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)

If you're coming to the Commodity Classic, you'll want to make sure to mark this session on your program.  At 1:30 on Saturday, March 6th, there's a panel discussion titled Controlling What You Can Control.  Arlan Suderman from Farm Futures Magazine told me that farmers come out in droves to attend an outlook seminar.  And he knows, because he gives them.  It's fun to talk about the factors impacting the markets.  But after a while it gets frustrating, because what can you really do about those factors?  Nothing.  During this session the focus will be on things where you can impact your profitability, simply by learning and tracking and knowing what numbers to watch and what to do with them once you've found them. 

       Max Armstrong                 Arlan Suderman                 Mike Jacobson                Tim Copeland                       Darren Frye

Max Armstrong (you've heard of him, right?) is hosting the session.  Our experts include:  Arlan Suderman, Market Analyst for Farm Futures Magazine; Mike Jacobson, Chairman, President and CEO of NebraskaLand National Bank; Tim Copeland, VP of Marketing at Great American Insurance and Darren Frye, CEO of Water Street Solutions. 

I'm sure you'll go home from this session energized about what you've learned and how it can help you take the financial reins of your operation.  If you can't be there with us, you'll be able to find information from the session on this web site.

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)

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)

Have you thought about what to resolve for 2010?  How about making your resolutions something that can improve your farming business?  This week Dean Heffta talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about a couple of resolutions that might work well for you.  1)  Controlling What You Can Control  2)  Starting with Succession Planning. 

Dec 28 2009 New Years Resolutions - Heffta.mp3 (1.15 mb)

You may not think about business books helping you to build your farming operation, but there's really no reason that the same principles wouldn't apply.  This week Jason Ladman talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about a business book that he's recently finished, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell.  Many of the lessons can make you think about how you're going about your business, and some things you might change about your day to day activities. 

Dec 21 2009 Laws of Leadership on the Farm - Ladman.mp3 (1.39 mb)

Your ability to take your farming operation to the next level has a lot to do with your openness to learn.  While you may have started your farming career in the classroom or in the school of hard knocks, you need to figure out how to keep learning in order to grow and compete.  Director of Development Dean Heffta talks with KRVN's Ken Rahjes about some strategies for doing just that.

Nov 9 2009 A Culture of Learning - Heffta.mp3 (2.47 mb)

Dean suggests some good books to start your resolution to be a better learner.  Ten Good Books