As you dive into the business metrics of agriculture, you start tracking Return on Assets and Return on Equity.  Whether you own or rent the land that you farm determines your target numbers in these categories.  In this video, Arlan Suderman of Farm Futures and Mike Jacobson talk through some of these issues.  If you have four minutes, you might just learn something new.

For the text of this segment, click here:  Renting Vs Owning Land and the Impact on ROA and ROE

We talk a lot here about the importance of having a financial analysis for your farm.  Let's address whether that's something you can do on your own.  Since we're somewhat biased in this particular discussion, we turn the microphone over the Mike Jacobson, a banker from North Platte, Nebraska.  His comments come from a panel discussion a few months ago that focused on controlling what you can control in the success of your farming operation.  It's a short video, just a little over two minutes that you can watch by clicking here.

For the text of this segment, click here:  Should You Do Your Financials on Your Own

Many agricultural producers may have the idea that bigger is better - but that isn't always the case when it comes to profitability.  A panel at the Commodity Classic talked about some of the challenges of growth in farming.  It's a nine minute discussion that you can watch right here.  

The book that Darren Frye talks about in this segment is The E Myth by Michael E. Gerber. 

For the text of the video, click here:  Does Big Equal Profitable in Farming

A panel at the Commodity Classic in March talked about Controlling What You Can Control with regard to the financial aspects of your farm.  At the end, Max Armstrong asked members for their best advice.  Click on this link to the video.  This video is 6 minutes long -- and the discussions are around using the financial tools available -- but understanding those tools first.  Learning, understanding and reflecting was another focus.  And there's some discussion here about the importance of succession planning.       

Planting season is a dangerous time as we run ourselves ragged trying to get the crop in.  It also provides some good thinking time.  So here's something to think about -- where will your farm be if you suddenly lose one of your partners to illness or injury?  We don't like to think about that - but if we plan, the future will be a lot less stressful.  For more information, check out this article from Illinois AgriNews.

IL AgriNews 4-30-2010.pdf (514.10 kb)

Transferring the farm successfully from one generation to the next is not as easy as it might seem.  The best transfers happen with a thorough discussion and planning session (or two or three) well in advance of the actual transfer of assets.  Many families have a lot of those "things" they'd rather not talk about -- but in this case, it's best when everything is out on the table.  Water Street Solutions' President and CEO Darren Frye talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about making the process a success.

April 26 2010 - Succession Planning - Frye.mp3 (2.75 mb)

Here is a link to more information about the book discussed in the interview.  The book is Crucial Conversations:  Tools for Talking When Stakes are High.

For the text of the interview, click here:  Succession Planning Starts with a Crucial Conversation