Many farming arrangements rest on handshake deals, wherein two people essentially trust in one another’s word. When stakes are fairly low and flexibility is paramount, unwritten handshake deals can be a helpful tool. However, when farmers are investing money, time and other resources of considerable value in a farm operation, reliance on a handshake can sometimes prove to be a costly error.

When looking to buy new equipment or build new buildings, one of the key considerations is the cost of ownership or their fixed costs. The largest of the fixed costs is depreciation.

Brilman Dairy welcomed Progressive Dairy into his facility to share some of its inner workings and the keys to his farm’s productivity.

We spend a lot of time talking about properly saving and investing money to ensure a happy retirement, but if you are not investing in your own health, what good is monetary wealth?

If the story you tell yourself suggests it’s nobody’s business how you spend your money, ask yourself how you got there and why it has to be like that. I hope you would agree with me that the emotional factors around money affect the farm transition process.

Extra revenue is great, but remember to weigh changes in expenses between alternative plans.