As one evaluates margins, the wild fluctuation in summer markets changed the outlook of many a dairyman. Stories of coming drought and the consequential lack of feed grains caused markets to climb substantially in the second quarter of the year. Corn prices rallied 85 cents from spring lows. Soybean meal shot up $150 per ton.

With decreasing commodity prices, many farmers are looking for ways to raise cash and pay down debt. One strategy that is often considered involves selling farm assets that are no longer used (or have become unproductive).

Way back in 2005, I left the comforts of a corporate career and started a business dedicated exclusively to helping agribusiness owners plan for generational transfer.

This seems like a simple question. Most of us know what hat we are wearing at any given time. However, if we need a refresher, looking in the mirror is easy enough. It is not that simple when it comes to separating the different roles people fill when running a small/medium business.

As a college student in the early 1970s, I remember being fascinated by a study carried out by social anthropologists Barry, Child and Bacon in the 1950s. They studied 46 societies to understand how modes of food production lead to different child-rearing practices and personality traits.

Have you ever had the opportunity to tour differing dairy farms through your co-op? It’s really interesting to observe how farms do certain routine procedures on regular tasks in unique ways. It may be that you notice how certain workers seem to have a gentle hand when working directly with the cows.

Sometimes the overwhelming demands of farming cause the entire body to slump at the kitchen table. Worn hands stroke graying hair, and eyes are reddened and glassy. Farming is one of those businesses where you live at your workplace.

A hat has many uses: It shields our eyes from the sun’s glare, it protects the top of our heads and in many cases serves as a fashion accessory. Ask any devoted hat wearer, and they will have a favorite hat, a hat they are known by.

Twenty years ago, while out checking his drowning crops, fourth-generation dairy farmer Jerry Nelson decided to write a letter to his county extension agent. That tongue-in-cheek letter can now be found in his recently published book, Dear County Agent Guy: Calf Pulling, Husband Training and Other Curious Dispatches from a Midwestern Dairy Farmer.