In economic news this week: U.S. exporters’ secure rights to use common food names in Chilean market. Global dairy trade, FSA interest rates and farmer sentiment shift downward, and the USDA launched an online debt consolidation tool.

Farms start value-added enterprises for many reasons. A dairy may have a high cost of production for the commodity milk market. More revenue may be needed to pay an additional owner or a retiring generation.

If used for the right purposes and managed well, debt can be a great tool for increasing profits. However, tools can be misused. Just like using pliers to pound in a nail usually doesn’t work so well, debt can be a double-edged sword that is a drag on profitability.

As record-breaking inflation continues to make headlines, few consumers or industries aren’t feeling the impact of higher prices and interest rates. But even during times of incredible market volatility, producers can mitigate their risk and create staying power for the future.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney is joined by Jenna Muller and Mary Campbell from the California Ag Mediation Program to discuss a resource that can help you resolve some of the tense situations and difficult conversations that inevitably come up while managing a business, especially one with your family. Mediation can assist with transitioning the farm from one generation to another, diffuse tense situations with neighbors and assist with multiple other situations.