Articles
Farm Management Articles
Research-based information and tools to help with your farm business management decisions
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Power of One
A new year always elicits new resolutions, goals and plans for how to better our business, family and self. However, a quick google search shows that only 8% of Americans keep their resolutions throughout the year and 80% have failed by February. How can we become an 8-percenter in the new year?
Putting the ‘Me’ in Merry: Self Care Tips for the Holiday Season
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t always feel that way. Learn some quick self-care tips to take care of both your mind and body during the holidays.
End of Year Considerations and 2020 Tax Planning
Farmers experienced a number of challenges in 2020, including financial spikes and dips. Farmers have several tools available to assist with managing their tax liability, however some of these tools need to be taken advantage of prior to December 31, 2020.
The Art of Negotiating for your Farm Business
Negotiating is important for the success of any business, but it is especially critical during lean times. It may seem like common sense, but many times people let their emotions get the best of them and ignore their basic instincts. It takes homework, discipline, and street smarts to successfully make a deal.
Transferring farm management for a successful farm succession
During the farm succession process it is common for the owner generation and the successor generation to discuss a transfer of assets. However, a conversation about the transfer of management – which is important to the success of the farm succession – is often overlooked.
Core Values
Core values are the guiding principles that dictate a person’s behavior. Understanding a person’s core values will help you to understand why people do the things they do. When going through a farm succession it is important for the parties to have open conversations about the process. Knowing the other parties core values can help make these conversations more productive and enjoyable.
Monthly and Annual Spending Plan
The monthly and annual spending plan worksheets located in the Cultivating your Farm’s Future workbook can be used to attribute expenses to the household and farm. In a farm succession, these worksheets can be used by both the owner and successor generation.
Monthly and Annual Spending Plan
The monthly and annual spending plan worksheets located in the Cultivating your Farm’s Future workbook can be used to attribute expenses to the household and farm. In a farm succession, these worksheets can be used by both the owner and successor generation.
Women in Agriculture – A Brief History
Jerry Apps shares the early role women had in the dairy industry and how that changed over the years along with some personal stories of women’s roles in agriculture during the Depression Years of the 1930s and WWII, drawing on his mother’s roles at that time.
Farm Stress & Decision-Making During Challenging Times
Stress is a double-edged sword. A little stress can serve as a constructive motivator, galvanizing us to action. Too much stress, on the other hand, can damage our health compromise safety and sabotage personal relationships. With the arduous and sometimes volatile conditions we see in agriculture, the risk of too much stress is alarming.
Does Your Farm’s Culture Reflect Who You Want to Be as An Employer?
Sound employment practices geared toward attracting, training, retaining, and rewarding employees must reflect a clear understanding of employee views and experiences. The farm culture represents “the way things get done around here,” and it can be positive or present a challenge for employees. The culture on a farm may not be obvious or visible, but it is there.
Throttle Back on Stress
When I was a little boy, I was intrigued by trucks, tractors and machines like any farm kid. I understood what the gas pedal was in my mom’s car and my dad’s pickup. But it took me a while to understand exactly what the throttle did on the steering column of our John Deere 4020 and how it controlled fuel flow. Understanding stress is similar — and for our health and the well-being of our loved ones and relationships, learning where to find the levers to “throttle down” the chemicals that fuel high levels of stress is crucial.
Guidance in Determining an Equitable Agriculture Land Rental Value
Determining a rental rate is not an exact science. Local demand and supply conditions, anticipated market conditions, and long-standing working relationships can have bearing on rental rate negotiations. Learn what factors to consider when setting a rental rate.
Wisconsin Cash Farm Land Lease Example
It is critical that landlords and renters spend time addressing the terms of the rental agreement before finalizing the agreement to prevent problems over the duration of the contract. Maintaining positive working relationships between landlords and renters is vital for long-term success. Learn what to include in a fair and equitable farm land lease.
Creating a Robust, Authentic Agriculture Land Lease
Rental rates and lease agreement questions often arise in the fall. Landowners or renters are looking for a lease agreement template that they can plug their values into. Learn what’s important to include in lease agreements and how to create a robust, authentic lease agreement.
Video Series: Agricultural Chemical Safety
We use agricultural chemicals for many different purposes around the farm and in the field. Every chemical has the potential to be harmful to humans, but each varies significantly in the risk they present to us. Learn more about the risks and potential effects of chemical exposure.
Part 2: Dermal Exposure to Chemicals
Exposure to your skin, or dermal exposure, is the most common way for chemicals to enter your body. Oral exposure most commonly occurs when you eat without first washing your hands or share beverage containers. Different chemicals will have different effects.
Part 3: Inhalation Exposure to Chemicals
Inhalation exposure (breathing in) is the most dangerous type of chemical exposure because vapors, gases, smoke, or dusts are absorbed rapidly into your bloodstream or cause injury to the the tissues of your lungs, and/or loss of consciousness.
