Like any good story, the dairy market complex has done a good job of keeping viewers in suspense. Here’s the most recent storyline: As farm profitability drops to dismal levels, dairymen view positive returns as a remote possibility, something to hope for in future years instead of this one. At that moment, the market finds a way to spring back to life and provide producers with enough return to keep both them and their cows in the game. Since the 2009 cycle low, three such incidents have occurred just in the nick of time.

Here’s another great question overheard at the Kimberly, Wisconsin, commodity marketing workshop taught by the advisers of Stewart-Peterson: Q. “How does LGM dairy insurance fit into my approach to marketing?” A. MARK LUDTKE: Great question, and one we’re hearing more frequently from clients. Lenders want and need their client farms to manage risk. In an effort to accomplish this quickly, they are taking a look at LGM insurance. With all the management stresses on today’s dairies, it is certainly understandable that producers and their advisers would pursue what seems like a quick and easy route to managing risk.

If the definition of farm financial stress is the inability to meet debt service payments, including principal and interest, is there a chance you will be financially stressed in your operation in coming years, if you aren’t already? Farm debt is building at a rapid rate, and that is raising questions about the potential for farm operations to face financial stress in the future.

When you drive onto a farm yard, the golden rule is to always park so that you do not have to back up. If at all possible, you want to always drive forward. This is one of the first rules most companies will teach new employees that visit farms. Even before learning about products, margins and sales skills, employees are taught about safety. No company wants an employee to mistakenly back up over a favorite pet, or even worse, a small child.

Do you tend to view the word “competition” as something negative? Maybe you truly dislike someone you see as your competition because of something that was said or done in the past. But in most cases, I think it’s safe to say that we simply feel threatened by our competition and we allow this to bring out insecurities and defensiveness. Instead of seeing your competition as someone who threatens your success, why not turn that threat around and see it as an opportunity? Let’s face it, if it weren’t for competition, what would motivate you to strive to be better? In fact, the main reason monopolies are bad for society is because the consumer is the ultimate loser.

In these tough economic times when consumers and businesses are spending less, farmers should think carefully about how much money they want to borrow and how they would use it in their businesses, a Purdue University agricultural economist says. When pursuing business opportunities, debt can be an important tool for business growth, Brent Gloy said. “Opportunities may come up, and you may need to borrow money to go after them,” he said. “Borrowing in moderation and using the funds for the right things is very important.”