As a risk management consultant, I get asked a lot of questions regarding the Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) program. Here are some questions that are asked more often than others.

Higher wages being paid across the country create a disadvantage for an industry that already fights to keep margins at a profitable point. Those who do a good job recruiting and taking care of qualified employees will have the upper hand.

Don’t be afraid to compensate well and provide annual, merit-based raises or bonus structures into the employee budget. Good employees are hard to come by, and keeping them will be much easier than finding them again.

Traditional hedging through the futures markets has long been a part of agriculture. However, many producers aren’t comfortable with or able to put it into practice.